All too soon it was time to leave our cozy time with our cousins in Yorkshire and head north. After a yummy lunch of quiche, jacket potatoes and salad, Judy and Colin drove us to Malton where we got the train over to York. From there we hopped a train north to Edinburgh. We had rail passes but I had booked our seats upon arrival in York. We didn't need the stress of trying to find empty seats on a crowded train on a Bank holiday weekend! Noooo thank you! Our rail passes weren't checked at all and if we hadn't marked the date on our passes we could have had another trip - rats!
The train trip went smoothly and a few hours later we arrived at Edinburgh Waverly station. We opted to get a taxi and I am glad I had done my research. I gave the taxi driver our address of Learmonth Court and he verified it but unknown to me he thought I had said Claremont. We pulled into what was definitely a housing estate in a dodgy area - I had seen a picture and knew this wasn't it. Of course, I got the blame for agreeing with what he had verified with me - whatever! I blame the accent! When he heard me say Learmonth we were relieved when he said "oh that's a lovely area". Whew! It was and the apartment was great..once we got in! Our host Alison was quite patient as she buzzed three times before we were able to get in. Once in, we realized the lift (elevator to North Americans) was out of order so we wandered around trying to find one before finding a scary one - the kind with a cage type of entrance you pull open. You know, the kind you see in old films set in New York! For most of our stay, we did the stairs as we were only two floors up.
Alison kindly showed us around the two-bedroom flat and it was perfect for our needs. It even came with a washing machine that we made use of.
We had a cozy living room in which to drink our wine!
Above is a typical British kitchen with a washing machine alongside all the other appliances. Dryers are a scarce commodity in private homes so we hung our clothes to dry all over the apartment!
After stashing our luggage in our respective bedrooms we made a beeline for the nearby Waitrose to pick up supplies for breakfast and snacks. On the way back we got misplaced and ended up way past the building our flat was in. We finally figured our way back and sat in the living room (or lounge as it is called in Britain) with sandwiches and wine and relaxed.
The next morning we headed out on the #41 bus to the Old Town of Edinburgh. We started off on the Royal Mile stopping in at St Giles Cathedral. Oh yes, did I mention it was raining?
I'm afraid the dull day did not show old St Giles' at its best. Not that it is that exciting at the best of times I'm afraid....
I then realized we had to backtrack to see Greyfriar's Bobby - a little bit more exciting!
Then after a quick look around Grassmarket which has been a market place area for centuries and is known for its colourful buildings. It has a dark side however as it was the site for many hangings including those of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian group who rebelled against the British monarchy. Below is a tribute to those who died.
Ironically the colourful street pictured below was named Victoria St. This street was created in the early 19th century to replace the steep narrow West Bow that led from the what is now called the Royal Mile.
Back onto the drizzly Royal Mile...
I loved the name of this gift shop!
I see blue sky ahead!
Upon arrival at the Palace of Holyrood House we opted to get the combination Royal Collection/Palace ticket and I'm so glad we did. There was a very interesting exhibit on Charles the II called Art and Power. Charles restored the Monarchy in 1660 after a decade of Cromwellian rule. This led to a resurgence of the arts in Britain.
Then it was time to visit the Palace. The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Royal Family's official residence in Scotland but it is better known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots. She lived there from 1561 to 1567. She married her second and third husbands here and witnessed the murder of her secretary David Rizzo while she was heavily pregnant. We walked up the same steps to her bed chamber where her husband Lord Darnley dashed up to confront the secretary, accused him of being her lover and then had his henchmen murder him in front of her. It always gives me shivers to be actually walking in the footsteps of history. The room was dark and pretty crowded if I recall so no photos I am afraid. We also viewed a piece of embroidery that Mary had done of a cat and mouse - alluding to herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth I (her cousin) as the cat. If you google you can view it online.
This woman appeared to be giving me a severe look but photographs were allowed- honest!
Being one of those days where the sun comes and goes it was too dark to take photos in some of the rooms but I couldn't resist taking pictures of the gorgeous stairway and ceilings.
