Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday, August 24th, Edinburgh



Greetings!


Edinburgh has a very advanced public bus system.  Smart phone aps allow you to track their buses, pay the fares, and indicate which stop you want to get off at.  The average passenger looks very much like the average citizen, though Pat says that’s more to do with the restricted parking than the comfort of the busses.  We’re using the bus to go from our hotel downtown and back each day, and it stops right out front of us.

Today, we walked for about four hours, had lunch, and then another four hours.  We began the day with Fiona, a city tour guide, who navigated our way through the streets and alleyways (closes) from the Castle to the Queen’s residence.  From the mid-1400s to the 1960s, on both sides of the Flodden Wall along the Royal Mile (a means of controlling trade, and protecting against a British invasion).  





We saw more poets, theorists, educators, scientists, murderers, witches, and politicians than I thought one city could call home.  But with 500 years of history, you collect a lot of characters.  After the tour, we had lunch at the official residence of the Queen in Scotland, checked out the new Parliament building ($400 million for one structure), and then took the bus back up High Street to the top again and visited the Edinburgh Castle.  More a military garrison than a residence, it was the scene of royal births (James I, son of Mary, Queen of Scots) and is where the Royal Jewels, Scepter, and Sword are currently stored.  Also has some seriously powerful cannons.

Tomorrow, we head for some stops along our tour path which we want to spend some more time at.  

Here is a link to the photos taken today: Friday, August 24th, Edinburgh

Gregory









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