7th- 9th

*note: When you're looking for new posts, please check a few posts back... I'm finding that if I saved a draft a couple days ago, the new post shows up behind the other ones. Also, I might add pics onto old posts a bit later.

We took the Auld Reekie ghost tour the night of the 6th, and even I didn't get scared (except by the hygiene of the bar where we got our free drinks afterward). Until.... I saw my pics afterward!!! Ooooo....

Ok, lame jokes aside, something kind of spooky did happen to me the other day: I was wandering around and ran into an old acquaintance- Robin, who used to ride with Allie and I at ol' Southbreeze Stables. What! I can't believe I didn't have the presence of mind to take a pic, but I was too surprised.

Botanical Gardens

National Geographic worthy crane photos, if I do say so myself.

Moody auld buildings



The hottest tatties in town apparently. I think by "hottest" they mean "most smothered in butter and cheese", but hey, works for me.

Thistle-aneous

Lins wants to get a ring in every city, and my version will be brooches.

There are eerie little nooks in the narrow alleyways

Pidgeon in meta-nook

I went to a punk show by the name of Danananakroyd, which I picked mostly for the name. I would love to have a better reason to go to a show- espcially now that I've tried finding one arbitrarily- so if you know of any upcoming where we'll be, PLEASE do let us know. If you're a big Dananan fan, sorry, but I find I can't get into punk since the original In It For The Shoes disbanded... when you've had the best...

Southern Cross Cafe (where we were excited by the thought of veggie haggis, only to find it suspiciously similar to the glob of beans veggie burgers)

A bunch of cute safety conscious Scotkins, all toddling down the street going "HIYA!!.... HIYA.... HIYA!!!.... HIYA!!...". Which they continued in double volume and intensity after I said Hiya back... Kids that other people have to deal with are so cute ;)

Greyfriar's

A Wee Edinburgh Update

Okay, maybe not so wee.

Yesterday I went to check out Greyfriars Church. Greyfriar Presbyterian Church opened in 1620 and has a few more modern stories associated with it. One is the Greyfriars Bobby, a little Skye Terrier whose owner John Gray died in 1858. Apparently the dog was so attached to his owner that he followed the funeral procession and ended up guarding Gray's grave for 14 years, leaving only to eat and drink. Here he is commemorated below in a statue. There's a pub named after him now too.

And here's his tombstone.

The Kirkyard next to the church also has some serious ghost stories attached to it, the most famous being the MacKenzie Poltergeist who is supposed to be violent. The story goes that while he was alive MacKenzie sentenced a lot of Covenanters to prison/death and is also buried in the graveyard. In 1999 a homeless man disrupted his grave, and ever since people have felt threatened when they go into the graveyard.

This is the gate to the locked off portion of the graveyard. A few tour companies unlock this portion of the cemetery to take people on tours here at night. People claim to have bruises, scratches, been suffocated, fainted, rocks thrown at them, etc. I never went inside, but I hung around for a while. The City of the Dead tour boasts that this site has the "best documented paranormal phenomena" ever.

View through the bars.

From apparitions to appetizers!
This wee restaurant has the best potato!


If you look closely you can find a potato under all that cheese'n'beans.


Our breakfast spot, Spoon. Love the decor!

We're taking the overnight bus tonight to London, then another bus to Cardiff. Too much bus!!

xoxo

Ta!

Hello everyone! I'm so happy we have blog followers! Thanks guys - it gives us more motivation to do the net cafe thing and do updates.

So after our last day in London we took an overnight bus to Edinburgh, which we narrowly avoided missing due to a tube mixup. We literally had to run full speed from Victoria underground station to Victoria Coach station with our packs on (about one major city block in TO). Not fun. The bus definitely wasn't the greatest experience of my life - mostly because we got stuck in the back with a bunch of rambunctious teenagers getting drunk. Kids these days... We're pretty sure they were Russian and kept wishing Joel were there to translate for us! We got into Edinburgh at about 8 am, and the city was still sleeping, and not much was going on. We had to wait until 1 o'clock to check in so we left our bags at the hostel and wandered the city. It's strikingly different from London in that it's mostly one colour - a brownish-grey, and the buildings are all pressed closely together, with not nearly as many gardens or even flower beds interspersed throughout the city. It has it's own unique charm and is full of friendly people and lots of fellow travellers. Edinburgh's known for its stone tenements, which are everywhere and very tall. Here are some pics of the city:

There are all sorts of free museums in Edinburgh. I went to the Museum of Childhood, which was a great find. Here are some highlights. (Side note, the woman at the counter here called me a 'lass' and said 'ta' when I gave her money for postcards!)

Child chimney sweeps.




On the first night here we checked out an open mic night at a pub close to our hostel.

In my first 2 days here I took 3 different bus trips aroung town to see different sites and learn a bit about the town. Jules and I were doing different things one of the mornings that I took a tour, but I managed to spot her from my bus hiking up a hill! If you look closely you can see a blurry Julia in this pic:

I took a trip the Edinburgh Castle, which was a delight to see. There were different museums within the castle grounds, which was basically like a smaller city within walls built on a cliff. Here are some highlights:

Approaching the castle.

Inside the castle walls.

View of downtown from a look out.

In the Military Museum within the castle is the painting The Thin Red Line.


The Military Museum had a great contemporary photography exhibit.




A truly massive gun. It would fire thouse BOULDERS to the left.

Last night Jules and I went on the Auld Reekie Terror Tour which took us into the underground vaults of Edinburgh. 'Auld Reekie' is apparently an affectionate name for Edinburgh, meaning Old Smokey because of the plumes of smoke it used to release from so many wood and coal fires. The tour guide also told us about the city's filthy, murderous, and torturous past. It was pretty grusome and a lot of fun. Some pics: The poorest people of the city used to live in these caverns - with absolutely no light. They couldn't afford candles.

Ghostly!

So we have 2.5 more days in Edinburgh and there a still a bunch of places I'd like to visit. I might not get a chance to blog again before we go to Cardiff, Wales - our next stop. We're staying there for at least 7 days to WWOOF by helping to set up a permaculture show for a woman who specializes in edible gardens. I miss you guys, and hope you all are well. We'll be in touch soon!

I'll leave you with a Robert Louis Stevenson poem about a leerie (lamp lighter):

The Lamplighter
My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky;
It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by;
For every night at teatime and before you take your seat,
With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street.
Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea,
And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be;
But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do,
O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you!
For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door,
And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more;
And O! before you hurry by with ladder and with light,
O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him tonight!