Today we'd finally get a day with Pedro along for the adventure! We started early, because we already knew the rail strikes may cause disruptions, getting to the Anniesland station in the hopes of getting on an earlier train to Queen Street. Funny enough, the earlier train was cancelled, and ours was late so we got an earlier train that arrived when our should have. Either way we made it to our Edinburgh train in time.
Throughout the journey, it was steadily getting foggier and foggier. At the Edinburgh Waverly Station, we all grabbed coffee and headed to the first stop, Calton Hill. Pedro and I kept saying things like, "Here is where you would see ___" because the fog was so dense you couldn't see the famous structures in the distance. Unfortunately, that also meant the views from Calton Hill were a bust. Pedro did pull up his photos from when his brother was here for comparison, and I feel like I need to do the same here for effect.
This raven kept cawing at us, adding to the spooky ambience of the morning.
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| View in August |
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| View today |
Our time on the hill was significantly less than planned, considering the obstructed view. Then we headed back towards the royal mile, taking a minute to check out the foggy Scott Monument. The castle was hidden as well.
We had tickets to go to Edinburgh Castle but had time to shop along Cockburn Street (the street leading up to the Royal Mile) where my mom found some very Scottish goodies to bring home. Yep, she bought a kilt. And a sporran of course, since kilts have no pockets.
After our shopping detour, we hustled up to the castle, only for Pedro and my mom to realize they couldn't find our tickets.
Me to Pedro: you mean the one time I don't keep the tickets; they're lost?
P: They're just gone!
Haha, no worries, Babe. We were escorted up to the ticket office, where they looked up our tickets via phone number and last name. Our tickets and a map were printed out, which was nice, since usually we had a mobile version and it had just started to rain. The fog was still pretty thick, so we didn't get the usual castle views, but the inside museums were still nice to see.
By the time we left the castle, it was still raining, and we were hungry. Our original plan was to eat lunch at the Grassmarket. Pedro and I love visiting this market. Besides small business selling unique gifts, there was really great food and baked goods every time. The only downside was the seating situation, as in, there was none. On a sunny day, we'd sit on a wall somewhere with our food. So today we decided on a pub for inside seating, the White Hart Inn. Many others had the same idea, and we ended up sharing our table by the end of our meal. They were Americans as well, on holiday visiting Scotland, so we had a nice chat about our shared experiences.
After lunch, the fog had finally lifted! We browsed the Grassmarket for little gifts, then headed to Greyfriars Kirkyard.
There were tours going on in the graveyard, as well as individuals like us. Many were looking for the famous graves J.K. Rowling used in her books, and I was able to help a couple find them. After my mom read a few more headstones, we went back to Victoria st. We popped in and out of shops, getting small gifts here and there.
Last on our tour was St. Giles, the recent resting place for Queen Elizabeth II. Fun fact: this tourist spot does not have a bathroom. But the national library around the corner does.
As we headed back to the Waverly, we stopped to get some ice cream so we could have a sugar crash nap on the train. All in all, we had a good day. We didn't walk too much and left before we got too tired.
