Out and About in Edinburgh

The Scottish love of the written word is evident everywhere in Edinburgh. The train station, Waverley, (flat roof, middle right of the photo below) is named in honour of Sir Walter Scott's first novel of the same name. He also wrote Rob Roy and Ivanhoe. The Scott Monument (dark ornate tower structure on the left) on Princes Street is the tallest monument to a writer in the world.

Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh

The weather in Edinburgh is constantly changing, often within minutes, so like the locals we do our best to ignore it and carry on. That's not to say we've been plagued with cold, wet weather, because we haven't. It's just that this is November not July, but when we learned Portobello Beach is less than two miles from the city centre we naturally had to check it out regardless of the season. We weren't alone.

Rosslyn Chapel

Prior to the worldwide success of Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code fewer than 20,000 people a year visited Rosslyn Chapel. Since then, the average has skyrocketed to more than 120,000 per year which is a good thing for both Scotland tourism and the Earl of Rosslyn. The additional revenue earned from entrance fees allows the St. Clair family (who have owned the chapel since 1446) to preserve it for future generations. The newer entrance includes a gift shop and tea room and is a nice juxtaposition with the much older chapel to the right.

Edinburgh Castle

This was our second visit to Edinburgh Castle, but the first was decades ago and while the exterior obviously hasn't changed, the interior and even the exhibits certainly have. Walking to the castle from our flat on Lothian Road we took Bread Street to Spittal and then onto Johnston Terrace. It's an uphill climb as you can well imagine given the castle built on a rock is the highest point in the city.

A Sense (Or Five) of Edinburgh

Our first full day in Edinburgh began with a brisk morning walk north along Lothian Road to a home on Glenfinlass Street as the couple who own our one-bedroom holiday flat invited us over for coffee. Besides welcoming us into their lovely home, providing cappuccino, lemon cake, chocolate ladyfingers and great conversation, they also shared insider travel tips on what to see and do in the city they're proud to call home. 

Glenfinlass Street

The UK From South to North

Travel by train in the UK is easy, affordable and best of all, stress free. We literally walked across Euston Street from our Airbnb flat to the Kings Cross station and bordered the East Coast passenger train to take us to Edinburgh's Waverley Station. It seemed mere minutes before we'd left the hustling and bustling city of London behind for peaceful, serene farmland.

A Wonderful Weekend in London, England

This visit to London IS different for so many reasons. Our age, temperament, interests, and even our stamina dictates what we'll see and do - as well as how we'll accomplish those items on our to-do list. The lovely thing about this visit is there is no need to rush, and while I tend to be a planner I've only decided on where we're staying and how we get there and have left the rest to serendipity.