The next morning, we had the option of getting up early, yet again, and going with Hugh as he would take us around the city of Edinburgh. We said eff that noise and took the rare opportunity to sleep in. Now, by sleeping in, I think we woke up between 9:30-10am so nothing crazy; but when you’re waking up between 6:30-7am every morn, its a nice change.
We had a quick breakfast and then got ready to go out. We had plans to meet with Chris and go around the city ourselves. When we arrived in the lobby, we saw Fiona and Georgia and had a little joke with them. We told them we had been out all morning already and were just getting back to pick up Chris…I don’t think they bought it…by this time, it was known to most that we two Americans liked our sleep!! They called bullshit but it was fun trying to hoodwink them anyhow…
At this point, Dani and Chris show up and we make our way down to the bus stop. If you pay 3 pounds 20, you get a day pass that will allow you to ride the buses all day. A bus arrived and none of us had the exact change required for the pass so we had to get off and go back up to reception at the hotel to change out. On the way back, we ran into Cara, who joined us. We got our change and headed back down to the bus stop. We paid our fare and went to the second floor. I guess while we were up there, the gang noticed some weirdo making faces at us and looking at us very strangely…I didn’t notice him so if any of you wanna comment on the character, feel free to. All I know is that he was weird and he got off a few stops before us…
We got off on Georges St. and started walking around. We were kinda hungry again so we decided to grab a quick bite. This would be Scruff and I’s first encounter with the Pret a Manger chain of sandwich shops and we loved it!! I guess the name of the restaurant comes from the French, “prêt à manger”, which means “ready to eat.” Either way, the sandwiches were really good and tasted fresh and delicious! In England and Scotland, there seem to be a Pret a Manger every few blocks; there are literally hundreds of them! I made a mental note to see if there were any in Chicago when we returned, and since I’m writing this post-trip, I can say that I have found three such places!! Yes!!
Our next stop was Edinburgh Castle, a monstrous fortress perched atop a hill (Castle Rock) at the center of Edinburgh. After a meandering hike up steps and old, narrow streets, we finally made it to the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the city that leads up to the castle.
One side note: Edinburgh was the windiest city I’ve ever been in. The whole day we were walking around and the wind did not abate one bit. I am from Chicago and it’s moniker is “The Windy City.” Well, then Edinburgh is the Windy City of Europe because its winds put Chicago’s to shame!! I guess a few days before we arrived, Edinburgh had record gusts of up to 104 mph!! You could jump in the air and the wind would move you. At one point when we were up on the Edinburgh Castle, Chris became a savior to some mother. She must have turned her back on her child in his/her stroller for one moment and the wind just took the stroller and baby and almost swept it off the edge of the walls!!! Luckily, Chris was right there and he snagged the wayward stroller and saved it for the mother! What a stud!!
Back to the day…we spent a long time exploring the castle and its different towers and buildings. We got to see the crown jewels of Scotland (but you won’t see them unless you travel there – they didn’t allow photos), various history lessons on the Scottish monarchy, and some other relics. I bought a nice whiskey gift box for my brother-in-law while we were touring the castle as well. The whiskies enclosed in the box were Oban, Dalwhinnie, and Glenkinchie, three very highly respected and favored brands.
We were also there for a massive artillery cannon to fire off a shell at 1pm. I can’t remember what the occasion is called but it’s done every day, I believe. (You guys reading help me out if you know the info). The only thing I remember hearing about it is that they used to fire off 12 shots at noon but it got too distracting and annoying so they moved it up one hour so they only have to do it once.
Fiona and Georgia weren’t too keen on getting blown away so they left us early and went back down to the city. Chris, Jon, Dani, Cara, and I came down later and went to Princes Street, the main shopping road in Edinburgh. We followed Cara to meet up with the two Amys, Mollie, Gaby, and Alex at a department store. We lingered there for a bit while Dani went to find some socks and then we split up. Cara stayed with the girls and Me, Jon, Chris and Dani went to find some shelter from the wind that was ripping through the city.
We found a pub on Rose Street, which was one block over and renown for its slew of pubs. When a young lad turns 18 and goes out to drink for his birthday with his mates, they draw a chalk outline of him where he fell down and passed out during the pub crawl!! We figured we would find a nice place to warm up and we did. We went to The Kenilworth, a pub founded in 1904 and takes its name from a novel by Sir Walter Scott, whose portrait hangs outside the building. Sir Walter Scott was a famous Scotsman/author as the Scottish rocket was erected in his honor.
We stayed there for a while and had some food. Since this was essentially my first pub in Scotland, I decided to order a half, or a whiskey. You don’t order a scotch when in Scotland…you’ll look stupid. So the bartender gave me a glass of Laphroaig…ugh!! I found out the hard way that Laphroaig is not one of the better whiskies around due to incredibly strong flavor! And to make it worse, I ordered it with ice; which is a major no-no when drinking a single-malt!! I only learned that bit later in the tour. How ironic; I order the drink the right way so I don’t look like a tourist and ruin it when I ask for ice!! I’m an idiot! LMAO! Chris and Jon just had beers and I think Dani just had soda. Hugh and Mark showed up while we were there and we had a few with them before we decided to head back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner and a night out…
