Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a huge city, and we barely scratched the surface. There are tons of things to do and places to see, at least 464 according to Lonely Planet. In case you missed it, I mentioned that we flew into Edinburgh and stayed at the Fraoch House B&B while we were staying here in my first posting about our UK trip. Great accommodations and a good location for sight-seeing.

We started out in the morning with a bus tour to get a feel for the city. I'd recommend downloading some walking tour podcasts from Edinburgh Bus Tours. There are so many sights to see and famous people associated with the city that it can be a bit overwhelming.  Whether you're into Calvinism, Harry Potter, or The Wealth of Nations, you'll find your hero here.

Adam Smith can be found along the Royal Mile. You won't even need the Invisible Hand to find him!

John Knox, founder of Presbyterianism and Protestant Reformation leader.

No trip to Edinburgh is complete without a stop at Edinburgh Castle. There's a tremendous amount of history at this volcanic outcropping of rock. From the 12th Century building, St. Margaret's Chapel, to the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI, the castle has continued to play an important role in British history. Today you can still visit the Crown Jewels there, and you'll always know when it's One O' Clock when you hear the canon fired every day.

This is not the One O' Clock gun, but it is a cool old cannon.

Be sure to visit St. Margaret's Chapel while you're there, the oldest building on the castle grounds.

After a tour of the castle we walked the Royal Mile, which is the strip of road that goes from Edinburgh Castle down the hill to Holyrood Castle, the Queen's residence when she's in Scotland. We just happened to arrive in Edinburgh the same day as the Queen, who was there for her Diamond Jubilee. We caught a glimpse of her as she came out to greet the dignitaries visiting Holyrood that day, which was a long wait, but well worth it. You can barely see her in the video I took, but she was there. More entertaining was the Queen's band, who entertained the audience with the Olympic Fanfare and the Death March while we were waiting!

Right across from the Castle is the Scottish Parliament, a very modern-looking capitol building where the Scottish Members of Parliament meet. While we were there the big topic of discussion was whether or not to break away from the UK, which (as of the time of this posting) is still being debated.

View of Holyrood from inside the Scottish Parliament building.

After checking out the Parliament building and Holyrood, we walked back up the Royal Mile and stopped at Canongate Kirk, where Adam Smith is buried. There are many famous people buried in Canongate Kirkyard, and it's worth taking the time to stop and stroll through the cemetery grounds outside the Kirk. If you're lucky you'll even see some Scottish thistle. You'll also want to visit St. Giles Cathedral, named after the 7th-century hermit and patron saint of Edinburgh.

Scottish thistle on the grave of Adam Smith.

The view inside St. Giles Cathedral.

If you're tired of being outside, take a walk down the hill from the Royal Mile and check out the Scottish National Gallery. There you will find artwork from many great artists, including El Greco, Van Gogh, and Monet. There are also many shops to check out in Edinburgh, and one of our favorite stops was an old antique shop where we found some communion tokens for my dad. A Presbyterian practice, communion tokens were used as a way to limit who could partake in the Lord's Supper and were made popular by John Calvin during the Reformation. We also walked around the Edinburgh Woolen Mill for close to an hour, checking out all of the kilts and other wool items we could buy. Eventually I ended up with a wool hat, and it's one of my favorites to wear during the winter months.

Example of a communion token.

We ended the evening by eating at the Cafe Royal Circle Bar, a very nice oyster bar in town. I had the mussels, which were delicious, and we enjoyed going back over the sights we visited that day. After a quick stop at Robbie's for one last pint, we were done for our all-too-short visit to Edinburgh. Next time will definitely need to be a longer visit.

Whether you're into literary history, philosophy, royalty, whisky, antiquing, shopping, fine dining, or just fish and chips, Edinburgh has something for you. It's a truly unique city and deserves its special status as a World Heritage Site. For a change of pace, our next stop is Oxford!