Edinburgh Day 3 and a Trip to St. Andrews
Despite having too-limited time in Edinburgh, we still decided St. Andrews (about an hour and a half away) was a must-see. We found a very jaunty, jolly Polish Uber driver who was happy to take us and bring us back, and soon we were speeding across the countryside. He was also just the nicest--he fed Elowen fresh strawberries and bananas from his lunch on the way to keep her happy.
He dropped us off at the Old Course, which is where golf was first played in the fifteenth century. And while I learned this from Wikipedia, it's still very interesting--James II banned the game in 1457 because it was so popular that young men were busy playing golf instead of practicing their archery skills. Today, it's hosted more than 30 Open Championships. And while to me watching golf is akin to staring at a wall, that kind of history made a visit to the course fascinating.
Taylor also took the opportunity to buy some Old Course polos, since St. Andrews is the only place you can buy them.
St. Andrews is also a university town, and our walk toward the cathedral and castle ruins (which are 100% why I went to St. Andrews) took us through the campus and past its stately old buildings.
While we didn't go into the castle grounds, since we were up against a clock with a toddler who needs a nap, you could get great pictures from the road (and one day I hope to go back and see the side that overlooks the sea).
On the walk, we also saw some mentally unhinged people swimming in that cold ocean water.
Sadly, the cathedral ruins and most of the gravestones are unstable and thus surrounded by fences, which detracted a little from how picturesque the site was. Safety first, though, and it was still gorgeous to see--built in 1158 and abandoned by 1561, it's yet another place where history weighs heavily and makes you walk around in silent reflection.
Elowen wore her floofy princess dress for the occasion and garnered many smiles and coos from the other tourists.
It's another site I'd love to see from the sea-side view, and especially once the graves and grounds are stabilized and the fences removed.
While we waited for the Uber driver to return, we ate at a little pub in the middle of town and it was...not good. I took a bite of fry covered in rancid mayonnaise and spent about 24 hours waiting for intestinal doom. Thankfully it didn't happen, but such are the perils of travel.
On the way back, our driver pointed out more landmarks and shared so much history about the area...my favorite part (unpictured) was when he took us through Queensferry, a quaint little town outside of Edinburgh that I'd love to explore on foot.
He dropped me off at Edinburgh Castle while Taylor and Elowen went back for her nap...I was tired too but just felt I couldn't miss the site and it was my only chance! The castle is huge and towers over Edinburgh, so you see so many angles while walking the city, and walking up to its gates is just as impressive.
The site has been inhabited since the Iron Age, and the castle upon its rock has been everything from a residence to a military barracks to a prison; its long history is reflected within via several museums. It's also the most beseiged place in the UK, and I learned about the legendary Private McBain, who having nowhere to leave his son fought a battle with the infant tucked into his haversack.
I only had two hours, which really wasn't enough time, but I zipped around the walls to see the vast views of the city and explored the grim prison, recreated as it would have been in the 1800s. I also looked over the wall to see a pet cemetery, where high-ranking officials buried their beloved dogs.
I trotted through the War Museum, where I found the various uniforms particularly interesting and also Bob, who was the regimental mascot of the First Battalion, Scots Fusilier Guards from 1853 to 1860. They had him taxidermied when he died so they could still see him versus burying him in the pet cemetery (you know my fingers automatically typed that as Pet Sematary). According to the museum, he distinguished himself by bravely chasing cannonballs during a battle, and thus was awarded a special silver medal to wear on his collar.
I saw Meg Mons, a huge and famed medieval cannon, and visited Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building in Edinburgh (constructed in the 12th century and dedicated to St. Margaret).
On my jaunt back to meet up with Taylor and Elowen I saw a black double-decker bus that runs ghost tours, and I very much want to take that tour one day (especially seeing that it involves bleak puns--the best).
My other must-see (well, achievable must-see, I missed quite a lot in the city) was the Scot monument, an iconic Edinburgh landmark. I thought it was a monument to Scots in general, which shows you how much I planned--it's actually a monument to Sir Walter Scott, the famed Scottish author of Ivanhoe. Anyway, it was awe-inspiring and lovely and there was an awesome, lively band busking nearby. There's a museum at its base that's been added to my list for another visit.
And that was it for Edinburgh, other than a meal at a quaint Italian restaurant where I had a delicious prosciutto pizza and quite a bit of Elowen's mushroom and cream linguine; we also stopped in for a drink at Snug Bar, which is not pictured but which I'd recommend. They're located in the Glass House hotel and have a wide array of whiskys and cocktails and--more importantly--don't kick your child out at nine! In fact they brought her a glass of milk.
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