We woke with a challenge to ourselves: climb Arthur's Seat, a steep hill located just outside the downtown area of Edinburgh. It rises 250 1/2 meters into the air and is the remnant of an extinct volcano. The Martaus clan climbed it 4 years ago and Paul & Dianne have been training since January for their return. About a quarter of the way up is a neat chapel ruin that affords a great view of the Queen's backyard at Holyrood Palace. The sky was very overcast and the summit of the hill could not be seen from the bottom. As we continued to ascend, the vistas were amazing. Scotland is very much like Seattle: depressing, but beautiful and full of green! As we got close to the top, we entered the cloud and our vistas were interrupted. We eventually reached the top, but couldn't see a darn thing! We still had a blast, however!
Having hiked for about 2 hours, we ended up at Holyrood Palace which is near the base of Arthur's Seat. This is the Queen's official Scottish residence. After visiting the cafe for coffee, tea, and cakes, we toured the palace. This is the same building Mary, Queen of Scots lived in during her short tenure and it was originally constructed as a monastery in 1128. It's an impressive structure, but not nearly as gaudy as I expected. For some reason, we weren't allowed on the third floor where the Queen's rooms are.
There is an abandoned 12th century abbey located against the palace. This was my first abbey on the trip and I must say that it was a really cool thing to see. The sheer magnitude was impressive. I could almost imagine what it would have looked like back in its hey-day. The Queen's gardens are located nearby and offered a stark visual difference between the abandoned abbey and verdant plants.
We next hopped a city tour bus which whisked us all over, filling us with trivia and facts about Edinburgh. Dinner time saw us light upon the restaurant called Deacon Brodie's. It's named after an Edinburgh resident of old who helped design and build the city's gallows, only to become a victim of them later in life. The truly momentous event at the restaurant, however, was that I ordered, ate, and enjoyed fish and chips! For those that know me, I despise seafood so this is HUGE people! Ha! I've never had fish that didn't taste fishy...just amazing.
After dinner, we discovered that our rental car had a flat tire and no spare. Unfortunately, the next 3 hours were spent getting this issue solved (new car). We were all just happy this happened in Edinburgh and not out on a country road.
We journey back to England and I get to see the Lake District for the first time on Thursday!
Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment