Wednesday, July 22, 2009

The trip to Edinburgh was pleasant enough and speedy......until we got about 50 miles from the city and started to look for a place to spend the night! We found several places in the shadow of a large nuclear plant --- Seeing nuclear plant towers was a bit unnerving so we drove on. The problem was that in a strange country you have no idea where to find the streets on which lodging is likely to be found. We found several places with rooms upstairs and no lift, one really elegant place in an old Inn that was too expensive, and finally we found a Premier Inn -- this is a little like a Days Inn and it was next to a restaurant that resembled Denney's or IHOP with a pub attached. The accommodations were clean and comfortable, but best of all there was a young woman working the desk who made the whole experience good.
We were desperate for a laundromat -- but these are hard to find in the UK as well. The kind young woman at the desk offered to let me use the Hotel's laundry facilities. "I don't know how to use the machines," She said, "I live at home and my Mum still does my laundry." I said, I was confident that together we could surmount the differences in equipment from the U.S. to the U.K. If she was willing, so was I. We figured it out together and our clothes were once again clean and dry! The young woman had completed two years of her college and was hoping to use her education to work with poor children in the city through police departments. She'd been involved in a program to help them enjoy fruits and vegetables -- to encourage eating properly. Reading was another thing they worked to get the children interested in. Her passion and excitement showed as she talked about the children she'd been working with. She works in a volunteer position during the summer, earns money for school at the Inn and lives at home so she can afford to work toward her goal. I learned all this as I sat reading and waiting for the cycles to run through in the laundry. Our clothes were better off at the hotel laundry than if we had found a laundrette. The laundry in Nice was very hard on clothes since you could not control the dryer at all....here I could set the dryer for cool temperatures for Kathy's clothes and high for our jeans and cottons!
I also was able to have Internet access for the fist time in days and got caught up on my email and my posts about our whereabouts. Only a few places have provided access for free with accommodation --- usual cost is 10 pounds for 24 hours.
In the morning We began our drive into Edinburgh at 8:00 a.m. and had the car returned by 9:30 --- no scratches!!!!! We climbed in a cab and were delivered to our hotel (Jurys Inn) on the Royal Mile just across from the train station. After we got checked in at 11:00 we started to explore.

Our first stop was John Knox House, a great little museum and very nicely done it is not so busy and it therefore feels a bit like it might have when he was present there. It is also be coincidence the storytelling center--- and interesting combination. From one of the windows you can see the Cathedral where he preached! The house is the oldest remaining original construction for which history exists.. it was left mostly untouched because of its association with Knox! The spiral stone staircase leading up three flights is a wonder in itself. How these folks managed to do these stairs with ease and grace without breaking their necks is a puzzle in itself. There is a book shop here where you can buy books about Knox or storytelling....and performances by storytellers occur daily.
We were hungry and a bit chilled so we stopped in for lunch at the Forsythe Tea Room. It is in a small Close and is perhaps 24 feet long and 8 feet across built as it is in the side of one of the buildings on the close. There are little archways all along the main road that lead into courtyards with names above the arch telling you which Close you are entering. In these little courtyards are homes and shops.
The tea shop was run by an older woman probably in her 60s who is obviously suffering with RA -- but her face is radiant with good cheer. I notice that there is a table with spiritual books on it next to the register. Directly behind the register is the area where she cooks whatever you prefer from the days menu. Looking down the corridor at the tables there are tea towels for sale, tea cozies, and other small items --- such as tea cups and mugs. The Scots, like the Irish seem to love potatoes. There are even shops that serve nothing but baked potatoes which have a multitude of stuffings!! So I ordered a potato, tea and lemon curd tart. Kathy had a bacon and egg sandwich with apricot tart....of of course we had TEA!! It was lovely.
While we waited the postman came in and had a bite to eat and a bit to drink as he delivered her post....In the course of the conversation I brought up the spiritual books next to the register and she pulled out her devotional and we shared the days entry. It was a real blessing for me, since I left my Disciplines (the book I use for daily devotional in Denmark!) It is strange, but you can't find a Bible in the drawer in Europe the way you do in the U.S. This lovely lady, works hard, keeps a cheerful countenance, and offers springs of living tea to any who crosses her path. By the time we left the shop had filled up with people, and I wondered at her ability to deal with all the carrying and walking! I believe that this place is probably bathed in prayer by people who cross her path and realize her gift and her difficulty. I said a prayer as I left, and hope to remember her in prayer even on my return home.
The rain picked up and our walk down the steep path to the palace was very wet and a wee bit windy. Holyroodhouse Palace -- the residence of the Queen -- once a year ---- in June--- is part of the National Trust and still a functioning place for events of state significance. The street is called the Royal mile because it is bordered by royal residences! Edinburgh Castle is at the other end. Palaces are residences and Castles were intended to be fortifications for the protection of an area. We are just about half way between the two landmarks. Edinburgh is (at least in this part) very hilly. The walk to the Palace was steeply down hill, and on either side of this street are shops specializing in Scottish crafts, tartans, Celtic jewelry, cafes, pubs, other hotels, and something we do not have in America. The Cancer Society, the Heart Association, Oxfam, and the organization supporting animals (like our SPCA) all often have shops on the High street (this is usually the name of the street that runs through a village or town. there is even a name for a few houses and post by the side of the road here --- hamlet)

Holyroodhouse was the palace where Mary Queen of Scots had her apartments and those are especially interesting with her private alter in her room. Her room is in the oldest part of the palace which has walls that are at least 3 feet thick. The other state apartments are lovely, but nothing as opulent as those of Europe. There is a distinctly different flavor of opulence when you cross the channel. Even in London the style is heavier and darker. More like a hunting lodge in some respects. I felt this same sense in Neuschuanstein in Germany. Dark heavily carved wood everywhere and chandeliers made of antlers instead of Crystal. I do not even have a name to give it....Baroque and Roccoco don't seem to apply. Then as you go North style becomes more spare still. The ceilings in the palaces are white plaster leaves and flowers in relief with perhaps only one ceiling fresco in the entire building. Their was a lot of Oak paneling --- from which may have hung tapestries.
Kathy used the same elevator as the Queen in the palace (seems she has been getting the royal treatment in the palaces everywhere!). The docents all wear the Stewart Tartan to honor the Stewart Kings of England --- and they are quite fond of the Queen --and "Queen Mum" who both were partial to Scotland --- spending the month of August at Balmoral. A portrait of the Queen Mum hangs over the fireplace in one of the rooms. Across from the palace is the new Scottish Parliament building. Designed by a Spaniard, there is still a lot of controversy about it. Not only does it NOT fit into this landscape --- it really doesn't look like a building that fits into any earthly landscape. It is shaped in bits and pieces in unconventional shapes some of which do not look habitable.

It has a cold stainless steel exterior with rods of wood that look like someone might have been designing a shelter in the woods lining the side. Not only did it run over the estimated cost of building, but it is apparently badly insulated (a very bad thing in a climate where I am chilled to the bone in mid-July, but the windows do not open --- something unheard of here! One of the locals told me that "Tony Blair made us build this."

The rain continued to come down heavily or lightly, but it was consistent in one thing, it came down! I was wet to the bone and chilled as well. When we finally got back to the hotel, I curled up and read under a blanket for more than an hour before I felt warm enough to uncover my arms. We slept in on our second day in Edinburgh.

2nd day Edinburgh.

Kathy had to get the train tickets for Ireland (they got so wet on the cruise to St. Tropez that they stuck together) so she was off to the train station this morning and left me to finish my computer entry and explore a bit. I was to be back to the hotel by 3 p.m. so that we could head off to Edinburgh Castle and then out to dinner. We need to be back early tonight since the train leaves at 6:30 a.m. so that is an early day!! We will have to get a grab and go bag for breakfast.

I went back up the Close and discovered an old church which had been demolished and partially restored. It is a museum now featuring brass rubbings. Then I headed up to the Royal Mile. Just as it did yesterday, it rained intermittently. Today I was smart enough to wear the pink Royal Caribbean rain/windbreaker that I bought -- but even that didn't completely keep me dry. My jeans were wet well up my calves, my shoes were soaked as were my socks, and my neck and shoulders were wet from rain migrating in through the opening at my neck!

It was not a warm rain, and I stopped into Starbucks just to get warmed up a bit. There were two managers standing near the door, and I asked one if they used the same coffee that I got in the U.S. The one fellow was quite concerned that it didn't taste like what I was used to and brought me a french press and a bag of beans that he thought would taste more like home.

I told him that was unnecessary and that I wasn't complaining --- just asking---but he insisted that I take this and enjoy a good cup of coffee tonight in my room. So now I have a lovely Starbucks coffee press.I darted into another Scottish shop and finally found two scarves that were McIntyre clan scarves! Apparently only the top 40 tartans are common and if you have a more unusual family name -- it is difficult to find that tartan--so I bought them -- then and there! The young woman was a student and this was a family owned store -- so we struck up a conversation and had quite a good conversation. As in so many places she commented on the fact that Bush had not promoted a sense of multi-culturalism -- She expressed her hopes for President Obama. This has been a universal experience for us....thumbs up for Obama.

