Snowy Edinburgh (Edinburgh, UK)

 As you can see from the photograph, I woke up to a blanket of snow on the ground.  It made Edinburgh even more charming.  Milder temperatures came with the snow, so walking around the city today was not as bone chilling as yesterday.

Children's Playground in the Princes Street Gardens.

I began the day walking through the Princes Street Gardens.  The gardens are just below the castle cliffs.  
As I walked further on, I came upon a group of protesters on Princes Street.  They were well behaved, but vocal.

As I proceeded down Princes Street, I decided to climb the 287 steps to the top of the Sir Walter Scott Monument.  As it turned out, I only made it half-way up the narrow winding stairway to the first level of the monument.  I took some photos from that vista, one of which is attached.

Statue of Sir Walter Scott (at the base of thew monument)

My next objective was to take photographs inside St. Giles Cathedral, which requires a photo fee of 2 pounds.  It was well worth it, as I hope the attached photos will show.

John Knox

Tomb of Lord Montrose

While I was taking photos, there was a piano concert being performed in the middle of the central area of the cathedral.  It was mostly Chopin, and a delightful bonus to being in the cathedral.

Concert in the cathedral

In St. Giles Cathedral is the Thistle Chapel where the reigning sovereign bestows on distinguished Scottish citizens the Order of the Thistle.  It is an exquisitely beautiful chapel, and the attached photos really do not do it justice.

At a side altar of the cathedral in memory of those Scottish soldiers who died in World War II.

I left the cathedral and continued my tour of Old Town by visiting the University of Edinburgh.  Following that brief visit, I again proceeded down the Royal Mile and had a late lunch at the Missoni Hotel, near the entrance to Edinburgh Castle.

Statue of Adam Smith

This evening I am having dinner with Mairead's sister, Anne, and her daughter, Maeve.  

A Day on the Royal Mile (Edinburgh, UK)

As you can see from the above photograph, it was a sunny, but bitterly cold, day in Edinburgh.  There were flurries in the air in the late afternoon. I decided that it was a good day to take photos, and here are some of them:

Waverly Train Station, Edinburgh's main station.

Old Parliament Building next to St. Giles

It is considered good luck to spit on these cobblestones in the shape of a heart (next to St. Giles Cathedral).  They mark the location of the old jail where many were executed.

One of the many "closes" off of the Royal Mile.

A place of refuge during the persecution of Catholics by the Protestants.

House of the then enemy, John Knox.

New Parliament Building across from the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

One of many tablets of notable Scotsmen on the wall of the new Parliament.

Entrance to the Palace of Holyroodhouse

Ruins of Holyrood Abbey

Lunch at Clarinda's.

The poet, Robert Ferguson...and with that, adieu until tomorrow!

Lunch With New Friends (Edinburgh, UK)

I had a wonderfully delightful lunch and visit today at the Holyroodhouse Cafe with Mairead Doherty's sister, Anne, and her husband, Jim.  They live nearby in Portobello.  I called them at Mairead's suggestion at mid-morning today, and by 1:00 PM we were together for lunch.  They could not have been more hospitable and gracious.  After lunch, we briefly visited the Scottish Parliament. It is located directly across from the Palace of Holyroodhouse.   It is quite an impressive modern building whose unique architecture has been the topic of much debate among the Scottish.  I liked it!  We then proceeded along the Royal Mile as Jim, a native of Scotland, pointed out the historic facts about much of what is located along the Royal Mile, which is the heart of the Old Town of Edinburgh.  The Royal Mile is both an impressive and majestically beautiful street, rich in the history of Scotland.   Anne had some work to get done, so left Jim and me to continue the tour of the Royal Mile together.  We then visited the original Parliament building which, as I learned, was used for only a short time because of of the union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland.  The building is now part of the complex of buildings of the judiciary.  The tradition of the meeting room itself is for lawyers to confer with each other as they pace the room.  It has the quality of the lanes of a swimming pool as pairs of lawyers walk back and forth in straight lines.  After our brief visit to the old Parliament, we toured St. Giles Cathedral, the National Church of Scotland.  It is an architectural jewel, especially the Chapel of the Order of the Thistle.  As you may have surmised, Jim devoted a good part of his day guiding me through the historic sights of the Royal Mile.  He said that his retirement has given him the freedom to do what he was doing today.  Nonetheless, Jim was very generous with the time he spent with me.  We ended our tour together at the National Museum of Scotland.

