Trip with the Fam Jam: Edinburgh

Our next stop was back in Scotland, Edinburgh! After Hadrian's Wall this was the second place I was looking forward to seeing the most! Like all the other cities, once we got to Edinburgh we dropped our stuff off and headed out. There was no time to rest, there were things to do and places to see! That day we decided to climb the residues of an erupted volcano, Arthur's Seat. Mom really wanted to go up, so she headed up really quickly leaving Barry and I behind. We weren't going as fast because we were both not feeling the greatest that day. Mom left us behind and Barry and I made it up the hill together. The view from the top was spectacular. You could see almost all of Edinburgh. The view was only spoiled by Barry and I not feeling the best, I think it was dehydration, and the wind was so strong it felt like we were going to be knocked off.

Up to Arthur's Seat and the view from the top!

The next day we went and saw the rest of Edinburgh. Our first stop was of course the castle which I really wanted to see. It was set up on a hill in the middle of the city which made it quite majestic. It was a very interesting castle and inside there were the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny. I wanted a picture of the Stone, but no photos were allowed. You'll just have to believe me when I say it looked like a big rectangular important rock. Overall the Castle was neat. It was a little newer then some of the others I have seen and it was much more crowded which didn't help the wow factor, but it was still interesting especially to hear the history of the place. Again, there was a lovely view from the castle and it being more central then Arthur's Seat it felt more like you could see the everyday workings of the city from there, which I guess would be one of the reasons the castle was built there in the first place!

On the way down from the Castle we popped into stores and just strolled around Edinburgh. The following day we did more of the same strolling, but this time our purpose to was explore the museums. First we strolled down to the Museum of Edinburgh. It's in this yellow building and looks a little unimpressive and tacky from the outside, but we decided to give it a chance. It was actually interesting. There was information about the development of Edinburgh over the years and it geological formation caused by the volcano. It also highlighted some important local people and had a very insightful display on the First World War. You could tell that some parts of the Museum hadn't been updated in a while, but all museums have that problem and go through fazes where parts need to be changed. After that we went to the National Museum of Scotland. It was a huge museum that had everything in it. They had a wing especially for Scotland, so that's where we spent our time. It was new looking and very clean. The first floor was a little confusing because there felt like there was no specific direction you were supposed to take and then you were left wandering around feeling like you missed something important. I was able to get through it better then Mom and Barry, but that's because I took a Scottish Medieval history class so I had the background information needed to enjoy it, but if you don't have that knowledge it could be hard to follow. The floor up was all about industry and they had some large machines which looked very technical and impressive. The second floor was much more straight forward and seeing all the machines was really interesting because not many places have large machines just out in the open.

The final day I was able to convince Mom and Barry to go to this other castle which was a 30 minute walk in the opposite direction of everything else, and they were both happy that I did! As I made them trek up to Craigmillar Castle I knew that they both were doubting me a bit, but both trusted me enough to just go with whatever I was telling them. When we finally saw Craigmillar Castle from a distance it looked impressive enough, but when we went inside it blew all of our expectations. It wasn't because how well preserved it was, which it is still quite intact, but how many rooms, tunnels, and passageways there are. As people had moved into Craigmillar Castle they never bothered demolishing anything and just added onto it to their hearts desire which left an oddly laid out castle which was very amazing to explore. As we went through we found at least three places where a kitchen used to be and then was moved because they needed the room or needed to expand the kitchen. This castle also contains a lot of history especially dealing with Mary, Queen of Scots. Her first husband's death order was signed here and she liked to spend time here. This castle was the place the nobles went to escape from the city and Edinburgh Castle. I really liked it and so did Barry and Mom. It was the other highlight of the trip and definitely an unexpected one and a hidden gem!

After the castle we took the bus back into town and went and explored 'New Town' which was built in the 18th Century if I remember correctly. There we went climbed the 143 steps up the Nelson Monument built for Horatio Nelson. Again there was a really nice view! This time we could see more of the water. We then wandered to the Scott Monument and Barry and Mom went up that. I didn't feel like going up and how they acted when they came down it was a good choice! I guess the stairs are really narrow and so are the balconies. It was hard for them to appreciate the view when they were shaking. 

The Nelson Monument

The Scott Monument

That was our time in Edinburgh. The next day we headed off to Aberdeen. I really enjoyed Edinburgh and would definitely go there again. Next time it would be nice to have more time to explore the surrounding area too.