snapshots abroad: Scotland: Intro to Edinburgh

When we finally arrived at Edinburgh this afternoon, neither of us had slept very much and we were already exhausted. I got a second wind as we deplaned onto the tarmac and I skipped a little in the fresh cool air. I was suddenly very excited. We boarded a double-decker bus that would take us to the city center and we sat on the top at the very front. A grin was soon plastered on my face as we whizzed through the narrow lanes and the form of Edinburgh Castle appeared before us. After a few wrong turns we found our hostel and checked in.

We threw our bags in our rooms (single-sex dormitories) and walked through Calton Hill, past the Scottish Government building, and down a long hill to the Royal Mile. After picking our way through one of the closes (narrow alleyways often "closed" overhead by building upper stories) we found our way to Holyrood Palace, the former residence of the Stuart Scottish kings, Mary Queen of Scots, and is now a residence of the Royal Family.

The furnishings and tapestries were a wonder, and Mary’s apartments in the oldest part of the palace were incredible. There was a desk and dressing table with exquisite inlaid designs (no pictures allowed!). There were also remains of a 12th-century abbey. We made our way back to Calton Hill at sunset just in time for a memorable first look at Edinburgh’s skyline and the nearby monuments.

We were able to find an excellent Thai restaurant for dinner nearby, even if the service left a lot to be desired. It was called Phuket Pavilion (I’m sure my initial pronunciation was very wrong). After much-needed showers and some photo sorting, we went to bed early.