St. Giles Cathedral

And now let me tell you how I spent my morning.  I was in search of an adaptor for my camera's battery charger.  [I brought with me a Samsonite electrical adaptor which I purchased in Boston.  It proved to be of no use!]  The spare battery I had with me had also lost its charge, so I was without any battery for my camera.  I finally located an adaptor, after inquiring at several stores, and was then able to use an outlet at a local Starbucks coffee shop to get a partial charge of the battery.  There was enough of a charge to take the few pictures which are attached to this post.  I hope tomorrow I will have more success in including more pictures in my posting.  Until then, cheers!

Hotel Balmoral at dusk.

Tea at Edinburgh Castle (Edinburgh, UK)

Now here is the real McCoy!  When I could not think of a Scottish bagpipe song to suggest to him when he asked me if I wanted to hear a particular song, he simply started to play Amazing Grace.  He is definitely a hearty soul.  It has been a terribly cold day, and he was playing at the same spot on Princes Street 4 hours after I first saw him.

I decided to make this Edinburgh Castle day, so after breakfast I began the trek to the top of the hill.  On my way there, one of the first buildings to catch my eye was, you guessed it, a church.  St. John's is right at the beginning of Princes Street, at the bottom of the hill where Edinburgh Castle is located.  You will see it to the left of the fiberglass bovine which is at the entrance to a restaurant across the street from the church.  Behind the church is a small graveyard with the grave of the mother of Sir Walter Scott.  Her headstone is the one in the foreground of the photo.

As I walked along Princes Street, I began to take photos of the castle on top of the hill.  It was a very gray day which you will notice from the photos.

A very gray day in Edinburgh

Before going to the castle, I stopped at the National Gallery which has an extraordinary collection of paintings.  The attached photo is the part of the complex of the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery.  I spent about an hour in the gallery and was thankful for the opportunity to stay warm before heading out again to climb the hill to the castle.

I arrived at the beginning of the Royal Mile, a significant street in the Old Town of Edinburgh that connects the castle to the Royal Palace, and the entrance of the castle.  I took a picture of the Royal Mile and turned to take a picture of the entrance to the castle and was surprised to find the battery of my camera had died.  I tried to recharge it last night with no success and thought I had a day left in it.  I do have a back-up battery, but it is in my suitcase.  It looks like I will take another trip to the castle tomorrow to take some photographs.  The views are stunning and panoramic, with snow capped mountains in the distance.  The visit to the castle itself was quite an adventure. It is unlike any others I have visited.  While there, I had a cup of tea in the "house" built for Mary, Queen of Scots.  It is next to the very house in which she lived and sits on the summit of the hill.  There is a small "tea restaurant" which is located this complex of buildings.  More of the castle tomorrow...

Part of the Royal Mile

In Bonnie Scotland (Edinburgh, UK)

When I arrived at King's Cross Station, I thought it odd that my train was leaving from Platform 93/4, but I was up for the   unexpected detour to Hogwart's.  Sadly, when the error was discovered I was redirected to Platform 3.  As I sat in the train station, I was amazed by the number of tourists who take photographs of this delighted display, most of whom get behind the trolley as though they were rushing forward pushing it.  This site must be mentioned in all the tour guides to get that much attention.

King's Cross Station

As you can see, it is not the Hogwart's Express, but it was a very comfortable 41/2 hour train ride from London to Edinburgh.  Take a look outside the window and you will see snow on the ground.  It snowed overnight and blanketed the ground from about 10 minutes outside of London to just beyond the border with Scotland.  The ride itself was captivating as we passed villages that looked like something out of a Dickens novel.  The forests were dappled with snow, and the howling of the wind faintly sounded like Robin Hood and his merry men.  Most of the countryside was wide stretches of farm land, with hundreds upon hundreds of sheep grazing in the fields.  At different points the train hugs the coastline along the English Channel.  It is something to behold, especially the scenic beauty of a small town in Scotland on the coast, Berwick on Tweed.  It would have been a perfect Kodak moment, if I were not on the train.   On cue, as soon as the train crossed the border into Scotland, there were a couple of golf courses bordering the tracks along the coast.  If that wasn't proof enough, the next sight I see is a herd of Black Angus cows grazing in the fields.  Another fascinating sight was to see a flock of sheep grazing on the steep incline of cliffs right at the water's edge.  I guess they use the wool from those sheep to make the really hearty Scottish woolens.  All in all, it really was a magical train ride. In fact, it did have the feel of the Hogwart's Express.

I arrived in Edinburgh around 3 in the afternoon and was warmly welcomed.  I dropped off my baggage, and did a minimal amount of sightseeing.  Continuing the theme of the last 2 days, I visited another church!  This time it was the Anglican Cathedral of Edinburgh, St. Mary's.  As darkness settled over Edinburgh, I headed back to unpack and rest for the next several days of enjoying all that Edinburgh has to offer.  Cheers!