a good way to measure the greatness of your day is by the soreness of your feet. and let me tell you, today made my feet sore. so, so sore; which translates into, "today was a great, great day." i probably walked at least 10 miles. all around edinburgh. i saw the city from nearly every angle possible, as we went from hill top to hill top to hill top.
the whole big group of us started out together by going to the edinburgh castle, which i have decided to call castle town, because it's like a whole town inside of the castle walls. this was the first hill top of the day, and allowed us a wonderful view of the city we had yet to explore. our tour guide told us some funny stories in his funny plaid pants, and informed us all about the wonders of the scottish people.
here's an outside look at the castle from below
and and inside look at the castle town inside the castle...town...walls...thing...
the crowned jewels were inside this clock tower (but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the buildings)
the castle town's chapel
mr. tour guide man. tim was his name, i think.
and the view from the top. you can't really see it, but on the other side of that tree on the right there is a big cliff on a big hill. we hiked up that later in the day. and see the hill out in the distance just to the left of the center? we walked up there too. just wait, you'll get a better idea of it all as the blog goes on (hopefully).
after a look around the castle, we all headed over to the writer's museum. now, i love literature. and i have so much respect for authors and am all about a nation having pride in their countrie's literature. but let's be real for a minute. the only legitimate, world renowned scottish author worth investing a museum exhibit in is robert louis stevenson (he wrote kidnapped, strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, treasure island, etc.). i think that the museum curator was well aware of that as well, as nearly the whole museum was dedicated to him. i bought a book of his poetry that reminds me of shel silverstein. i love shel silverstein, so i'm excited about this book.
after the museum some of us went off to start our exploring. we walked along the royal mile on high street (the most famous street in the city), and shopped, shopped, shopped. it was a beautiful walk. in between the shops are giant churches and amazing buildings. this city is known for its incredible architecture [dad, now i know why you want to come here. you'd be doodling blue prints on napkins all day after seeing a city like this]. here's a look at the royal mile and some of the very, very, very cool buildings around edinburgh.
one of the tackier shops of the day...
after the museum some of us went off to start our exploring. we walked along the royal mile on high street (the most famous street in the city), and shopped, shopped, shopped. it was a beautiful walk. in between the shops are giant churches and amazing buildings. this city is known for its incredible architecture [dad, now i know why you want to come here. you'd be doodling blue prints on napkins all day after seeing a city like this]. here's a look at the royal mile and some of the very, very, very cool buildings around edinburgh.
one of the tackier shops of the day...man, i look good in plaid. too bad i'm not scottish.
and now feast your eyes on some of these stunning little structures. and by little i mean big.
at the end of the royal mile is the holyrood palace. it was closed today so we couldn't go past the gates, but here's a look at her from the outside.
once at the bottom of high street, we made our way up the next peak of the day. up up up the hills of holyrood park, along the cliffs to king arthur's seat. now, technically i didn't make it all the way to the seat. but i still got to take in another view of the city, and this one was by far the best panorama.
by the time we made it back, we were hungry and sore and tired and loving every minute of it. all of those things were just proof of how well spent our only day in edinburgh was. thanks for frolicking with me, katie and cynthia. i so enjoyed your company, and the adventure wouldn't have been the same without you girls. and thank you edinburgh for the amazing sights and incredible experience. i hope to come back here some day to see even more of the city (if that's possible). until then, isle be seeing you...
and now feast your eyes on some of these stunning little structures. and by little i mean big.
at the end of the royal mile is the holyrood palace. it was closed today so we couldn't go past the gates, but here's a look at her from the outside.
once at the bottom of high street, we made our way up the next peak of the day. up up up the hills of holyrood park, along the cliffs to king arthur's seat. now, technically i didn't make it all the way to the seat. but i still got to take in another view of the city, and this one was by far the best panorama.a view of the hill from the bottom
and here we go, starting the hike up it
don't worry. i didn't get hit by any dangerous falling rocks.
once you go to the top of the other side of the hill you get to this. see the peak on the left side? on the tip top pointy part of that is arthur's seat.
and here we go, starting the hike up it
don't worry. i didn't get hit by any dangerous falling rocks.
once you go to the top of the other side of the hill you get to this. see the peak on the left side? on the tip top pointy part of that is arthur's seat.
i opted out of that climb and layed down in a field of fluffy grass, taking in the amazing view i already had before me. if you click on this picture you can see it in a larger scale, and if you look off in the distance on the left hand side at the top of the skyline you can see the castle that i was at earlier in the day. now, if you look to the far right hand side you'll see a big green hill. that's where we were off to next.
[side note: the weather here is crazy. at the top of the holyrood hill we could see all of edinburgh, and all around the city different weather was happening. (maybe you can tell by looking at the picture). in one part of town it was sunny and clear, and in another it was cloudy and raining. and all the time, no matter rain or shine, there is freezing cold wind. and i mean freezing. basically, i couldn't feel my hands all day. so note to self, next time i come to edinburgh--bring gloves].
[side note: the weather here is crazy. at the top of the holyrood hill we could see all of edinburgh, and all around the city different weather was happening. (maybe you can tell by looking at the picture). in one part of town it was sunny and clear, and in another it was cloudy and raining. and all the time, no matter rain or shine, there is freezing cold wind. and i mean freezing. basically, i couldn't feel my hands all day. so note to self, next time i come to edinburgh--bring gloves].once we made it to the bottom of the holyrood hills, we experienced some rain ourselves. and it wasn't just any rain. it was edinburgh rain. which means it was freezing rain mixed with ice wind, coming at you from all directions. luckily (like i said) the weather is crazy, and the rain stopped after five minutes and we were back in the sunshine. so once the downpour ceased, we made our way to the final peak of the day: calton hill. calton hill has a bunch of beautiful monuments on it, as well as yet another breathtaking view of the city.
one last look at edinburgh. see if you can spot the castle.
one last look at edinburgh. see if you can spot the castle.
by the time we made it back, we were hungry and sore and tired and loving every minute of it. all of those things were just proof of how well spent our only day in edinburgh was. thanks for frolicking with me, katie and cynthia. i so enjoyed your company, and the adventure wouldn't have been the same without you girls. and thank you edinburgh for the amazing sights and incredible experience. i hope to come back here some day to see even more of the city (if that's possible). until then, isle be seeing you...
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