Edinburgh and Furry Cattle

Today mom and I decided to stop nagging dad to keep moving and just let him wander around and explore a site at his leisure. He tends to linger over every display and information board and he could easily spend eight hours at one stately home. He's fascinated by details and how things work – these are things I've picked up from him, but definitely to a lesser degree. My parents requested a whirlwind tour of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England; my primary role as organizer of this trip is to keep them moving, as much as I hate being the one to do all the poking and prodding. I reserved all of our B&Bs in advance as I knew that would give us a destination each evening – a sure way to keep us moving. Dad admits that if I hadn't booked the accommodation, he'd likely still be exploring castles in Ireland.

The only thing on the schedule for today was exploring Edinburgh. We started off at a small market and enjoyed burgers from a stall run by a meat shop called Well Hung and Tender. I laughed. They even sell t.shirts.

Proof that yes, it's a real company name.

We walked up the steep hill (don't worry, mom, I'm not telling that story) to Edinburgh Castle and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon. Dad was able to wander around as long as he wanted and even pulled out his binoculars to study the gravestones in the dog cemetery as we weren't able to get close enough to read all of them.

The centuries-old paving stones through the castle grounds.

Recreated jail.

Etching on a wall in the jail.

Group of French guys in kilts and wigs.

Dad examining the gravestones in a dog cemetery used from 1837 - 1901.

Headstones in the dog cemetery:
"Winkle - Loyal and Faithful Friend"
"Gyp - Crown Room Dog"
"In Memory of Little Tim"
"Yum Yum - This Stone is Erected in Loving Memory of their Truest Friend"

In this tiny room, on June 15, 1566, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her only child, Prince James, who later became King of Scots and in 1603 became King of England.

Fireplace in the Great Hall.

A wedding was held at the castle and this piper played as the bride, her family, and the wedding party arrived. Dramatic and impressive.

Mom and dad at the top of a flight of steps trying to figure out how to get to the next site.

Edinburgh is covered in these narrow alleys running up and down the hill.

Encountered this view as we walked down a hill - not sure of the names of the arch or the church, but I liked the scene.

Edinburgh Castle at the top of the hill with a park at the foot.

Yes, I made my parents do this.
No, they didn't put up a fight.

In the evening we went on a tour called The Real Mary King's Close – it's an opportunity to go on a tour of streets and buildings underground in Edinburgh. The buildings used to be five or six stories tall, but they knocked down the top few levels and built government buildings on top of the lower levels, leaving the original streets intact. The tour was quite well done and they've won awards such as Oddity of the Year (2004) and Best Visitor Experience (2008). Our tour guide cracked cheesy jokes but took his job seriously, explaining the history in both and interesting and entertaining way, but he didn't take his job so seriously that you felt sorry for him. My favourite thing was when he did things to scare people in the group – hilarious to see a bunch of college guys scream like girls in the dimly lit underground.

As we drove to our B&B south of Edinburgh we saw a field with Highland Cattle so we stopped and shot some photos of this comical, ancient breed.