After touring the Palace we went outside and walked around the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Most of the ruins date from the 12th and 13th century. It is thought that the name Holyrood (the holy is pronounced as holly) originated because it was likely named after a fragment of the True Cross on which Christ was crucified brought back by St Margaret, mother of the founder David and rood is an old Scots word for cross.
We then walked around the garden a bit and oh yes, we had tea in the cafe before we left.
From there we headed back down the Royal Mile a bit...
A statue of the poet, Robert Fergusson outside of Canongate on the Royal Mile. (it's okay, I'd never heard of him either)
Finally, we emerged onto Princes St. which is the main shopping/tourist street in the New Town (built between 1767 and 1850) of Edinburgh.
Above is the Scott Monument - a memorial to the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott. It was erected in 1844.
Fact: I've visited Edinburgh four times (five if you include a three hour train stopover in 2016) and I have never visited Edinburgh Castle. I find it rather intimidating (I guess that was the purpose!) as it looms over the city - especially on a grey day. When someday I visit Edinburgh during the annual festival I will likely finally tour it when I go to the Edinburgh Tattoo. I am not really into military history which is what this castle is mainly about.
This statue of a man and a bear has an interesting story that I've just read about while doing this post. Wojtek was rescued as a cub by Polish soldiers in the Middle East in 1942 during World War II. When their unit was deployed to Europe they were not allowed to bring "pets" so he was enlisted as a member of the Polish army. He was given a name, rank and number and was part of the Italian campaign and a great help in moving boxes of ammunition. (he didn't drop a single box!) He also learned to drink beer and smoke (eat) cigarettes - my goodness that would have the animal rights people screaming these days! At the end of the war, the Polish soldiers were billeted in southern Scotland and of course Wojtek came along. When the Polish soldiers were redeployed back to Poland Wojtek was moved to the Edinburgh Zoo where he died in 1963. The statue not only represents a pretty cool bear (if you ask me) but freedom, as many of the Polish soldiers opted to make a life in Scotland rather than go back to Russian controlled Poland. There are many Polish names in Scotland today. For more information go to thesoldierbear.com.
This was taken from Princes Gardens which is a nice place to rest on a good day.
Another view of the Scott Monument.
By this time we were both pooped so headed back on the bus to our flat, stopping at Waitrose for a bite to eat for supper. That was day one in Edinburgh.
The next post will be about our visit to the Royal Brittannia - stay tuned!
The train trip went smoothly and a few hours later we arrived at Edinburgh Waverly station. We opted to get a taxi and I am glad I had done my research. I gave the taxi driver our address of Learmonth Court and he verified it but unknown to me he thought I had said Claremont. We pulled into what was definitely a housing estate in a dodgy area - I had seen a picture and knew this wasn't it. Of course, I got the blame for agreeing with what he had verified with me - whatever! I blame the accent! When he heard me say Learmonth we were relieved when he said "oh that's a lovely area". Whew! It was and the apartment was great..once we got in! Our host Alison was quite patient as she buzzed three times before we were able to get in. Once in, we realized the lift (elevator to North Americans) was out of order so we wandered around trying to find one before finding a scary one - the kind with a cage type of entrance you pull open. You know, the kind you see in old films set in New York! For most of our stay, we did the stairs as we were only two floors up.
Alison kindly showed us around the two-bedroom flat and it was perfect for our needs. It even came with a washing machine that we made use of.
We had a cozy living room in which to drink our wine!
Above is a typical British kitchen with a washing machine alongside all the other appliances. Dryers are a scarce commodity in private homes so we hung our clothes to dry all over the apartment!
After stashing our luggage in our respective bedrooms we made a beeline for the nearby Waitrose to pick up supplies for breakfast and snacks. On the way back we got misplaced and ended up way past the building our flat was in. We finally figured our way back and sat in the living room (or lounge as it is called in Britain) with sandwiches and wine and relaxed.
The next morning we headed out on the #41 bus to the Old Town of Edinburgh. We started off on the Royal Mile stopping in at St Giles Cathedral. Oh yes, did I mention it was raining?
I'm afraid the dull day did not show old St Giles' at its best. Not that it is that exciting at the best of times I'm afraid....
I then realized we had to backtrack to see Greyfriar's Bobby - a little bit more exciting!