I walked on up the mile headed for the Cathedral, but as I came closer I discovered that it was blocked off. There was a funeral for a young fireman going on. He had been killed in the line of duty and there were hundreds of firefighters and policemen standing in the rain in their dress uniforms outside the old cathedral. Flowers were strewn on the entry and the service was being broadcast outside for everyone to hear. I listen for a while and realized that this was going to go on for some time yet, and that it would be difficult if not impossible to get in and back to the hotel to meet Kathy at 3:00 -- so I started down the cobblestone street with rivers of water cascading over my feet and water dripping from my hair into my eyes, making it difficult to see.

After a moment to put my feet up we left for Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Royal mile--the desk clerk told us that we could catch the bus to the top of the hill ---- which didn't exactly turn out to be true! Actually it did take us up the hill --- but nowhere near the castle.....the hill was too steep for me to push Kathy, so she had to walk using the wheel chair to steady her on the cobbles. When we actually got to the top we found that stands had been set up for the Edinburgh Tattoo. A tattoo is a military parade, and it seems like these are really popular here in the UK. I watched the Windsor Tattoo which is the one the Queen has participated in even.....and Prince Phillip just stopped competing at the age of 87 in an event --- these Brits seem to be a very tough lot indeed!

Ordinarily the landscape would be easily viewed from this spot --- but with the stands you could not see the city at all. Once at the castle, we found that there are lovely arrangements for people who are mobility challenged and after purchasing a ticket we were picked up in a car and carried to the top of the Castle. This makes the preparations for protection at Stirling Castle look like child's play. The oldest building in Edinburgh is part of the castle -- it is a chapel that was erected around 1120 and was thought to be a part of an early royal residence. The rest long since was destroyed and the rest of the castle dates to around 1500 and much of it was built during the reign of James VI.

Mary Queen of Scots hated having to stay in the castle --- because it was apparently cold and drafty, not nearly as nice as Holyroodhouse, but the fortification was sturdy indeed, and afforded a clear vision of anyone coming by sea would have been visible for miles! There is a war memorial on the castle grounds which was a church that was used as barracks and then converted into a war memorial at the conclusion of WWI. It is similar to the Vietnam memorial in that each regiment has a book in which its dead are named. This memorial now goes on as Scots are killed in Afghanistan. Some of the memorial bears the marks of the age -- looking very much art deco in style, but the whole of it is quite beautiful with stained glass windows depicting war in each season. A statue stands over the entrance with her sword broken in half -- indicating the belief at the time that this war would end all war!

At 5:30 we left the Castle and walked a short block DOWN (down is good) the Royal Mile to the Witchery. This restaurant was reviewed as one of the best in Edinburgh...and for me that was true. We both had the heirloom tomato salad with baby herbs, but I chose local Salmon (which sat on a bed of baby asparagus with sweet potato), and heather honey parfait with Angus strawberries. Kathy did not have such good luck. She had beef (which was probably made from one of those Highland cows that we saw on the isle of Skye because it was really tough!) She had Oat cakes with local cheddar, chutney and preserves for desert.

The restaurant was in a building that had been continuously occupied for the past 4 centuries. It is called the Witchery because it was the site where so many witches were burned at the stake during the time of James VI! The interior is slightly below the street level so the windows are maybe at thigh height if you are walking down the street. The walls are elegantly carved dark oak and the ceiling is typical of that time with patterned painting and beam construction.

Our waiter untied the red ribbons on our napkins and placed them in our laps --- an indication that this was certainly not a pub! Each table had a brass candlestick with a lighted candle in addition to a couple of votives so the entire room was lit by candle light -- a beautiful touch indeed. Our meals were from a promotional which gave us three courses for 30 pounds! I didn't look at the prices on the menu for the other items since I probably would have fainted dead away!

As we sat waiting for our meal I could watch the legs of pedestrians and occasionally someone would sit down on the curb to eat something. Now and again people would notice the windows and lean over to peer in. Children were just the right size to watch. Some were dancing and jumping up and down in excitement and some were crying because their little legs had simply worn out! Suddenly the sun burst through the clouds -- not timidly but as if it wanted to retake the sky! When we left the restaurant it was sunny and bright, but windy and cool. We walked down the street to the hotel. Kathy does quite well using her feet to keep from running wild through the streets so I (for a change had to keep pace with her!).

Tomorrow we will arrive in Ireland rather late in Cork I think --- after many changes of train and a ferry ride in addition to possible taxi rides as well. This may be my last post for a while, since I have no idea what kind of Internet access I can expect in Ireland!

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