Drizzly Tourism in Edinburgh

Drizzly, breezy, cold—my first day of rain on the trip. I’ve been quite lucky on the weather—not counting the volcanic ash cloud. I did a circle bus tour first thing in the morning so I could get a feel for the town and periphery. Great seat in front of double decker bus. My gloves came in handy to continually wipe viewing ports in the front and side windows. We had short stops at the Royal Botanical Gardens, the royal yacht Victoria and other places touristic and historic but my goal was to get an overview before going to the Castle and the tour took a little over an hour to return to its starting point on Waverley Bridge.

Edinburgh is a multi-level city and super picturesque. Even while juggling my little umbrella and camera, periodically using a tissue on my nose (just slightly leaking due to the temperature, not illness) I was impressed with the city. It’s quite unlike London and early spring flowers and bright green grass made it a visual treat in somewhat daunting weather.

The main Tourist Info office is at the end of Waverley Bridge adjacent to Prince’s Mall (Scots say it like the “mal” in “malfunction”. Not that it wasn’t in operation complete with 2 levels, escalator, lots of modern stores and a food court. I fortified myself with a chili-stuffed baked potato and cole slaw (billed as tropical salad) and a local soda with a distinctive taste, Irn Bru. It could easily pass as medicine, but the meal fortified me for the uphill trek on the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle.

Castles are dual-purpose facilities: defense and home for royal residents. Real castles like the one at the top of the Royal Mile have core battlements and ramparts plus various structures for the guards and other employees to defend the place and to serve the needs of the Queen or King.

A big highlight of my day was having dinner and a chat with Karen Miller, producer of the best Americana podcast in the known universe, The Miller Tells Her Tale We took a cab to the old harbor at Leith and ate a fine meal of halibut and veggies. We swapped stories about performers we know and love (she knows a ton of artists), had a bottle of wine and generally had a fine old time.

She offered the use of her spare flat here (she works during the in Glasgow) in case I was unable to get on my flight to Paris Monday. There's more to be told on that on tomorrow's posting. Here's a picture of Karen and me--she's standing on her tiptoes!

The Train to Edinburgh & Concert

First, a tip of the hat to Andrena in the Haymarket Hotel bar who let me plug into the hotel internet; somehow the wifi doesn't like my laptop.

Yesterday morning I arose way before the crack of dawn after a good night’s sleep. I had to finish packing my stuff, tidy the flat and get to the train station for my 9:30 train to Edinburgh. My body’s natural alarm had me out of the bed around 3:30 AM so I’d have plenty of time to do everything. I even had time to update this blog and do enough web surfing to update myself on the air travel/volcanic dust cloud situation.

Friday PM I received an email from my gracious Steele's Street flat owner, Tricia, saying “no worries” about a small burn I inflicted on the carpet when trying to light a candle on the dining table. Part of a match head detached itself and did a little damage that I didn’t even notice until later. Total removal by clean up was futile so I ‘fessed up in an email to her. She said that others had done much worse and not confessed; so I felt the relief of her absolution. She was a pleasure to work with in making arrangements for the flat from A to Z. Here's what the burn looks like in comparison to an English 1-pence coin:

Getting to King’s Cross Station was easy; it’s only a couple of tube stops away from Chalk Farm, my local stop. I had my backpack suitcase strapped on for the walk down hill. There are definite benefits from traveling light. A tip of the hat to www.onebag.com and philosophically to travel guru Rick Steves

It made sense to leave a little later than I could have. The ticket agent I bought my ticket from on Friday searched for a lower fare than the 9 AM train and saved me 50% on my ticket—almost 50 pounds. The fare was £54 rather than £99—coach, not first class. Travel time to Edinburgh was 4:45 and the train departed and arrived on schedule at 2:15 PM.

An apple, peanuts and dried fruit I’d packed along in my day bag made it unnecessary to buy food on the train—my trusty water bottle took care of hydration. I discovered that the train has wi-fi provided as a free service! I was able to connect for a little while; remarkable while whizzing along at 100+ miles per hour. I bought a ham sandwich and some chips at the train station before catching a taxi to the hotel.

