June 18th, 2012

Day 29: Edinburgh, Scotland

After a late night last night, I tried my best to get up early and was up, ready and out the door with breakfast in hand by 11am. I met up with a friend from the night before (and Australian kid named Andrew) and we started our adventure.

The two of us had both gone on the walking tour the day before so we had a pretty good understanding of the layout of the city. Our first stop was the Scott monument, a tall, thin, dark tower that is currently the largest monument ever to be created for a literary figure in the world. There are 287 steps to get up to the top of the monument that rise up in a skinny spiral- a great workout to start the day! We were able to get some really great skyline shots of the city from the various levels we stopped on.

After the monument, we walked across the city to the side opposite Edinburgh castle to visit Calton Hill. Edinburgh is sometimes known as the ‘Athens of the North’ because of their art and the long list of enlightened scholars and literary figures that have been produced by the city. Rightly so, there are several monuments up on Calton Hill that pay tribute to Athens and. For example, the National Monument of Scotland is a replica of the Parthenon in Athens. We got some really great views from this height as well, and enjoyed the rest of the monuments that were up on the hill.

From here, we decided to take on Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s Seat is something that I’d read about before coming to Edinburgh and it was a perfect day for it! On our way from Calton Hill to Arthur’s Seat, we took a few wrong turns that lead us into an old cemetery, through Hollyrood park and by the Royal Palace, but they were all great sights to see along the way as well! Arthur’s Seat isn’t so much of a hike as it is a hillwalk. It was semi-steep, but nothing ridiculous! Andrew and I got to the top and hung out there for a bit. Another great view!

Arthur's Seat from a distance

As we were coming to the bottom and walking away from the hill, we realized that we’d taken the lower of 2 paths that could bring you to the top. Bummer that we didn’t get as high as the other path, but it would have been the same view either way!

After we conqured Arthur’s Seat, we decided it was time for some lunch and I dragged Andrew to The Elephant Seat. Yes, just so I could say that I ate at the café that the Harry Potter sensation was born in. I had a baked potato with smoked salmon and cream cheese- yummmm! Then we continued to zigzag across the city taking in the gorgeous weather and incredible architecture at the same time. Eventually we found ourselves at Edinburgh castle and decided to see how far we could get without tickets. 15 pounds is expensive to look around a castle, but we were able to get into the stadium (that’s used for the Royal Scotland Tattoo) and then through to a courtyard of sorts in the castle walls, but not any farther! We heard a lot about the castle and how it was utilized on our walking tour though so at least we got a bit of information and a short glimpse!

The outside of the stadium

Castle Entrance!

We tried to then go to the Royal Bank of Scotland- they have 1 million pounds on display in a museum so you can see just how big it really is- but unfortunately they were closed. L

Then, we started to explore a bit of New Town since we’d spent most of our time on the other side in Old Town. We went into a few shops, got some snacks and continued to just wander around. We stumbled on some cool monuments and great gardens! New Town is primarily dominated by shops and expensive restaurants (which I don’t have the room in my bag for or money to spend). 

Nick- this is for you!

All in all, we took advantage of the gorgeous day we had in Edinburgh (about 60 degrees and sunny!) to the fullest! And we were constantly walking for about 6 and a half hours- too bad there were no pedometers in the picture! I’d love to see just how far we walked.

Afterwards I went back to my hostel to charge my phone/relax for a bit and then we went over to a pub across the way from my hostel called the Royal Mile Tavern for some dinner. I had some fish and chips that were delicious! As is the common theme of the day, we then wandered around until it got dark (which wasn’t until about 10:45pm) and then met up with the 2 Austrian girls (Lisa and Laura) that we’d hung out with the night before at ‘The Last Drop’ in Grassmarket. We hadn’t gone back to Grassmarket since our walking tour so wanted to make sure we paid the place a visit again! The Last Drop is a pub has historical significance- anyone who was to be hanged (in Grassmarket, which was where the gallows were) for a crime was entitled to their ‘last drop’ of whisky prior to their execution. It was a cozy little pub, very comfortable! We got a few drinks and played a couple games of Jenga to finish off the night.

I headed back to the hostel with Lisa and Laura, said goodbye to Andrew and gang and started putting my stuff together for my early morning departure!

Favorite part of the day: Not having an agenda and seeing so so much. We didn’t plan anything or orchestrate what we’d do next and I really enjoyed exploring the city in that way. I feel like I know the city center pretty well after only 2 days!