Jul. 4th, 2011 | 01:00 pm
This was our first of three days in Scotland. We decided to be brave and do "Edinburgh on our Own." They cruiseline gave us a shuttle in, gave us a map and sent us on our way. (Not necessarily the best plan after France but we did have the emergency contact at the top of the map--believe me, we checked)
First lesson of Scotland. Most males are named after relatives and it's not unusual to have 5 males in the same family with the same name so they willl likely go by a nickname so the family can differentiate between them.
Here's the picture link
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/U
Welcome to the highlands of Scotland. Home to lots of hills and steep inclines. As evidenced by the photos, this turned into a big, old shopping day. Yes, it rained but it was fairly light showers and they were on/off throughout the day. I became the pack mule while Mom pushed me up and down the hills. Do you see how steep some of these streets are? Edinburgh is home to the Royal Mile and Prince's Street. Both are big shopping/tourist areas but Mom only wanted to go up there so she could prove we could make it up to Edinburgh castle by foot. There were times I tried to push myself to give her a break, but no luck (and you are taking to someone with pretty good arm strength) it was ridiculous. Most people are smart enough to take cabs, but Mom now has the distinction of saying "I pushed Cindy up to Edinburgh castle."
This is us as we were progressing upward and almost to the top. Yes, we did it at the END of the day as I was carrying bags. If Mom looks pale, that's because she was sucking for air! Kudos to her for making it up and continuing to shop on the other side, priorities you know!
This is also where we found our first Starbuks and instead of playing "Where's Waldo?" It was "Where's Starbucks?" The view from this picture is the view out the Starbucks window. Much different from home. It seems the majority in the UK don't do cream in their coffee. Even at starbucks, the cream was under the counter and the man asked in we wanted clotted or regular. As far as I could tell, clotted cream was a lot thicker. I had it on a scone and didn't care for it, it was really rich. Maybe my resident Irish friend Jeanette, can clear this up for me. Difference between clotted cream/regular cream and what's the norm? Coffee drinkers or lots and lots of tea?
They had parks on one side, shopping on the other, so even in the town centre you have an appreciation for your surroundings.
This is also when I began to notice the improved air quality. I've never been one to have breathing problems/asthma but the air just seemed alot fresher here. Maybe it was the lack of humidity (all we've had since I've been home) or maybe it's that I was so at home here. I could beathe. I wasn't nervous or anxious or worried about my motion pills wearing off. The place was beautiful, complete with bagpipers in the square. People weren't hurrying off, they weren't texting on their blackberry, people actually looked at you and smiled. That's what I remember, smiling, happy faces. This is where you start to get a feel for the smaller UK. People look you in the eye, they ask how you are, if Mom needed help negotiating a curb, they were right there "Can I help you?" I expected to have trouble with the accent, I didn't. In fact, I hardly noticed it. No new vocabulary here. Not sure if it was because I didn't notice, or because I felt so at home. Honestly, this place was pretty much everything I imagined it to be. Sure, it was hilly and steep and Mom couldn't have pried me out of the chair with a crowbar (no way was I walking up those hills) but it was just sheer beauty.
On our way up to Edlinburgh Castle we discovered a little market (thanks to it being a Saturday.) Here's a meat truck, we found the corresponding sign while mandering through the outdoor stalls.
I didn't try them out (I kinda wasn't hungry after connecting the dots) but I appreciated the authenticity! :-)
I know you're going to say it's crazy, but Mom and I didn't bother with the castles She kept saying "We're not castle people," even as I asked her if she wanted to go in and look around the one she had almost killed herself to walk up to. Sure, there were lots of tours with them included, but they don't allow you to take pictures of the inside and most people who came back from those types of tours, were loaded down with videos because they didn't have their own pictures. It seemed like a very "hands off" approach to me. Better to promote commerence and look around!:-)
This guy was playing in the town centre. People were dropping change into his musical case and running up to take a picture with him. There's something about hearing the sounds of the pipes as you meander in and out of the shops, the haunting sound floating around you as you touch wool blankets and jewellry laden with ancient symbols filled with meaning. A real-time history lesson, with you at it's centre.
