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Today: Edinburg Scotland
Our last (14th) port of call, and the 24th day of the cruise is Edinburg, Scotland.
The last time I was here was several decades ago when I was living in France. Another American friend and I hitchhiked from the our university in Normandie, France through England to Saint Andrews Scotland. We stopped overnight and stayed with a friend of hers who was studying in Edinburgh. She also had a friend studying in Saint Andrews for the year, and that is who we visited. I have fond memories of that long journey hitchhiking from France up to Scotland and back. More than 20 drivers picked us up, we never waited long, we were good company and provided friendly conversation to the drivers. I recall that the farther north we drove, the less we understood the language. After a while we were just nodded our heads yes and smiled. We were very tired. Interestingly enough, we never felt unsafe the entire time.
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and the political, commercial, and cultural heart of the country. Built on seven hills, just like Rome, this thriving metropolis is both modern and rich in history. It’s noted for it’s superb skyline, it’s impressive architecture, and it’s beautiful parks. It is widely regarded as one of Europe’s most beautiful capital cities.
Recently, Edinburgh has been named the most livable city in the world based on low crime rates, high levels of education, and overall good health of the workforce, among many other factors.
The “burg” in Edinburg is pronounced “burra”.
A person from Edinburg is called an Edinburgher.
It was designated the first the worlds first UNESCO city of literature in 2004. Some famous Edinburghers are Alexander Graham Bell, Charles Darwin, sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Adam Smith, Sean Connery, Tony Blair, and J. K. Rowling.
J. K. Rowling moved here in 1993. Many of the people and places here inspired the characters and the places in her Harry Potter series.
Built like the Acropolis in Rome, Castle Rock houses the majestic and imposing Edinburg castle, the symbol of Scotland. Located at the end of the historic Royalmile, this stunning castle dominates the cityscape from a top it’s Rocky perch. At the other end of the Royal Mile, sits the Hollyrood Palace, the official Scottish residence of her Majesty the Queen. This castle is mostly famous as home of Mary Queen of Scots, it was the backdrop for many of the dramatic episodes during her turbulent reign. I was happy to watch film, Mary Queen of Scots, in the ship theater. It was well done!
Today our ship docked at South Queens ferry, located on the banks of the firth of fourth. I like saying that: the firth of fourth, just 10 minutes miles north west of Edinburgh city center. We had another tender boat process. This time, there was no wait to enter the tender boats. I took a 45 minute bus ride into town and raced through the streets to join my 10AM walking tour on the Royal Mile.
David from Australia conducted the tour. He shared many interesting legends and pointed out the sights. He has a great sense of humor.
I am so impressed by the city. In Edinburgh, there are majestic, stately, Gothic, neoclassical, and classical buildings everywhere you turn. This is in the one of the grandest cities in the world!
I will probably split this into three separate blog post when I return home.
Thank you for reading and please forgive any typos. I will make corrections when I have access to a regular keyboard.
There is one more sea day before I disembark the ship in Normandie, France. It will be difficult to say goodbye to my home for 26 days. Sorry for the duplicate photos—will amend later.
