Today we explored Edinburgh a bit more closely than yesterday, including a free walking tour by the same people as the one in London. Unfortunately, the guide this time around (another bloody Aussie!) wasn't quite as good as the bloke in London, but that could have also been a function of the weather. Today was the first day that we really felt the cold we were concerned about prior to leaving Melbourne. Fortunately, our jackets and various under-layers kept us pretty cosy – it was mainly our faces (and our bums whenever we sat down on a stone fence) that seemed to feel the cold, and even then only in the wind.
Anyway, our tour concentrated around the Old Town of Edinburgh, south of Princes Park (which used to be a Loch where all the town's sewerage was flushed to). We walked up the Royal Mile, a pretty cobblestone street that links Hollyrood Palace to Edinburgh Castle, stopping along the way to hear interesting stories concerning the unpopularity of King Charles II and the English methods of endearing him to the Scots, various characters like the minister of St Giles' Cathedral who remains the only person to be buried in the (now) carpark outside the church, witch burnings, the 'bodysnatchers' Burke and Hare, the graveyard prison of the Covenanter rebels who opposed the English church which is apparently haunted by the ghost of the prison guard MacKenzie, the only legal place to spit on the ground in Edinburgh, the cafe where Harry Potter was written, the story of the Skye terrier that returned to the grave of its master every day for fourteen years after he died, and numerous tales of executions (including one woman, Maggie Dickson, who survived) in the Grassmarket district. It was very informative, and although it sometimes felt overly rehearsed and directed at children, it was worth it. One thing I did notice is how dark all the buildings are here. Compared to London, the stone here is practically black, although the medieval beauty of it is enchanting.
Other than that, didn't really get up to much. The tour took up most of the day (at least 3 hours, most of the daylight hours here haha). We came back, did a little shopping and just tried to stay out of the wind.
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1 comment:
That guy in the last photo doesn't look too impressed with the idea of having his picture taken. He may also need to see a dentist...is that as common in Europe as it used to be, that is, poor oral hygiene?
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