Edinburgh Scotland is somewhere I never thought of visiting until the opportunity arose. My sister had a work conference in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, one week each. Did I want to go with her? Yes! I did not know how I was going to be able to pay my way, but at least I was sharing a hotel room with her, so I only had to cover the airfare and food. We booked the trip. It was in July; I don’t like being too hot, but did not worry. The average temperature high in Scotland in July was 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Sounded great to me! I lived in California & my sister lived in Idaho. I flew to Boise and we flew to Chicago together, then on to Edinburgh.
When we arrived in Scotland, my sister and I happened to be the first off the plane. The customs agent was at a raised counter and we handed her our passports. Then the most interesting thing happened; she heard our American accents and apparently wanted to keep us talking! She asked how long we would visit, where we were from, and basically acted like we were old friends catching up. Such friendliness from our first Scottish person amused us. Eventually, seeing the line forming behind us from the plane arrival, I asked, “Are we alright to go now?” She said, “Yes! Of course!” and handed our passports back to us. I had such experiences at home, keeping someone talking with an interesting accent just to hear it more. This was not an isolated incident, as we soon found out!
Edinburgh – First Day
We were surprised to see that the weather report lied to us; it was an extremely rare 80 degrees Fahrenheit in Edinburgh! After exchanging some of our dollars for local currency, we boarded a bus to a school where my sister’s convention was happening that week. People were getting sunburned as we traveled to our lodging, taking many pictures as we went. After we arrived at Pollock Halls of Residence, The University of Edinburgh, we put our luggage in the small dorm room (but we had our own private bathroom!) and went to the front desk to find out what was available around us. Everyone was lovely to listen to with their natural brogue!
Finding a grocery store so we could eat on the cheap was like finding a needle in a haystack. They were not easy to find, as has been my experience in California. We eventually found one, and everything they had was so interesting; unlike familiar products. It was so fun to see the variety of items!
My sister had the great idea to climb a mountain (well, a hill…) near our lodging. Now, keep in mind I was not in shape (overweight), and she had not long before lost a lot of weight. I did not really want to climb this hill, but did not want to miss out on seeing the sunset from the top, which we did! There were stone steps to help with the climb, which helped immensely. I was a sweaty mess and huffing and puffing, but eventually made it to catch up with her. The view was pretty great, and the sunset was fabulous.
The first night
We walked down the other side of the hill, figuring we would find our way back to our lodging. We could see with the fading daylight all the way to a parking lot, and we started up a street. Finding a pub, we ducked inside to use their restroom, and we loved the atmosphere! It seemed like they were built for short people – the ceilings were low. In Scotland, unlike the U.S.A., the sign does not say “restroom.” It says “toilets!” They are quite literal there. We were confused while walking uphill once back on the street, because it was not that late but it seemed like a deserted town after dark. There were shops, and we were surprised to see they all closed at 6 pm!
My sister shared that she felt safe on this dark street because it reminded her of Disneyland. I agreed, even though we should not let our guards down just in case! I thought that was fascinating. Later, we both found out through Ancestry DNA that we are both about half Scottish, and I thought that was why we felt so comfortable there. Maybe that is true and maybe not, but I thought so. We found an open café and went inside. We found lemon cheesecake on the menu, and we both had a slice. (We’ve been obsessed ever since…) Since it was dark and we were without a map, we didn’t realize just around the corner, at the top of the uphill street, was Edinburgh Castle! We visited it later in the week. We had been on Princes Street, it turned out.
Edinburgh Castle
My sister and I had a wonderful long visit at Edinburgh Castle after the first day of her conference. The entry was relatively cheap, and had a war museum on the property as well, which was fascinating! The view on either side of the property was wonderful, city on one side and view of the ocean on the other. We explored and took pictures for hours. The stone surround and grounds were a sight to behold. The one o’clock gun, like a small cannon, (shot into the ocean) was there, showing the Scots’ thriftiness; why shoot more than one cannonball? The original thought was a twelve o’clock gun, but that would be a waste!
We spent many hours at the castle, taking tons of pictures. We purchased some small mementos from the gift shop in the war museum. The weather was wonderful—a bit humid and partly cloudy, and not too cold or hot. This weather was similar to the weather in the San Francisco Bay area, where I lived at the time. The beautiful and ancient architecture of the entire city, not just the castle, enthralled us.
The Streets of Edinburgh
We shopped for a while, or window shopped, after visiting the castle. There was a loud, happy group coming toward us on the street while we were between shops. They were actual Hare Krishnas! A woman in the group handed me a flyer and invited to a meeting the next day. I had heard of them, being born not long after the 1960s, but had never seen any in real life. Delightful!
My sister did not get as close to the group since she was more interested in the shop we were browsing in. They were quite a sight, with tambourines and other musical instruments, singing and dancing as they moved along. I suppose I am susceptible to energy, as we all are, but I loved their happy energy. It was exuding from them! No, I did not go to their meeting, but the flyer is how I knew who they were.
The Underground – Not What You Think
My sister and I had heard a tale in the first taxi we rode in; that during the Black Plague, they just built another city on top of the one that was there, leaving the residents to die with the “black death”! Apparently that was just to shock us tourists, although there was a bit of truth to the story. They did not actually leave anyone to die, but they DID build a city on top of the old system! When we found that out, we had to take the tour!!
There were several tours available, but the one we chose was The Real Mary King’s Close. The Close was named so because everyone used to live so close to each other. Literally. Okay, that’s just my definition. There were stories of rooms going up so high! In the one room we visited, which was the example, there was a bucket in the corner. For the whole family to use as a toilet. At the end of the day, one person would yell, “Guardy Loo!” and throw the contents of the bucket into the alley – right outside the door!
More of Underground Edinburgh
The higher the floor, the richer the family. The alley was shared and open going up! The bottom floor would have a river of waste going downhill to the water. Is it any wonder there was a horrible disease that wiped out a lot of the population?? Standing in the alley, looking up, was eerie. There really was a city built on top of where we stood. The current Edinburgh!
The people who completed that task did not actually leave anyone down there to die. There was a room that was a recreation of the doctor coming to visit a sick patient with his long black beak mask, fully covered. It really creeped me out!! The lighting was low and it was very well done. We were happy to leave when the tour was over, but it was great! I would recommend the tour. If you are in the area, here’s how to book a tour: Go to this link. (not sponsored)
Ceilidh
One night, we saw a Ceilidh advertised and we took a taxi to attend! We had no idea how to say that word, but someone told us it was pronounced KeeLee. Okay! It was a super fun music and dance party! One could not possibly attend without being happy, or becoming so. Irresistible is how I would describe the traditional type of dancing. We watched but did not participate… yet! The next week in Glasgow, we attended another and got in there! At this one, there was at least one man who was wearing a kilt and the rest of the traditional outfit. He looked great. There were not a lot of instruments playing the music and only one singer, but it was plenty!
We took a bus back to our lodging in the dark, trying to figure out where to go. We stopped & went to a McDonald’s – they had different things there! I got a kid’s meal, and instead of chicken nuggets, there were fish sticks! Excellent choice.
When our week was up, we took a train to Glasgow for the second week. More to come!