The Lairg is a small hotel on the periphery of downtown. I found it on www.booking.com and the rate was good: £75. My ground floor room was spacious and nicely decorated. The manager was helpful in suggesting tour and transport arrangements. The hotel’s wifi was on the fritz so I packed up and headed out looking for a hot spot. Found one not far away at the Cuba Norte bar where I was able to map walking directions from the hotel to the Pleasance Street theater for the 7:30 PM concert. I saw many ethnic eating places in the short distance from the hotel to the bar. After wrapping my web surfing I chose Indian and had a light dinner-- served promptly and it was tasty, too.

Another tip of the hat to Jenee, a friend from the office and seasoned traveler, for sending a link via instant messaging re the concert. It was part of a Scottish/Scandinavian folk music festival presented by the Traditional Music and Song Association of Edinburgh. It was a 40 minute walk to the theater and it gave me my first glimpse of the city’s street scenes; very different from London with glimpses of the looming majesty of the castle visible to my left as I walked along.

The concert was not a sellout but there was a good crowd and the seats were comfortable. Not your usual theater seats but padded benches instead. Air travel problems caused some of the scheduled performers and dancers from Denmark and Sweden to miss the show. Two Norwegian performers made it out on the last flight from Oslo. They were half of Boreas a Scot/Norwegian collaboration (wonder how frequently they’re able to get together for practice and gigs?) The organizers made the best of the situation by bringing a local duo—fiddle and guitar—into the breach. They pretended to be Danes with some humor and played several Danish tunes in good fashion. Boreas split into 2 duos (Scots and Norwegians, respectively) for a few tunes in the first part of the concert then came together after intermission to perform a fine set of songs. Several of the tunes were atmospheric and relaxing while some were more spirited—obviously dance tunes. The musicians were extremely competent and one of the fiddle players sang several songs, including a 17-verse murder ballad with a one-line audience sing along chorus.

.The concert ended around 10:30 and I walked back to the hotel. Edinburgh Saturday night life was in full swing but it was way late for me to stop and partake. It was a fine intro to the city in less than a half day!

Windsor Castle & London Wrap Up

Credit goes to my colleague Matt Grant from London for the suggestion to visit Windsor Castle. I didn't have anything left on my list planned for Friday. I've never liked ferris wheels so I'm not sorry I didn't go on the London Eye. It's only a short train ride to the town of Windsor, also home to Eton College and many modern stores that greet you when you alight from the train. I'm not a big shopper so yuk walking by so many stores was a turn-off. It was handy to pick up a few travel items on the way out of town. And I did have a fine goat cheese wrap and a half pint of Stella at the Haha Bar & Grill before catching the train back.

Queen Elizabeth likes to spend her weekends at Windsor Castle--the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world says the brochure. It is huge and rambling. I took the audio tour that was free with admission--more than enough historical and explanatory comments. I was most impressed by the gardens in the dry moat around the Round Tower and the grandeur of the State Apartments (no pix allowed in there).

The reception rooms, banquet halls and other locations in the Apartments were richly appointed with lots of portraits of dead royals on the walls. Weapons and armor, too. And the obligatory displays of gold plates, tankards and fine china. (Yawn) The Queen had not arrived for the weekend; her royal standard flies from the Round Tower when she's in residence. Yesterday was Friday and the Union Jack was flying enthusiastically due to the chilly breeze up on the hill. The castle occupies the high ground for defense purposes. Recently it's only been attacked by hordes of tourists. I took a short walkabout in St. George's Chapel on the way out of the grounds. The tomb of the Queen Mum is there along with a few other deceased Is, IIs, IIIs (and so on...)

Pictures were allowed in the Mens' toilet and this one afforded one of the finest views ever while standing in front of a urinal. The device at the top of the window is a medieval battery-powered fan that circulates the royal air in the loo.

Back to London after lunch to pack, tidy up the flat and keep up to date on the volcanic ash cloud that's causing so many problems with flights. I have a train ticket that I purchased yesterday morning at the train station prior to embarking for Windsor so no worries on getting to Edinburgh.

BONUS

I walked by a church on the way to the flat and its steeple is prominent from the terrace. Went over to take a couple of pictures of it a couple of days ago. Fortunately, a woman was there cleaning up and let me in to the sanctuary. She even turned on the lights so I could use my camera inside.

