Edinburgh Weekend - Part 1

The question always comes up, how many days should we devote to a city when we visit.  For this not too big city, the magic number is 3. I spent 4 and a half days, but you can shrink it down if you don't retrace your steps too much.   If you like the sights, we're on the same brain wave, but if you're more of a museum type, plan to spend more time at each one, and then fit the sites in.  Much of my time was spent in the Old Town where a great deal of the sites are located.

After a Scottish breakfast at a Polish cafe(and that breakfast is huge!), we set off on foot taking a loop in the back streets to start at the bottom of the Royal Mile where Holyrood Palace sits. The Queen stays here from time to time.

We head up the road, passing by the new Parliament Buildings which are quite funky looking. I think the shades was to help with solar heating. The walls are lined with quotes, and one can spend quite a long time reading these.

Heading up the road we stop at St Gile's Cathedral and head inside for a look. It's not too big, so you can easily walk around in about 15 minutes. 

We turn right and walk down another path alongside two museums: one of which is free (most museums here are) and one of which is not. After seeing my new friend to Waverly Station (if you take the train in, stop here), it was off on my own, and well, city tour buses.  

I've never been a fan of these before, but it seemed like a good deal since travelling on these hop on hop off, meant you don't have to figure out the bus system.  There are 4 routes with several overlaps.  10 pounds will get you 1 company, while 13 pounds gets you 4.  Compared to other cities, this is really decent. London would have you at 19 pounds I hear.  

Spend the extra 3 pounds because 3 of them are quite good and you'll really get a good sense of the city-at least the touristy part.  One of the main stops is on Waverly Bridge, very central, and a word of advice, buy your Edinburgh Castle ticket here, it's just easier.  A note to the wise, this ticket is also good for 24 hours, so if you buy in the afternoon like I did, you'll be able to get around the next morning too.

I would definitely recommend the green bus - this is the only one that goes up to Edinburgh Castle, but if you don't take it, it's not that bad of a walk.  Sitting on the other end of the Royal Mile from Holyrod, it's literally (just over) a mile from end to end.  To save yourself time, start early at one end and work your way to the other.  

Don't take the red City-Sightseeing one, there's nothing on it you can't get on another bus, plus there's no live guide. Believe me the live ones make it all the more interesting.  

The Majestic tour will take you towards the Botanical Gardens and the Britannia, as well as a quick jaunt through New Town and Leith. The other tours don't cover this part.  Mac Tours is interesting too, it's slightly different from the green bus, but if you just miss one, hop on the next bus that stops.  If you do your homework though, you may not even use the tours, or try the walking tours instead. Buses will get you farther and a much higher spot to take your pictures from, plus take you places you never thought of.

1st stop: Dynamic Earth
I'd like to compare to this Vancouver's Science World. In a sense, it's a collection of exhibits from the beginning of time to now, exploring different ecosystems and how they came to be.  Your ticket admission comes along with a 4D show ticket, so don't miss out! Everything but the show is underground, and you step through a time machine to start.


Several bus tours later, it's time for a quick dinner and then some night scene exploring.  Try something Scottish, you're in Scotland =)
Me? I tried Irn Bru and Cullen Skink. My picture of it is already on this blog as part of my Irn Bru entry.


Here's a recipe I found for Cullen Skink (it tastes better than it sounds).
Cullen Skink Recipe  I haven't tried it, but one day I will. If you're missing Scotland, this sounds like a pretty easy recipe and requires no haggis.