Edinburgh

I spent the past week at a conference in Edinburgh. As the conference ended yesterday, I decided to spend today touring around the city a little bit before I head down to London for a few days there.



My first stop today was Edinburgh Castle. Luckily, I got there as soon as the gates opened and hurried up to the ticket window. As soon as I got my ticket and entered, I rushed to see the Scottish Crown Jewels. The crown jewels were pretty cool. They included a sword, scabbard, and sword belt as well as a crown and scepter. There were a few other items (such as a 'wand'), but I think that the these were more minor items. By the time I left the crown jewels exhibit, I saw that a huge line had formed. I spent about 2 more hours at the castle, going through a prison area, the great hall, the royal quarters (including the room where Queen Mary birthed James II). Actually, my favorite part of the castle was probably just the amazing views it offered of Edinburgh city.



After leaving the castle at around noon, I felt hungry and stopped in a Kurdish and Iranian restaurant. When I walked in, I was the only person in the restaurant, and the waitress joked around with me about being able of find a place to sit. I ordered a lamb dish with a side of steamed potatoes in a tomato sauce. It was really delicious. So far, while in Scotland, I have had Italian food, Indian food, Kurdish and Iranian food, and traditional Scottish food. I must say that it was all really excellent except for the Scottish food. There just isn't that much excitement in a piece of meat with potatoes both drowning in a lake of gravy.

After eating lunch I wandered over to the Scottish museum, which was recommended in the Let's Go guidebook I have. The museum was pretty good. I particularly enjoyed the artifacts from pre-medieval Scotland, as well as the locking mechanism for this 17th century chest.


After leaving the museum, I walked up and down 'the Royal Mile,' which is a stretch of road leading from the castle to the Parliament building. From what I understand, this has been essentially the main drag through Edinburgh for the past 1000 years or so (since the burgh was established by King David I).

One interesting aspect of walking through the old town in Edinburgh is the closes. The streets that make up the Royal mile are lined with buildings that stand shoulder to shoulder. Every once in a while, there will be a small archway in between the buildings with a name like Advocates Close written above the arch. Through the arch is a stairway that winds between buildings, eventually leading to the outskirts of the old town. I would basically describe a close as the medieval equivalent of an alleyway.

Two final notes about Edinburgh. The first is that there are a lot of statues of dudes in this town. Seriously, I have seen probably 30-40 statues of men and not a single statue of a woman. Also, there are definitely strong scents of haggis wafting on the wind as you walk through town; not the most pleasant smell I can think of.