The church is St. Saviour's Parish Church, located in South Hampstead (I thought I was in north Chalk Farm--both are London suburbs). It was consecrated in 1856 and cost a whopping 8,000 shillings to build. Of course a shilling went farther in those days for buying Kentish ragstone and Bathstone dressings.

LONDON WRAP

I've been most fortunate on the weather so far. Most days were sunny but still not warm. The layered look is what most Londoners practice--justifiably so due to chilly temp (high in the 50s most days) and breezy.

I'm super happy with my flat on Steele's Road. The owner, Mrs. Robinson, was a pleasure to deal with. She provided plenty of info about the surrounding area for shopping, food and pubs along with color maps well marked so I could find the flat. And her instructions were marvelous for getting things operating once I arrived. The furniture and decoration is tasteful and comfy. The kitchen, TV, and wifi are modern and fully functional and the view is magnificent. It's a lovely place to stay, very convenient to transport into the heart of the city.

I'm off to Edinburgh this morning; goodbye to London!

Thursday--Buckingham Palace & Hampstead Heath

My week in London was almost over and I had not seen Buckingham Palace until yesterday. Another London Walk was in order--this one called "The Forbidden City". Nothing like a bit of hyperbole to attract a few tourists! Helena, our guide, was a tiny woman with a huge knowledge of the areas we toured. She rattled off history and even a bit of "In Flanders Fields", John McRae's poem about World War I as we stood in the park across from Westminster Abbey. She was talking about the tomb of the unknown soldier in the floor and bordered by red poppies just inside the west entrance to the Abbey. All processions, even ones including the Queen, go around the tomb.

We did a bit of backstreet walking and listening--a much quieter place to be than the noisy area around the chapel--not just the usual traffic yesterday but an organized protest on one of the corners with the participants chanting and waving signs. I was too far away to tell what the protest was about.

Then we went to the Horse Guards gate and parade grounds where the changing of the guard was about to begin. The mounted soldiers proceed across the square and into St. James Park then to Buckingham Palace. I took a bit of video and this shot as they were about to march off.

We walked through St. James Park where the tulips were in full bloom.

As you would expect we heard many Royal stories about the palaces and other historic buildings near Buckingham Palace. I found out Her Majesty likes Earl Grey tea, as I do--we both have good taste!

After the tour concluded at the Wellington arch I went to Piccadilly Circus. A secondary mission besides sightseeing was finding a copy of the new Stieg Larssen book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest. I was successful and found a copy at Blackwell's on Charing Cross Road near Leicester Square. Local merchants were helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I also saw Chinatown and part of the theatre district before heading back to Chalk Farm.

I wasn't done touring yet because I wanted to see Hampstead Heath, not far north of Steele's Road. I took a double decker bus up the hill through several nice neighborhood shopping areas before arriving shortly at Hampstead village. Walked into the Heath and spent around 45 minutes exploring and picture-taking. I only had to ask directions once to find my way back out. It is a huge park and many film and TV shoots use it for a location. Understandably so because of its ponds, fields and forests.

I came back to the flat and fired up the netbook. Found a couple of emails about the volcanic ash cloud that has shut down all the UK airports. I'm going to Scotland by train but have reservation to fly from Edinburgh to Paris Monday morning. Will have to keep an eye on the news re the cloud and hope I don't have to take the train back to London then the Eurostar under the English Channel to Paris.

Made email arrangements with one of my colleagues, Matt Grant, to have a pint after his work day and he graciously agreed to meet me at Sir Richard Steele's pub down the street from the flat. We raised a glass or three then he went home to his missus to watch the first Prime Minister TV debate. Cheers!

Wednesday--Tower of London

The infamous Tower of London was on my list this day, built in 1076 by William the Bastard (as he is affectionately known--actually an illegitimate child) aka William the Conqueror. Our London Walks guide Tom had many stories historical and humorous for us during the tour. It was overcast, cold and windy so we shivered because of the climate and because the Tower was a brutal place--we weren't spared the gory details. It was a royal palace as well as a prison, execution sight and torture chamber. Its Treasury still houses the Crown Jewels.

Our guided tour ended and we were free to view the Crown Jewels (they're inside where it was warm) and to explore on our own. The jewels are impressive and worth seeing but truthfully one crown looks very much like another. Same for diamonds over 300 carats.

