London weary and on the mend, we hopped a train to Edinburgh. The advance ticket price for first-class was only nominally more expensive than coach, so we traveled in style. The train ride was phenomenal. Sitting on the East facing side of the car afforded perfect views of the coastline as we sped north to Scotland. The lunch on the weekend service is rather dull, another reason for the low first-class price. Coffee and tea were good, and before long we all needed a bathroom break. Virgin East Coast Train WCs are a modern marvel. The circular door whooshes open with the push of a button, and then you enter the Tardis. The bathroom extends over several acres and is completely touch free.
We caught the Angel of the North, enjoyed the views passing through Newcastle, admired Lindisfarne Castle from a distance, took as many pictures as there are arches on the Royal Border Bridge while gently curving around Berwick-upon-Tweed, and generally just soaked in the coastline. One town caught my eye as we passed, and I later learned from a teacher at YIS that it was Durham, where his wife had grown up before emigrating to New Zealand.
We arrived at Edinburgh Waverly and looked for the left luggage stand so that we could tour for a bit before checking into our AirBNB. Edinburgh newbie mistake – when they say High Street, they mean High Street. Google maps showed a short 10 minute walk from the station to our AirBNB. What is not shown is the Everest that is the Royal Mile when coming from Waverly. We walked up without our luggage and headed for the Greyfriars Bobby Statue, hoping to catch the Potter Trail tour. The kids decided they didn’t want to devote the time to it, so we walked over to Greyfriars Kirkyard and hunted down the Thomas Riddell marker before spending a considerable amount of time just perusing the cemetery. We passed the Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling began work on Harry Potter.
We picked our luggage up from the station, and exited to the north, which allowed us to ride the escalators up to Princes Street. We crossed North Bridge and from there it was only a slight incline up to the Royal Mile. We dropped down Blackfriars Street before carrying our luggage up 5 floors to our flat. The work was well paid, as the flat was well appointed and the views of Arthur’s Seat from the living room were fantastic.
We rested for a bit, then walked across town to the Hard Rock Cafe. As the Filipinos here say, same same. We crossed back over to High Street (stopping for a roll down the hill at the Princes Street Gardens) and climbed up to the entrance of Real Mary King’s Close. We all really enjoyed stepping back in time to the days when the closes were filled with residents, and marveled at the walls used as foundations for the modern buildings above. We also found out the little roll the kids took earlier was in what once was Nor Loch, the sewage collection point for the young city. Cade got a little woozy through the combination of a hot room and graphic descriptions of plague first-aid, but bounced back with some fresh air. We wound our way back to the flat, avoiding a lively demonstration by neo-fascists and a counter-protest by anti-neo-fascists.
The next morning we prepped for a long day with a stop at Caffe Nero. Sufficiently caffeinated, we headed to the top of the Royal Mile. A visit to Camera Obscura resulted in hours of fun by all. There were floors of fun illusions, and we had fun picking up the tourists outside while viewing the camera.
We exited and walked up the hill to Edinburgh Castle. The kids some some ice cream to eat. Cade found the archer’s windows. We toured the grounds and visited a whisk(e)y sampling before grabbing a spot beside St Margaret’s Chapel for the One o’Clock Gun We finished by touring the Great Hall and the Prisons of War before making our way back down to the entrance.
We were all approaching hangry, so we bee-lined for Oink. We’d found this place online and, in addition to glowing reviews, our locale-restricted diets of no pork means the driest shoulder, the most burnt bacon, and the blandest sausage are still delicacies while OOK. Oink did not disappoint, and based on the line that formed up the street right after we ordered and grabbed the only table in the place, this is consistent. We then continued on down to Grassmarket and visited a few shops. Procuring only candy, thoughts turned to the rest of the afternoon. We had nothing planned, so the girls wanted to look for a nail salon.
The boys had no interest in manicures, so we decided to make the pilgrimage to St. Andrews. We got to cross the Firth of Forth on the train ride up. A short bus ride dropped us near the 18th hole, so we waited for a group to pass before running out for pictures on Swilcan Bridge. We walked to the starter house and asked for a few scorecards. We crossed the street and visited the small beach before walking up to the Himalayas Putting Course. The main course was still off limits when we arrived, but we were able play the 9 hole course. It was tons of fun sharing that time with Cade, but we both need some practice on links style greens before challenging for the British Open. After visiting a few shops, we stood at a bus stop for about 15 minutes before realizing the bus station was just up the hill from us. The whole transit was reversed and we watched NBA videos on the train ride back.
We stopped in at a burrito shop for a late supper and found at that the girls had given up on finding an open salon. They changed tack and brought pizza back to the flat with all the supplies needed to give each other manis and pedis. They had lots of laughs together and we all settled in for a good night’s rest after a busy two days in Edinburgh.
From Tennessee To Texas to Saudi Arabia 