Today is Day 12 of my trip. I have been so lucky to start my first two legs staying with friends and experiencing the best hospitality I could even ask for. Thank you again Nic and Stu – you have made my time in Edinburgh unforgettable and I greatly appreciate everything you had done for me while I was here. Thank you!
After a 5 hour train through the English and Scottish countryside, I arrived in Edinburgh. All along the ride, the hills were changing from bright green to bright yellow. Like me, you may be asking, why bright yellow? I later learned that was “rape seed”. It was the most brilliant yellow and allowed me to stare out the windows and remain entertained.
Patches of bright yellow mixed in green fields
Bright Yellow “Rape Seed”
When I arrived in Edinburgh, Nic brought me back to her house and I met up with her family – where I was lucky to play futbol (soccer) in (my bare feet and skirt) with Stu and the two boys (Dylan 5 and Ben 7).
A little history of Nic and Stu…I met them both in Ireland in 2000 on a bike trip. They were there with their brother Andrew and I was there with my friend Suzanne. Suzanne and Andrew really hit it off on this trip and after she traveled Europe for 4 months, he moved to California for work for 3 months, she moved to Ireland for her masters degree and the romance continue until…Andrew and Suzanne got married. So I was reunited with Nic and Stu at the wedding in 2004 and contacted them as I wanted to reunite when I came to their home in Scotland this year. So great to keep friendships and connections going. So my invitation is for the Davidson family to come visit me in 2012 (as we meet every 4 years)
My goals for Edinburgh were all met. I wanted to spend time exploring the city, seeing local culture and spend time with the family and really experience daily life here.
For my two days:
1. I spent 3 hours at Edinburgh Castle. I have a thing for castles and try to see all I can. This one had so much history and I soaked it all up.
A few fun facts to share:
-It`s actually perched on an extinct volcano – wouldn`t want to be there if it became active again
-The crown jewels were buried deep in the castle and only 4 people knew the lock combination (3 Scottish Royalty and the last was the Head of Canada – in case everyone in Scotland was captured). Bright idea!
-There is still a large gun that goes off at 1:00 every day (and it was SOOOO loud – I jumped). Many people thought 1 was an odd time – why not 12 noon? The Scottish were trying to save money by using 1 shell and not 12 each time. Smart people!
Gun goes off every day at 1:00 as one shell is cheaper than 12 if it went off at noon.
-The oldest church (and even oldest building in all of Scotland) is at the top of the castle. It was the smallest church I`ve ever seen
Tiny alter in small church
That is the outside of the smallest church ever
– For the dog lovers – there was even a cemetery for the soldiers dogs
-During war, the POW`s were treated really well with lots of meat, bread, 2 pints of beer a day. The American POW`s were considered pirates and only got bread. Not fair if you ask me.
2. Tartan Weaving Mill – I knew there was Gunn Tartan (plaid) and I wanted to go see how they weaved it. It really was fun to watch the process with looms and all the yarn. I didn`t realize how much goes into making those plaids – and I did find the Gunn Tartan (both the original and the modern colors). Guess in the olden days, they didn`t have all the bright colors and the old tartans used vegetable dyes. So one of the plaid lines used to be orange (carrot dye?) and now it`s red. Much nicer in modern colors in my opinion.
Tartan weaver
3. Thursday night was a nice treat. I went out to the country side where Nic`s parents recently moved. Nic, her mom and Nic`s oldest son Ben all went for a walk along more of the rape seed, and we had a lovely time. Then back to the house for dinner and some fun with the grand kids. We had a wonderful night and added to the whole experience. Thanks for a great family dinner.
Nic and her older son Ben in the country by her parents with all the rape seed.
Friday morning, I set out for more of the city. I was taking the local buses into town, which was another fun way to see the city.
4. I was told I had to learn about Scotch Whisky – so off to the Whisky center I went. Figured a great way to start my day at noon – learn about Whisky and do some tasting. I will say, I appreciate the process a lot more now and didn`t realize how many steps went into it and the 3 years it must live in American oak. I still don`t care for it too much and will go for my wine or beer, but at least I appreciate the process and can drink it with friends if served.
Whisky tasting tour. No photos were allowed inside, but these were carts used in distillary
5. A good amount of my time was spent just wandering around the streets and enjoying the buildings. Everywhere I looked, there were castle like buildings, or steeples or something else fun to look at. I also liked how all the buildings were made from a sandstone which is really soft and absorbs the dirt and pollution – making them all black – but it was nice to look at as the city looked old and beautiful. Almost forgot – the cobble stones…almost twisted my ankle a few times, but held my balance and no injuries yet!
Traditional bagpiper
6. The final big sight I wanted to see was called “Real Mary King`s Close”. This was a whole underground city that is supposed to be haunted. Back in the day, the government tore down all the houses in one neighborhood above ground as it was cheaper to tear down then fix what was there. It forced all the people to move to the lower levels and this underground city was born. You could tell the wealth differences based on each “house”. Some were only 1 room, yet 12 people lived there. I would say smaller than most New York studio apartments. Many people died there due to the black plague and other sickness and there are many accounts of ghosts, haunting and the such. The night before I went, there was a front page photo and article in the evening paper (and this was real paper not a National Enquirer type) showing a photo of a ghost taken by infrared camera – and the photo supports many accounts over the years of people feeling or sensing the same ghost – so they are taking it seriously and looking into it more. So there was much a buzz about this. I found it to be a great history lesson on the city and a lot of fun.
7. Final night – we walked a mile to a wonderful fish dinner on the pier with the family and grandparents. It reminded me of Santa Barbara as the sun was out, eating right on the water – such a nice end to my time here.
Entire Davison family at my send off dinner
Now for cooking at Nic and Stu`s – this was a one big difference. They have a fancy “Aga” stove that came in the house when they moved in. This was a new cooking appliance to me and I was curious to learn more. First, it`s always on and runs on gas. You don`t turn to a temperature, just pick the right oven based on the heat you need to cook the food. One was a steamer, one kept things warm, one was used for baking and one for grilling. Not sure what the other 2 do (as there are 6 ovens). I was able to learn how to do a few basic things while I was here (boil water, make steamed potatoes and even made 2 types of muffins). I know this is more cooking than some of my friends can do – but it`s a good start for me. Cooking was something I wanted to do as I didn`t know when I would get to cook again. To make the muffins, I had to measure all the ingredients on a scale as they don`t use cups. So it was 10 oz on flour, 3 oz of sugar… and such. I didn`t realize that liquids weren`t measured this way – but everything turned out well so it was all good.
So now I`m packing up in Edinburgh and about to head to the airport. I will fly back to London and then off to Bergen, Norway to see the fijords. I really hope I get there on time, as my hostel reception closes at 2am (and I land at 11:45pm). If customs or transportation takes a while – I will be hanging out in an internet cafe in town that I heard was open until 4am (or maybe a pub if they are still open). So think positive thoughts that I get there on time!
Here`s a link to all my Scotland photos in Snapfish:
http://www1.snapfish.co.uk/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=225846805/a=13210121/t_=13210121