Cannons at Edinburgh Castle
The train ride out of the highlands was very pleasant. Ireland is noted for being green…but please know Scotland must be considered a rival! The landscape is exquisite --- rolling green hills all the way. The train was also entertaining due to the woman who went up and down the aisles with her pushcart of tea and goodies…she sold quite a lot during our leg of the trip!
What I have to share about Edinburgh is WOW and that this is one of the hippest cities I have ever visited. There is so much history, complemented by youthful vibrancy. What is also cool is that being dominated by seven large hills, it is next to impossible to get lost walking about…you always have easy points of reference! We departed our train at the major station downtown and walked to our nearby hotel to check our luggage since it was pre-check in time.
View of Edinburgh from roof of Camera Obscura
Unencumbered, we made for the Royal Mile, the main attraction in Edinburgh. This name refers to a street which runs from the majestic heights of Edinburgh Castle down to the royal residence of Holyrood…where Queen Elizabeth resides when visiting these environs. Our first stop was lunch at Deacon Brody’s…an excellent bar/eatery named after the actual person whom Robert Louis Stevenson based his main character upon in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”! I finally got to order some haggis…and our waitress was impressed that I requested some tabasco to douse the concoction!
Next stop was checking out the famed Edinburgh Castle…a must see. Having an ancient fortress perched atop a bustling city is incredible enough, but the history is fascinating too. We weren’t in town when they have the nightly military parades (“tattoos”) which are acclaimed as phenomenal, but enjoyed the site nonetheless.
We departed this exceptional tour keen to dive further into Edinburgh and checked out the Camera Obscura. You might be familiar with this centuries old device that enables great views…but it is a quality exhibit we did not regret and thoroughly enjoyed the visions of downtown Edinburgh.
A delightful two-story pub/eatery on the Royal Mile with an intriguing background. Deacon Brody was apparently a real life character who served as an elected official in Edinburgh and committed a broad array of atrocities...serving as the inspiration for Robert louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde"!!! We enjoyed lunch here during our first day in Edinburgh and this was where I gained exposure to haggis. We would learn that the prices were reasonable compared to other venues on the Royal Mile, and the service was expedient and friendly!
Thanks to our enjoyed lunch, we returned the next evening for a few Guiness...and it is a lively night scene too! The bartenders continued the jovial service and we were impressed that many of the patrons were locals...reinforcing this was an authentic cool place!
Haggis at Deacon Brody's....taba
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