Edinburgh - Days 028 & 029

I toured a lot of galleries on Friday, most of which didn't allow me to take any pictures, but I enjoyed them all.

The whole week had been beautiful until Friday when the rain clouds came in. I was in the last gallery for the day, The National Gallery of Scotland, and as I was walking through I could hear the storm coming. I loved being inside looking at all the paintings and listening to the rain on the skylights and the thunder all around.

On Saturday morning I woke up really early. With my breakfast I ordered a cappuccino and it was really the best cappuccino I have ever had. Saturday was a very cold day, however, I felt really warm the whole day and I think it was because of the cappuccino.

I finally toured the castle. I'm glad I waited till Saturday because I had so much time to do it and my previous days were filled with multiple things on my list. There were lots of cool things to see in the castle and so much history. I really liked the prisoners of war section. You could see their living conditions, which I guess if you were prisoner of war the Edinburgh Castle wasn't that bad of a place. Also, their were doors with all the carvings of the prisoners. Some carvings were a bit questionable, like "John M was here 19/11/1990." I also enjoyed the Scottish Crown Jewels. These were jewels used in the coronation of royalty that were hidden for over 200 hundred years. Their existence was in doubt until 1818 they were finally uncovered. The Scottish Crown Jewels include: a crown, a sceptre, a sword, and my favorite the Stone of Destiny. Sadly, pictures were not allowed to be taken of the jewels.

Edinburgh - Days 026 & 027

I toured St. Cecilia's Hall - Museum of Instruments. It was really cool to see old harpsichords, spinets, virginals, and pianos. It actually reminded me of a dream I used to have where I was lost in the McCall Shore Lodge and then I would stumble upon a secret stairwell that led down to a room full of exotic pianos.Thankfully, the part where I completely forgot how to play didn't happen like it did so many times in my piano dreams; also I was wearing pants, so that was another pleasant reassurance.

I had the pleasure of meeting a couple people at the hostel and then bumping into them later on High Street, where there are lots of street performers and vendors.  Bagpipes can be heard all along High Street.  So after bumping into them, the three of us went out to eat at the Elephant House.  This little cafe house proudly displays in its window, "Birthplace of Harry Potter."  It is the place where J.K. Rowling penned the first Harry Potter novel.

Edinburgh - Days 024 & 025

I woke up early and just wandered the city. I walked around the castle. It's hard to get a good look at it up close. Due to its elevation on a cliff and the massive size of the whole thing, you really have to be far away to get a good look at it. I was looking at a lot of the paintings that a lot of the street vendors sell and it is usually of the city seen from a hill at a distance with the castle being the focus.

I found a place with free Wifi (before I realized there was one right in my hostel) and updated the blog and made some plans for the days ahead.

Here (from the spot that I took this picture) you can watch the trains coming and going from the Waverly Train Station, you can watch the double-stack buses drive across the long North Bridge, and you can see the castle in the far distance where the skyline slopes downward.

On Tuesday I took a walking tour. We learned a lot about Scotland's history. We heard some of the brighter stories of Scotland and some of the darker ones, too.  One story is about a dog now known as Greyfriar's Bobby.  Bobby, a Skye Terrier, belonged to a night watchman named John Gray.  After two years together, John died.  For the next 14 years, Bobby guarded John's grave day and night.  Bobby has his own tombstone now and it, along with John Gray's, is one of the most visited tombstones in Edinburgh.

A sample of my thoughts on spending money

I have found in the cities I have been to so far, that while walking down the major streets the cafés are all begging you to eat there where they serve the authentic food of the locals. A reasonable price for a dish at most of these cafés would be about 6 pounds or something. I prefer to pass on eating the local dish, I prefer to buy picnic food at a market for under 3 pounds, and take it somewhere outside to eat alone, like on the side of a hill where I can view the city at sunset, or on the steps of a cathedral. The cafés are tempting, I will admit. So is the ice cream, the many different kinds of crêpes, the pizza, and the beer. I will eat crêpes along my trip, I will eat at the cafés, I will eat pizza. The temptation for this food that will not fit in my budget is there daily though. If I am proud to be disciplined enough to avoid these treats regularly, I am not cheating myself out of anything.

There are subjects other than food I could discuss, obviously, but it all is pretty much the same principle. I will spend what money I need to when there is something I am really looking forward to do. Until then, I am having a wonderful time, please do not think because I am trying to make my money last that I am missing out on fun.

Bus Rides Pt. 2 - Day 023

After getting into Belfast, I walked to the train station and waited there.  A security guard let me in and I asked him where I needed to go to take the ferry.  He showed me a map and told me directions.  I walked a nice walk to the ferry station.  It was perfect timing for an early morning ferry.

Going through customs at the docks was more trouble than when I got into Ireland.  Many more details about where I was going, why, and how long were inquired than before.  The man even called someone on the phone while looking over my passport to do a background check or something.  Everything cleared, thankfully, and he let me on.  The ferry ride wasn't too long, but I slept the whole way.  Quite a nice sleep too, I got to sprawl out on a long leather couch.

I arrived in Stranraer and fancied myself a huge breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bacon.  After that I walked to the Tourist Information place and learned which bus to take to get to Edinburgh.  The bus stop was outside and just across the street from a police station.  A ways past the bus stop was a terminal where passengers could wait.  It was raining and I preferred to wait inside so I walked on past the bus stop.  From previous walks around the city, I noticed many public toilets that require a small fee to use them.  Walking past one I saw a lady waiting at the door to use one.  I didn't think anything of it at the moment.

After waiting in the terminal where I brushed my teeth in the bathrooms, and charged my laptop and iPod, I headed on back to the bus stop for my 1:06 bus.  A police officer walked directly across the street to question myself and some of the folks around me waiting at the bus stop.  He asked how long we had been there and if we had seen a purse.  I told him I waited there previously for a short while and then just returned.  He told us of a lady who waited at the bus stop, then used the toilets, and somewhere lost her purse.  Since I was the only one who had possibly seen the lady, he wanted my name and my home address and stuff.  It wasn't really a big deal, but it was kind of entertaining to me.  The officer was very nice and asked me about my holiday and everything.

From the town of Stranraer I took the bus to Ayr, then to Glasgow and finally, my last bus for a while, to Edinburgh.  In two days it was 7 bus rides and 1 ferry ride.  This is going to be the hardest part of the budget to remember, but I will attempt to recall the prices.  I think I still have some receipts too.

I got to my hostel in Edinburgh and finally did laundry.  I had some time to walk around the city, too.  I loved everything about Scotland right from the start.

Budget: Currency change!

Food in Belfast: £3.75 ($7.41)

Ferry ride: £25 ($49.41)

Food in Stranraer: £4 ($7.91)

Bus rides 1 & 2: £8 ($15.81)

Bus ride 3: £5.10 ($10.08)

Hostel: £18 ($35.59)

Laundry: £3 ($5.93)

Food in Edinburgh: £2.80 ($5.54)

Total (this is gonna be bad): £69.65 ($137.66) Ouch!