I left for my trip to Edinburgh on 30 August and returned on 6 September. It was such a wonderful trip. I was so happy to meet my friend Jen Deem there who flew in from Michigan. Believe it or not, our flights landed within 20 minutes of each other. It was perfect timing.
Unfortunately, my suitcase was not in Edinburgh when I arrived. I had very long layovers in Singapore and also in London so I didn’t understand how one suitcase couldn’t make it. I went into the lost baggage office and talked to them. They had information that my suitcase made it to London, but didn’t seem to make it to Edinburgh (a short 55 min. flight!). I thought for sure it would be at the B&B by that evening since there were several flights from London that day. Boy, was I wrong.
I met Jen and we got on a bus and followed the directions to the B&B, one that was highly recommended by Rick Steves. It was very close to downtown and Arthur’s seat -- a perfect location. We dropped our stuff off…I should say Jen’s stuff off and met the owner of the B&B, Liz. She was fantastic. She was so friendly and hilarious and always gave us suggestions of where to eat…which we found even funnier since all of her suggestions were the exact ones Rick Steves has in his book. Now we know where he gets his ideas!
That day we walked all over. We found the city to be very beautiful and the Scottish people to be so laid back and friendly. Everyone we met smiled and talked to us and cracked jokes. I think that’s pretty rare in a lot of European countries. We really enjoyed it.
We loved walking up and down the Royal Mile, the old part of the city that goes from the castle down to Holyrood Palace. We toured the castle and went on a walking tour of the old city. It’s amazing to me to see how old the buildings are.
We went home that night only to find out my luggage still had not arrived so we walked to a huge department store (their version of a super Target…yes I loved it) so I could get some things. Because of the new limits of carry-on baggage that had been imposed on British flights, I was not able to carry anything with me except my passport, iPod, phone and a book. I had nothing, not even my cameras, so off we went to the store. Liz assured us it was much better to walk than to ride the bus and was ‘a wee distance’ down the road. We soon came to find out the Scottish definition of a ‘wee distance’ always means at least a mile!!! We were worn out and my feet had blisters from the shoes I had by the time we returned.
The next day was spent going to Roselyn Chapel and hiking up Arthur’s Seat…another Scottish ‘wee distance’…it was a HIKE not a walk which we had been told!!! It was great and the wind at the top was so strong we had to hold on to a cement pillar at the very top with all of our might! We were laughing so hard. It was beautiful to see the entire city.
We spent the rest of the day touring Holyrood Palace and walking around the city. We went to the statue of Grayfrier’s Bobby and walked around the cool cemetery where he is buried along with his owner. We came home exhausted hoping to find my luggage, but still nothing. Liz had spent a lot of the day calling the airlines and the airport and the delivery company for me. She was very frustrated because she hadn’t been able to talk to a single human; my same experience from the day before. That night I had just fallen asleep and Jen knocked on my door at about 11:00pm saying, “Heidi! I think your luggage is here!” Sure enough, it was there. They aren’t sure where it had been for almost two days, but I didn’t care. I was just happy to have clean clothes and cameras!
We went on a tour of Mary Kings Close which is an area of the original city built in the 1500’s. In the 1700’s they built a city hall over the top of the street. Everything down there has been so well preserved. It was very interesting to see the actual wallpaper on the wealthy apartment walls and the original plaster on the walls dating back to the 1500’s!
We went through the art museum on Sunday and then found the church. We also went to some fireworks that night. It was so cold!!! I thought I was going to freeze to death, but enjoyed every minute of it. It was nice to be cold for once. The fireworks were set off from the castle. It was an amazing setting.
We spend a good part of Monday in Stirling, a 45 min. train ride from Edinburgh. We toured Stirling castle and looked around the beautiful valley where many of the famous Scottish battles took place. It was so serene.
It was such a great trip. I came home with books about Mary Queen of Scots and a yearning to learn more of the history of that place. The weather was a little rainy for only a couple of days. It was fun to walk through the city and hear the bagpipe players. We didn’t have the guts or desire to even attempt to try haggis. I have nothing to prove. HE HE HA HA! I definitely would love to go back. Scotland is a wonderful country with very friendly people. I was thankful that Creed allowed me to go and cover the bases while I was gone with the school open house, soccer practices and games and everything else.
Millers in Shanghai