Thanks Edlinburg! If I have anything to say about it, I'll be back!
First lesson of Scotland. Most males are named after relatives and it's not unusual to have 5 males in the same family with the same name so they willl likely go by a nickname so the family can differentiate between them.
Here's the picture link
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/U
Welcome to the highlands of Scotland. Home to lots of hills and steep inclines. As evidenced by the photos, this turned into a big, old shopping day. Yes, it rained but it was fairly light showers and they were on/off throughout the day. I became the pack mule while Mom pushed me up and down the hills. Do you see how steep some of these streets are? Edinburgh is home to the Royal Mile and Prince's Street. Both are big shopping/tourist areas but Mom only wanted to go up there so she could prove we could make it up to Edinburgh castle by foot. There were times I tried to push myself to give her a break, but no luck (and you are taking to someone with pretty good arm strength) it was ridiculous. Most people are smart enough to take cabs, but Mom now has the distinction of saying "I pushed Cindy up to Edinburgh castle."
This is us as we were progressing upward and almost to the top. Yes, we did it at the END of the day as I was carrying bags. If Mom looks pale, that's because she was sucking for air! Kudos to her for making it up and continuing to shop on the other side, priorities you know!
This is also where we found our first Starbuks and instead of playing "Where's Waldo?" It was "Where's Starbucks?" The view from this picture is the view out the Starbucks window. Much different from home. It seems the majority in the UK don't do cream in their coffee. Even at starbucks, the cream was under the counter and the man asked in we wanted clotted or regular. As far as I could tell, clotted cream was a lot thicker. I had it on a scone and didn't care for it, it was really rich. Maybe my resident Irish friend Jeanette, can clear this up for me. Difference between clotted cream/regular cream and what's the norm? Coffee drinkers or lots and lots of tea?
They had parks on one side, shopping on the other, so even in the town centre you have an appreciation for your surroundings.
This is also when I began to notice the improved air quality. I've never been one to have breathing problems/asthma but the air just seemed alot fresher here. Maybe it was the lack of humidity (all we've had since I've been home) or maybe it's that I was so at home here. I could beathe. I wasn't nervous or anxious or worried about my motion pills wearing off. The place was beautiful, complete with bagpipers in the square. People weren't hurrying off, they weren't texting on their blackberry, people actually looked at you and smiled. That's what I remember, smiling, happy faces. This is where you start to get a feel for the smaller UK. People look you in the eye, they ask how you are, if Mom needed help negotiating a curb, they were right there "Can I help you?" I expected to have trouble with the accent, I didn't. In fact, I hardly noticed it. No new vocabulary here. Not sure if it was because I didn't notice, or because I felt so at home. Honestly, this place was pretty much everything I imagined it to be. Sure, it was hilly and steep and Mom couldn't have pried me out of the chair with a crowbar (no way was I walking up those hills) but it was just sheer beauty.
On our way up to Edlinburgh Castle we discovered a little market (thanks to it being a Saturday.) Here's a meat truck, we found the corresponding sign while mandering through the outdoor stalls.
I didn't try them out (I kinda wasn't hungry after connecting the dots) but I appreciated the authenticity! :-)
I know you're going to say it's crazy, but Mom and I didn't bother with the castles She kept saying "We're not castle people," even as I asked her if she wanted to go in and look around the one she had almost killed herself to walk up to. Sure, there were lots of tours with them included, but they don't allow you to take pictures of the inside and most people who came back from those types of tours, were loaded down with videos because they didn't have their own pictures. It seemed like a very "hands off" approach to me. Better to promote commerence and look around!:-)
This guy was playing in the town centre. People were dropping change into his musical case and running up to take a picture with him. There's something about hearing the sounds of the pipes as you meander in and out of the shops, the haunting sound floating around you as you touch wool blankets and jewellry laden with ancient symbols filled with meaning. A real-time history lesson, with you at it's centre.
Thanks Edlinburg! If I have anything to say about it, I'll be back!
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