Our last day in Edinburgh

On our last day in Scotland, we decided to venture outside the city to a little village called Duddington. Just a mile away from Duddingston is Craigmillar Castle, an old medieval ruin. We decided to check that out first. 

Again, really, really windy.

 Then, we made our way to the village. There wasn't much there, but it was just a lovely little town. Very picturesque, on a hill right by the water.

So quaint.

After that, it was so cold, and we were so tired from all of our travels, that we decided to call it a quits and went back to the hostel to relax and warm up. We ended up staying in for the evening just chilling and reading in the lounge.

The next morning we got up early and went straight to St. Andrew's Square to catch the bus back to London. It was a brutal 9 1/2 hour bus ride. It wasn't so bad though, we had each other for company.

Spending Reading Week in Dublin and Edinburgh was just fantastic, we had a spectacular time just exploring the cities and seeing the sights. I hope I can go back one day. Still, it was good to get back to London and have our own rooms again. I know I needed a break from backpacking, I was totally wiped.

 So, hello again to London town! 

Edinburgh Day III

We started off our next full day at the Museum of Scotland. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was not only surprised, but totally blown away by this museum. It was like the Franklin Institute, but with free admission. 

The museum had this gorgeous main lobby and you went up each of its levels for a new exhibit

The museum exhibited national and natural history including ancient fossils and dinosaur skeletons, mummies, asteroids, and fashions from the 1800s, this museum had everything!

It even had Dolly, the first sheep that was successfully cloned in Scotland not too long ago.

Narwhals!

 The museum had an amazing rock collection on display that reminded me of the one my Grand-mom used to have---I bet she would have loved the exhibit.

Giant purple quartz (i.e. amethyst)

Giant clam shell

Mike and I had only planned to stay at the museum for about 45 minutes, but it was so much fun we had to drag ourselves away after two hours!! We probably wouldn't even have left except we realized we wouldn't have time to do anything else.

After the museum we decided to stop by a famous monument of a little dog called Bobby. This dog was famous because after its owner died, it sat by his grave every day until it died. Apparently, when the cannon sounded at one o'clock, the dog went to the local pub for its lunch.

 The dog belonged to Grayfriar, right behind the monument is Grayfriar's Kirk and cemetery. Apparently they still conduct some services in Gaelic there. 

Also right nearby, we were just walking along and came upon this sign!

 We had stumbled upon the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter!!! 

I went inside, despite Mike's protestations of how lame I was, and I could just feel the amazing-ness of the place. It was positively magical.

Then we made it to the Grassmarket--another popular tourist attraction. There are tons of lovely restaurants along it, and I believe, when it's warmer there are also lots of street vendors along the road. 

 Then we walked to the National Gallery. Here's some of what we saw along the way:

The Balmoral Hotel, a gorgeous five-star hotel in Edinburgh and where J.K. Rowling finished the series!

There are lovely gardens right outside the National Gallery

 

A busker playing the bagpipes

The Scots Monument. A monument to Sir Walter Scott. Apparently you can climb it, but I was too scared.

Then we made it to the National Gallery. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but here was the facade.

The museum had some wonderful pair portraits by Frans Hals that I'd studied at Vassar as well as a elegant John Singer Sargent portrait that I also studied at Vassar---I was in heaven.

After the museum we went to the HMV, a CD and DVD store, to do some browsing, and then we did some window-shopping at Princes Mall, an underground mall in New Town. 

We stopped to get pizza for dinner, the first good pizza I've had in the U.K. Since nothing's really open at night, but we weren't tired yet, we decided to see a movie and caught the evening showing of War Horse. It was definitely corny, but a great film nonetheless. 

And that ended our third day in Edinburgh!

Edinburgh Day II

We started off the day with probably the number one tourist attraction in Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle.

The castle on the edge of a cliff and has gorgeous views

The castle was filled with history, it was absolutely lovely. We eventually decided to cut our audio-tours short though because it was absolutely freezing and windy on the top of the hill.

From there we walked down the Royal Mile. A mile-long street with restaurants, shops, and beautiful churches and buildings. 

Along the way we passed David Hume's statue. You're supposed to rub his big toe for luck!

 We stopped along the Mile into St. Giles Cathedral, a must-see in Edinburgh

Inside there was a smaller chapel off to the side of the main nave, with the most intricate and beautiful woodwork I've ever seen

Some clever graffiti

 At the other end of the Royal Mile sits Scottish Parliament. Perhaps the weirdest, ugliest building I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it was closed for recess that week so we didn't get to go inside, but the tour book tells me that they have guards stomp up and down the halls inside so that people can't overhear officials' conversations.

At the very end of the Royal Mile is The Palace of Holyrood House--where the Queen stays when she comes to visit Scotland. It was lovely inside, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. 

The inner courtyard

Attached to the palace is an ancient Abbey, that's only ruins now, but breathtaking.

After we decided on a whim to climb Arthur's Seat since the weather was holding out. Arthur's Seat is a amazing mountain right in Edinburgh, it takes about an hour to climb and give you breathtaking views of the whole of Edinburgh.

Best picture we got of me...it was really, really windy.

We stayed to watch the sunset.

Then we went to a little Thai place off in an alley for some delicious pad thai.