Day 3: Arthur's Seat, The Castle, and a Funny Pub Tour

 
Day three was our first full day in Edinburgh, and what a spectacular day we had. After a breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup we had to buy some change for the bus at a nearby tiny grocery store. Then we climbed on the #33 double-decker bus for downtown Edinburgh. Our first sight was the impressive and imposing Scott monument. Sir Walter Scott is beloved here (along with Robert Burns & Robert Louis Stevenson--and all thepoets and novelists of Scotland!) We walked half of the Royal Mile--aka High Street, which runs from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Park and Palace (the Queen's home in Scotland).

Once in the 600+-acre park, we took the steepest of several paths to the top of Arthur's Seat--a hill in the very middle of the city. There we got the most beautiful bird's-eye view of Scotland's capital. At 822 feet, the summit was not that hard to reach, but it gave us a work-out. I was very proud of Jan, who is not fond of heights, for climbing to the highest point. On the way back down we took a short side-trip to the ruins of St. Anthony's chapel. Very impressive and, actually, quite beautiful.

 

 

We headed back to the Royal Mile via Holyrood (pronounced Holly-rood) and took pictures of the

Queen’s palace. A lovely gentleman who worked at the palace gift shop (oh, yes, there is one!) told us how everything shuts down when the Queen visits once a year—but they love that she comes.

We took another bus to the middle of High Street and found a wonderful Scottish pub called The Royal MacGregor.  We both had fish and chips, which are nothing like what you get in the U.S. Here they are giant pieces of crispy-fried haddock with thick chips (French fries) and our favorite mushy peas (just what they sound like!)

Jan also had a flight of whisky—his first Scotch in Scotland.And I had cider--my favorite alcoholic drink. Only mine was Swedish-- well done me!

 One of the crazy things that goes on in Edinburgh in August is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I’ll do a whole post on this but for now, know that the crowds are State Fair sized!

This lovely Fringe Festival lady was so demur--until you dropped a coin in her bucket. This was for Jan :-)

 We wove through the shoulder-to-shoulder walls of people to Edinburgh Castle, where we purchased tickets and got to take a tour with Janice—a very fun and knowledgeable guide. The castle is really a fortress that was used far more for military housing than as a royal residency. It was besieged many times and was the site of a dinner party surprise murder that they say was the inspiration for the Red Wedding massacre scene in Game of Thrones. The whole fortress is amazing.

Our tour guide Janice.

McBrain (aka Hazel) doing Mr. Hyde from Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde,

Our final tourist activity of Tuesday was joining up with a Literary Pub Tour at a pub called The Beehive. Two wonderful actors (Paul and Hazel) played “Klart and McBrain” – a couple of literary know-it-alls who who argued from pub to pub about what truly influenced Scotland’s beloved poets:  was it the down and dirty life of the everyman in pubs and lower society? Or was it the wealthy high society that loved and supported them?

Klart (Paul) trying to prove it was the ladies who inspired Robert Burns.

 There was no answer except that it was mix of both, and we had a truly entertaining and intellectual night!

We capped off the day by eating at Milne’s bar—our last stop of the pub tour. Jan had gammon steak (cured but unsmoked pork) and I had Scottish sausage. Without a doubt, in this case I won! Gammon is way funnier tasting than haggis! Tired but impressed, we headed for Amar Agua ready for sleep—and Day 4 tomorrow!