Hikes and Sights

April 30, 2010

Well, I’m on a train back to England. And it is really hard to type crammed in this seat with my computer turned down to absolutely zero contrast to conserve battery and the train rolling around on the tracks. But I have to tell you about Edinburgh. I loved it! Viv and I concluded on the last day of our vacation that it was the city of sights, smells, and stairs. My legs are exhausted, my sinuses clear, and I have more panoramic pictures on my camera than anyone should ever have. Back to England, a quick stop to visit Viv’s cousins, and then London. My absolute last day. And I’m not really sad. Just excited to get home. Ask me after a week of living with Judy’s constant questions, sharing a car with the fam (no Tube!), and no digestives and I might say otherwise. But for right now, I’m super excited to see everyone and just relax.

Okay, Wednesday was a busy day. We woke up early and met our friend Laurel from London and her mom, who were also in Edinburgh for the week. We hopped on a tour bus bound for the decommissioned Royal Yacht, Britannia. The yacht and the tour were pretty interesting. We sat in the sunroom where Queen Elizabeth loved to take her tea in the morning as she traveled the globe, saw the piano where Diana loved to play after supper, and ate fudge that was Prince Harry’s favorite. They still make it for all the tourists. It was delicious. After the tour, we sat down for tea at the restaurant aboard the ship. Laurel’s mom, Lisa bought us all lunch and it was so nice of her!

After the yacht, we split from Laurel and Lisa when Viv and I headed for the Palace at Holyroodhouse. Yes, that is all one word. I’ve been stumbling over the pronunciation all week. Anyway, this is the Queen’s official residence in Edinburgh, but even better, this is where Mary, Queen of Scots lived during her crazy reign as queen. I’m reading a book about her right now, so it was pretty interesting to actually see some of the places described in the book. There was this massive bed that belonged to her second husband that was just ridiculously decorated. Pretty much gold, lace, stain and big rubies. And the gardens around the palace were so pretty. Too bad the wind was crazy and kept blowing up my skirt! Oh, and the ruins of this old abbey were the best part. Straight out of a movie. There was no ceiling, just old pillars, some stone walls, and a frame of a giant stained-glass window that had been blown out.

So we started to head back to our hostel after that tour, but then decided to climb Calton Hill for some reason. This hill, more like a mountain, sits right in the middle of town and has about a dozen monuments to people or battles on top of it. Panting and tired, we finally reached the top. It was amazing! We could see everything. The entire city, the sea, the rolling hills. B-E-A-UTIFUL! We had to sit down for a while to recover and enjoy the view. Probably the best part of our trip.

After that excursion, we headed back to the hostel to collect my laptop and headed to Starbucks for free internet! Of course, we watched Glee illegally off the web. We are addicted. And then ate some Indian food for supper. Pretty good day if you ask me!

All right, Thursday was pretty much the same things. More walking, more castles, and more Starbucks. We got to the Edinburgh Castle just as it opened and were the first ones in. What good tourists we are! The castle reminded me a lot of the Tower of London – a huge stole wall surrounding a bunch of little towers and courtyards. Everything revolved around war or the military. Not as exciting as the Mary Queen of Scots drama, but still good. Everyone there wore kilts and everywhere we went we heard the Scottish national anthem or bagpipes. How patriotic! More good views as we looked over the sides of the wall. Literally, this castle sits on the highest point in Edinburgh so you can see everything. Unfortunately, the wind was crazy, so in every pictures my hair is all over… not cool. After checking out the gift shop, we headed back to the hostel for some warmer clothes. Who knew Scotland was cold?

Next was a long hike to the west side of town for the Scotland Museum of Modern Art and the Dean’s Gallery. Both were good. I can honestly say, that I have gotten sick of looking at art. For now, at least. A long walk back followed by a nap and some coffee at Starbucks put me in a good mood. More free internet and then an early bed time.

And today, we are currently on our way to Darlington. I said goodbye to Edinburgh and Scotland. Hopefully, I’ll be back some day. But as of right now, I can only think about getting home. Have I mentioned how excited I am??

Love,
Kelly