My priority was getting a bite to eat and the Tower's cafe was a welcome sight. I chose a bowl of gruel to warm me up. It was a good vegetable soup and hit the spot.

The Old City was my next adventure, specifically the Criminal Courts in the Old Bailey. I had some guidance from Rick Steves on my iPod but still had to ask guidance from locals. I moved in reverse from Rick's guided tour but the chapters on his podcast made it easy to pick and choose what I wanted to hear.

I came to the Magistrate's Court first and popped in for a couple of minor cases. A homeless young man pleaded guilty to a charge of begging. He'd been standing by an ATM saying "God Bless You" to tourists getting cash. His record sheet was lengthy and he received a fine of over 200 pounds. Of course he didn't have the money so he was sentenced to serve the rest of the day in custody. Second case on the docket was a man who likes to buy expensive shoes and purses using fake credit cards. He plead guilty but due to the severity of his case (and the fact that he committed his crimes while on probation) he will languish in custody until April 19 while the magistrates confer with his probation officer.

The Old Bailey Criminal Courts presented a bit of a challenge. Once found I had to stow my bag at a local deli (2 pounds fee) because cameras and other gear aren't allowed inside the court. The imposing dome pictures the lady in gold on top with a sword in one hand and the scales of justice in the other.

I sat in the Visitors' Gallery for a murder case that had been running for 2 weeks already. A psychiatrist was on the stand testifying that the young man who was the accused had been depressed at the time of the murder. The prosecutor thumbed through notebooks that had been color coded and accent markered making the point that the man had been seen and evaluated just prior to the crime and had shown no signs of depression--he was functioning normally. I only stayed for the 20 minute minimum, no telling how long the trial would run.

I reclaimed my bag then walked back up Cheapside Street to the Tube station. Stopped at a big Tesco grocery store and picked up a few items then headed home where I could put my feet up, have a cold pint from the fridge and read the evening Standard.

!

Cheers!

Tuesday--Stonehenge & Salisbury Cathedral

What a day! A day when you see one of the greatest mysteries in the world and the cathedral with the tallest spire in England AND 1 of the 4 existing copies of the Magna Carta. I did it all on another London Walks tour (my third) to Stonehenge/Salisbury via public transport with guide Gillian.

Rather than give a blow-by-blow account I'll summarize by saying we took a 1.25 hour train ride from Waterloo station to Salisbury. Very comfortable and speedy; I had a nice chat with an English retiree the whole way on a wide range of topics.

We then strolled through a lovely park to get to the cathedral.

The cathedral was consecrated in 1258. It's one of the few that allows pictures. I won't put many in the blog, just a couple to give you a general idea of the interior space.

The cathedral has the world's oldest mechanical working clock (1386). It only keeps track of hours but has been in operation for over 600 years!

We viewed the Magna Carta in the Chapter House after exiting the cathedral proper (no pictures allowed in that room). It originated in 1216 and contains a number of the concepts our modern justice system is based upon, like "innocent until proven guilty".

We had an hour for lunch and I ate fish and chips (first meal of this English standard dish). Fish was cod and tasty. Chips (french fries) were so-so. Two women from the tour joined me, a Londoner and a young woman from South Africa who is in England on a one year work visa working in a nursery.

We then departed in a chartered coach for Stonehenge. After a big meal and an apple custard tart I bought in the open market the bus was warm and I took a nap so didn't hear Gillian's narration of the sites we passed on the way. I awoke just in time to pull into the car and bus parking lot.

It was a sunny day so our views were great. It was windy and chilly and the site is on top of a hill. I was dressed appropriately so was comfortable.

Gillian did her best on this pic to get the monument and me without lots of tourists in the picture--thus the awkward framing...you get the idea.

I'll have more on Stonehenge (including video) when I return and have time to put it together. I bought an excellent book published by the English Heritage group that tells me that Stonehenge was built anywhere from 3000-1600 BC. The book has tons of scholarly info on all the antiquarian sites in the neighborhood plus great pictures and other illustrations. I splurged at the gift shop and bought the book for 5 pounds and a fridge magnet for 3.50. This whole day (not including lunch) cost around $75. It was definitely money well spent!

