Arriving in Edinburgh for the second time was just as exciting as the first time I rolled through the green pastures into the city with a castle on a hill. We both have Scottish heritage and our dog, while originally from Texas, has a very Scottish name. Unfortunately, we were unable to find any magnets with “Hamish” on them. Regardless, we enjoyed every bit of our stay in Edinburgh.
To make things clear from the beginning, this isn’t a travel advice article. But a bit of travel advice, stay at an Airbnb. Not only is it more affordable, but you also get to experience the city more like a local. My husband found an awesome community Airbnb in Haymarket, the center point for several main roads filled with great pubs and cafes. Ryrie’s Pub, which was only a few minutes away by walking, was a favorite of ours.
But before I get ahead of myself, let me jump back to the beginning of our adventure. No plans for breakfast, but a definite need for coffee, we headed toward the castle. We happened to walk into Biddy Mulligans for a quick bite to eat and caffeine. The empty pub was a perfect quiet start to our trip. But not too quiet. Shortly after we sat down, there was a parade or protest of somesort. An interesting sight to see. Ironically, Ben had just listened to a podcast earlier detailing the entire organization, Orange Order Lodge of Scotland, and it’s history, so he was able to fill me in on the entire ordeal.
After the excitement, we headed up the steep streets to Edinburgh Castle, a truly stunning place. Back in 2015, I traveled to Edinburgh with my Dad, but we only saw the outside of the castle. Assuming the fortress was all inclosed, I was in for a surprise when it was more like a walled community. We waited until one in the afternoon for the famous One O’Clock Gun, which was more like a cannon. You’ll see from my photographs, that it was impossibly challenging to see the event, as everyone’s phones were raised to snap a photo or video of the entire process. I lifted my camera above the rest to grab a photograph, annoyed with everyone else documenting the scene, and then I realized that I was just as bad as them. So I lowered my camera, peered through a gap in bodies and we just watched as the cannon was ignited with a bang. Sometimes it is challenging for me to put down my camera, but at the same time, I am so glad when I do and I am just present in the moment.
And my, were there so many moments to be fully present. Before we headed off to our next location for the day we stopped for ice cream at Mary’s Milk Bar. We stood in the rain while we ate our cones, but it was definitely worth it. As the drizzle started to subside, we headed up to Calton Hill. From the top, we could see Holyrood Palace, the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen visits there one week at the beginning of each summer for official engagements and ceremonies, presumably why it was closed to the public while we were there. But we weren’t there to look over the palace. The idea was the take in the views of the city and take photographs on the hill while the sun set, but the Scottish weather had other plans. With a few bursts of lighting, it began to pour. Side note, we tried numerous times to capture the sunset. We climbed endlessly in cities to get to the highest, most beautiful spot to have the clouds roll in. By the last night, it was laughable. I have horrible luck with sunsets and travel, but nonetheless, it was breathtaking. May I also add that we were severely ill prepared with our clothing. Having to carry everything on our backs, we were limited on weight. So that meant the jeans and sweater were left behind, so Edinburgh was colder than anticipated. But even with the cool weather and wet clothes, we still enjoyed our trip immensely.
As we walked back in the rain, clinging to each other under one umbrella, I peered down the alleys, known as closes. We walked back up the Royal Mile towards the Castle and all I could about was the photograph that I had taken of the Scott Monument framed beautifully in an archway opening over four years ago. I hadn’t looked at the photograph in years, but the composition was burned into my memory. I was looking for the same opening, the same frame, to grab a shot. As we walked I tugged closer to the opening of the closes and then I saw it. The exact same scene. We took a few steps in under the cover of the buildings and I took the photograph. It wasn’t until I was editing the photographs for this blog that I looked at the two side by side, almost exact. I told my Dad while we were there how much Ben would love Scotland, but I didn’t think I would be back in such a short amount of time.
