Edinburgh Scotland

11 April

Our train ride to Edinburgh from Berwick-upon-Tweed was only 1 hour. After arriving we had a couple hours until our check in time but we headed to the hotel in hopes we could check in early. They did have a room available so we paid for early check in and went to the room. I wanted to rest most of the day because after the walk out to the lighthouse yesterday I had been developing a runny and stopped up nose. We walked to a grocery store around the corner to get some lunch, snacks, and Sudafed. I had a pre-made sandwich, carrots, a nature valley bar and an orange. Then I napped until I woke up hungry for dinner and Daron got takeaway from Five Guys for me then went out on his own for dinner.

12 April

I woke up feeling better so we went to get our laundry washed and look for some yarn. It was rainy and cold and having only one umbrella was a problem. We went to Kathy's Knits and got a skein of yarn. When we passed a convenience store I popped in and bought an umbrella, and a couple postcards. We dropped the suitcase of clothes off at a cleaners for $18 and got lunch at the Orchard. I got a goat cheese soufflé and I've never had a savory soufflé before. It was great. We went around the corner to a coffee shop to use wifi because the wifi at the hotel was awful. The coffee tea and carrot cake was good. We grabbed our laundry and headed back to the hotel. I worked on my Edinburgh square while Daron napped until dinner. We got takeaway from KFC and enjoyed the evening in. We booked tickets for the next day to see Edinburgh Castle but didn't get a confirmation email so we will see what happens.

Yarn

Blacker Swan Yarn of Falkland Islands Wool from Swan Inlet Farm off the Coast of Argentina

100% wool, Lavender color

13 April

For lunch we went to Oink. A Scottish hog sandwich place. It was similar to a BBQ sandwich with different flavors. I got apple stuffing with mine and it was fantastic.

Oink

We head up a steep street to these arduous stairs. Daron said we should have found another way up but the point of a castle was the difficulty to get to them so it wouldn't have mattered what way we went up.

We find out who to talk to about whether or not we have tickets and are directed to a ticket counter. The guy looks up our information and can't find anything in the system regarding our names or order number from the transaction in our bank account. We walk back to the entrance and take in the view while deciding what we want to do next.

The Museum of Scotland is pretty close so we decided to head there to have some fruit for our laborious walk. On our way we pass St. Giles Cathedral and pop in. They are celebrating 900 years in 2024! St. Giles was originally a Catholic church that convert to Protestantism in 1559. I don't know if it's the oldest church I have been in but I don't remember being in a church built before the 1500's or 1400's. I sat in a chair and thought about how St. Giles has been around almost half of the time since Jesus walked the Earth. I believe that God is everywhere but there is something special about places specifically for gathering for religion. For almost 900 years people have walked into that building to look for God.

St. Giles Cathedral

We got to the museum about an hour and a half before it closes so we decide to walk the museum separately to spend time in the exhibits that interest us. I go to the fashion gallery first and I spend most of my time there. There was a lot of information about the history and fashion and clothing changes. One thing I really appreciated about the Museum of Scotland was the recent additions in the collections. There were pieces from 2000, 2010, as recent as 2016. I really enjoyed looking at recent fashion regarding my personal experience with fashion and trends for the last 20 years and the types of pieces that end up in a museum. I think this helps my perspective of clothing from the 1600's, 1800's, etc. Certain types of pieces were preserved centuries ago, just like certain types of pieces now are chosen to go into a museum collection. Awarding winning pieces or meaningful pieces to wealthy people.

From the gift shop I got 2 decks of cards, gloves, and a gift for my mom (not pictured).

Souvenirs

There weren't any cards related to the fashion exhibit so I got the Foragers playing cards because it has card games in it and the Waterbirds and Wildfowl cards because there is a special exhibit currently of North American Birds (I didn't visit it though). I also got gloves to remember what I saw at the museum.

For dinner we go to an Indian restaurant where I got my new favorite Indian dish Lamb Korma. After dinner we go to Coro Chocolate for dessert and I got Galaxy Caramel Cheesecake (Galaxy is a candy bar!), caramel ice cream and blueberries. Absolutely delectable!

14 April

The Edinburgh Castle! Finally! But first tea and coffee from a cafe. I got a berry tea that tasted like Skittles (the berry Skittles)! Without even adding any sugar. We take a different way to the castle in hopes of taking longer but gentler slopes instead of short and very steep streets and stairs. This route took us past the Scott Monument and I took some pictures. Just a couple years after Scott's death this huge monument was erected for him. I am thinking to read some of his novels now because a writer with a large monument like this shortly after dying must have something to read about!

We arrive at the castle and walk ourselves around. Most of the places inside with displays you can't take any pictures, but here is a picture of the castle, inside the walls. Additionally, this castle is still used as a base for the Scottish Military! There was a structure built on the hilltop around 1200 BC to 600 BC. Currently the oldest standing building in Edinburgh is St. Margaret's Chapel in the Castle grounds, built around 1100. There was a museum of the Scottish Military Uniform, including the most decorated member, different metals that have been awarded, and the evolution of the uniform and military tactics.

Edinburgh Castle

From the Castle Gift shops (yes, shops), I got Edinburgh cards and some gifts.

Souvenirs

After the Castle we got lunch at a burger place where I ordered a burger but got a chicken sandwich and tried to order crisps and on the menu they were fries. It was still good food! We had an uneventful afternoon and evening and got dinner at New Town Fox. I had a squash salad that had softened walnuts and pomegranate seeds, delicious!

15 April

This morning we packed up and headed to the airport to fly to Oslo, Norway. For lunch at the airport I went to the first Mexican restaurant of the trip. BarBurrito, basically Chipotle. Mexican restaurants are not very common where we have been. It was good food, but not very Mexican! Also another Fanta.

BarBurrito

Square

Here is the completed Edinburgh knitted square!