posted by:

jefrois

Touring Edinburgh, where there is a story for everything :)

Edinburgh Travel Blog › entry 20 of 22 › view all entries

11 countries, 14 cities in 20 Days, countless stories from my trip in summer 2008

View All Photos

RSS Feed

Report spam

World › Europe › United Kingdom › Scotland › Edinburgh

« Previous Entry: Last Night in Par… Next Entry: A tour of Dublin from D… »

Touring Edinburgh, where there is a story for everything :)

July 16, 2008

Edinburgh Castle

It is a sad day because everyone today is heading their own separate ways, I left first for Edinburgh, didn't have a chance to say my proper goodbyes last night or in the morning since i caught the first train to the airport :((( It was great to travel, share laughs and unforgetable memories with all of you for 5 days!

I arrive in Edinburgh all tired, having no sleep, and I can't even think about eating food after last night :(

I am only in the city for the day so I quickly got to my hostel and hurried just in time for the FREE TOUR of Edinburgh... As you walk past Edinburgh Castle, on the Royal Mile you start picking up some of the stories that fill up Edinburgh, like the one about the mercat cross, which is the focal point of the town, where executions, proclamations (new king) and announcements (like that the price of bread/grain goes up) occur even to this day.

Heart of Midlothian...This is a spot of many legends, locals spit here some say to show their distaste for local taxes...

The guide tells us stories of burglars being punished by getting nailed to the door of the mercat cross for one day. Some would try to escape by physically ripping themselves away from the door, but leaving a scar that reminds all that he is a burglar...

Then there is the Heart of Midlothian, which is a heart-shaped mosaic built into the pavement near the St Giles Cathedral. There are different explanations for why the locals spit on this heart: One says that it is illegal to spit anywhere but into the cross in Scotland, a Second tells a story that this is the place where they used to collect taxes and people spit to show their disdain for paying taxes LOL... What I do know is that you can easily tell a foreigner from a local near this spot... The local will avoid the spot religiously, while the foreigner will PLOW RIGHT OVER IT :)

There were also stories of Deacon Brodie, respectable citizen by day, burglar/murderer by night and was the inspiration of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Dr.

The middle step is INTENTINALLY shorter than the others, so burglars would slip on the step and wake up the entire house

Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. Then there is Burke and Hare 'the bodysnatchers', who thought of a way to make money that was a bit "different", they would dig up bodies and sell them to the medical schools, CREEPY!!! What I like most about Edinburgh is that everything in the city has a story and not just a name... There is Maggie Dickison's pub, which overlooks the Grassmarket. History says that Maggie herself was hanged in the grassmarket only she didn't die and her future husband bought her a pub which overlooks the very place where the botched execution takes place :)

A very short trip but I always find a way to make it a bit more interesting lol... It was raining at night so i call for a taxi for 5:10 the next morning to the airport to get to Dublin... Waking up you sense something is a bit off, look at the clock ITS 5:09! CRAP!!! I gather my stuff and rush down to the reception, check out, and still was able to catch the taxi driver right before he was about to leave...

On to Dublin...