Then after a quick look around Grassmarket which has been a market place area for centuries and is known for its colourful buildings. It has a dark side however as it was the site for many hangings including those of the Covenanters, a Presbyterian group who rebelled against the British monarchy. Below is a tribute to those who died.
Ironically the colourful street pictured below was named Victoria St. This street was created in the early 19th century to replace the steep narrow West Bow that led from the what is now called the Royal Mile.
Back onto the drizzly Royal Mile...
I loved the name of this gift shop!
I see blue sky ahead!
Upon arrival at the Palace of Holyrood House we opted to get the combination Royal Collection/Palace ticket and I'm so glad we did. There was a very interesting exhibit on Charles the II called Art and Power. Charles restored the Monarchy in 1660 after a decade of Cromwellian rule. This led to a resurgence of the arts in Britain.
Then it was time to visit the Palace. The Palace of Holyroodhouse is the Royal Family's official residence in Scotland but it is better known as the home of Mary Queen of Scots. She lived there from 1561 to 1567. She married her second and third husbands here and witnessed the murder of her secretary David Rizzo while she was heavily pregnant. We walked up the same steps to her bed chamber where her husband Lord Darnley dashed up to confront the secretary, accused him of being her lover and then had his henchmen murder him in front of her. It always gives me shivers to be actually walking in the footsteps of history. The room was dark and pretty crowded if I recall so no photos I am afraid. We also viewed a piece of embroidery that Mary had done of a cat and mouse - alluding to herself as the mouse and Queen Elizabeth I (her cousin) as the cat. If you google you can view it online.
This woman appeared to be giving me a severe look but photographs were allowed- honest!
Being one of those days where the sun comes and goes it was too dark to take photos in some of the rooms but I couldn't resist taking pictures of the gorgeous stairway and ceilings.
After touring the Palace we went outside and walked around the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Most of the ruins date from the 12th and 13th century. It is thought that the name Holyrood (the holy is pronounced as holly) originated because it was likely named after a fragment of the True Cross on which Christ was crucified brought back by St Margaret, mother of the founder David and rood is an old Scots word for cross.
We then walked around the garden a bit and oh yes, we had tea in the cafe before we left.
From there we headed back down the Royal Mile a bit...
A statue of the poet, Robert Fergusson outside of Canongate on the Royal Mile. (it's okay, I'd never heard of him either)
Finally, we emerged onto Princes St. which is the main shopping/tourist street in the New Town (built between 1767 and 1850) of Edinburgh.
Above is the Scott Monument - a memorial to the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott. It was erected in 1844.
Fact: I've visited Edinburgh four times (five if you include a three hour train stopover in 2016) and I have never visited Edinburgh Castle. I find it rather intimidating (I guess that was the purpose!) as it looms over the city - especially on a grey day. When someday I visit Edinburgh during the annual festival I will likely finally tour it when I go to the Edinburgh Tattoo. I am not really into military history which is what this castle is mainly about.
This statue of a man and a bear has an interesting story that I've just read about while doing this post. Wojtek was rescued as a cub by Polish soldiers in the Middle East in 1942 during World War II. When their unit was deployed to Europe they were not allowed to bring "pets" so he was enlisted as a member of the Polish army. He was given a name, rank and number and was part of the Italian campaign and a great help in moving boxes of ammunition. (he didn't drop a single box!) He also learned to drink beer and smoke (eat) cigarettes - my goodness that would have the animal rights people screaming these days! At the end of the war, the Polish soldiers were billeted in southern Scotland and of course Wojtek came along. When the Polish soldiers were redeployed back to Poland Wojtek was moved to the Edinburgh Zoo where he died in 1963. The statue not only represents a pretty cool bear (if you ask me) but freedom, as many of the Polish soldiers opted to make a life in Scotland rather than go back to Russian controlled Poland. There are many Polish names in Scotland today. For more information go to thesoldierbear.com.
This was taken from Princes Gardens which is a nice place to rest on a good day.
Another view of the Scott Monument.
By this time we were both pooped so headed back on the bus to our flat, stopping at Waitrose for a bite to eat for supper. That was day one in Edinburgh.
The next post will be about our visit to the Royal Brittannia - stay tuned!
Comments