We returned via train and arrived back in London around 6:15 PM. No such luck with a chatty seat companion on the return so I read Jane Austen on my iPod Kindle app. I went to the other Indian restaurant that was recommended by a gent in the pub, Curry Manjill. Ordered a couple of veggie dishes plus veggie samosas then went to The Washington pub for a pint while they prepared my order. This pub was not as friendly as Steele's so I won't be returning. The pint of cold London Meanhouse Ale hit the spot!

I found when I got the food back to the flat that it was fiery, but good. Had to have a slice of bread with margarine to bank the fire after I finished. It was getting late by that time so I did a preliminary edit of the pix on the camera then hit the sack and continued reading Lawrence Block's Tanner On Ice mystery.

As I write this Wednesday morning it's overcast but the forecast says it will clear up later. Tower of London walk plus trying to see some court action at the Old Bailey are on my agenda for today.

Cheers!

Monday--Westminster Abbey

Monday was royal history day as told by Hillary, a guide from the London Walks company. LW was a Greg Krehel recommendation and this tour, the Secrets of Westminster Abbey, was one he particularly liked. We met at 10:45 AM outside the Westminster tube station. I took the photo of Boadicea driving her chariot by crossing the street--she's driving her chariot and stone horses at the foot of Westminster bridge.

Boadicea is from way back in British history. Surprisingly, the Westminster Abbey tour spanned a wide time period. From the time the original church was built by Edward the Conqueror through Dr. Martin Luther King and the founders of London's Ballet many notables and non-notable though rich folk are either buried in the Abbey or memorialized there. The three hour tour took us through Radicals' Corner, Poets' Corner and of course an area devoted to literati with the grandest tomb belonging to William Shakespeare. No photos are permitted inside the church but I'll include one of the facades:

Indeed it's a grand structure without and within. It's the church of the Royals where almost all the kings and queens of England have been crowned. We saw the Coronation Chair and heard a detailed and sometimes funny commentary from Hillary throughout the 3-hour tour. I've seen enough tombs and walked across enough memorials to last for a while. It reminded me of the ornate tombs inside Santa Maria church in Florence (Italy, not SC).

By the time we concluded at 1 PM I was starved so I grabbed a hot dog and bag of potato chips from a vendor just outside the Abbey. It felt good to get off my feet while I ate my gourmet lunch and watched traffic and tourists go by.

The afternoon was young so I plugged in my iPod and tuned in a Rick Steves podcast of a Westminster Walk. I headed down Parliament Street to Whitehall heading toward Trafalgar Square, pausing the tour to go to the Churchill Museum and War Cabinet rooms. The museum's board has done a great job of restoring the WWII underground command center along with more detail about Winston Churchill than you can reasonably absorb in a short time. The audio guide was enjoyable. You can punch up numbered audio clips as you walk along the war room tour route.

I continued on the Whitehall walk post-museum. Weather was a bit overcast and breezy. I'm sure the temp didn't go much above 50 the whole day. I wore my polartec gloves and was happy I brought them. Sights: gate that guards 10 Downing Street, Horse Guards, the Coelanth obelisk, other military heroes on horses statues in mid-street along with an impressive monument to the women of WWII.

Stopped by The Clarence pub to wet my whistle--enjoyed a pint of Doombar ale and a bowl of dry roasted peanuts before pressing on.

Past Trafalgar Square I went to Covent Garden for a brief visit. Didn't buy anything there of note. I bought a London fridge magnet while waiting for the tour to begin in the AM.

After Covent Garden I called it a day for tourism and caught the tube at Leicester Square back to Chalk Farm. Once I returned to the flat I noted my pedometer's steps for the day: almost 7,000!

It took me a while studying the oven manual along with an email from Tricia get the oven fired up so I could warm up my Indian leftovers. I enjoyed a glass of wine while they heated up--they were definitely worth the trouble!

I saved a bit of money, too. That's another reason to rent a flat. I fix breakfast daily: cereal mix, banana and toast with butter, peanut butter and lime jam. Mmmmmmmmgood! Last folks in the flat thoughtfully left a box of Earl Grey teabags. A cuppa tea is a great way to start the day.

I'll end today's post with a shot that illustrates the shower is a bit cramped. Water is hot so no complaints from me. Cheers!