The funny thing about going to Edinburgh is that it was sort of an accident. We were actually headed for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, outside Portsmouth, which was originally scheduled for the weekend after LeMans. We'd already paid for the Goodwood trip, booked airfare, ferry, and the Ship Leopard when we learned that the Goodwood event had been postponed for a week due to the Formula 1 race in Baku. So, cancel or fill in the time? Doing what? Ain't that much in Portsmouth. Hey, Gordon had an idea: Pati's always wanted to see Scotland, so how about we go to Edinburgh? As they say in England, why not?
Arrival in Edinburgh is easy. Just hop on the tram at the airport and you're whisked to the center of downtown. Here, we rented a serviced apartment and had a beautiful, modern, one-bedroom place that a person could easily live in. A company called Destiny Scotland is in the business of purchasing properties that were originally huge townhomes from the 1800's and converting them. Pati looked out the back window at this:
The Big (car guy) Brain looked out. A McLaren, he said. A McLaren, worth about a cool million American. Sitting in the rain next to the trash cans.
Edinburgh has a lot to offer, not the least of which is fish & chips or steak & ale pies, along with local Scottish brews, at the pubs. It's mandatory to visit the big sights: The castle, Holyrood House, the Yacht Brittania, Grayfriar's Kirk, and the High Street, so we set off (mostly in the wind and rain) to check them out.
First, a wandering around town to view the castle from below:
Then, to enjoy the local streets (with the adjacent "closes", or courtyards):
And the famous, old Scotsman Hotel. The hotel was originally home to the Scotsman newspaper and later converted to a "hotel with character":
A stop at Grayfriar's churchyard to see the statue of the famous little Skye Terrier, Bobby. Bobby's master, John Gray, died in 1858 and the story goes that Bobby never left his gravesite. The gardener at the kirkyard tried unsuccesfully to evict Bobby many times, and finally the Lord Provost of Edinburgh bought Bobby a dog license and the City Council assumed responsibility for the dog. Upon Bobby's death in 1872, he could not be buried in the cemetery (consecrated ground) but is instead buried just inside the gate of the Kirkyard, not far from John Gray's grave.
We also visited Holyrood Palace, the Queen's residence in Edinburgh. The Palace has a long history, all the way back to 1671, and is still used for state occasions and official entertaining. In fact, the Queen was due in for her annual summer visit and we were lucky to see the Palace on the day before it closed in preparation for the Royal arrival. Here are a few pix:
