Edinburgh, Antiques, and Plans

Thursday was another quiet day, consisting of time with Grandma and a trip in to downtown Newcastle for some shopping. (I needed a guide to Edinburgh, although my Auntie Denise printed out maps and information for me as well.) In addition to visiting Waterstone's, Catherine and I wandered around Primark and Fenwick's for a good chunk of the afternoon. We had dinner at her house with Adrian and Denise, which was fun, although I arrived back at Grandma's house later than I had planned.

On Friday, I spent the day out by myself in Edinburgh. I had gone there at least once as a child, but I only remember bits of it. I took the 6:25 train out of Newcastle, so I was there a little after 8:00 AM, giving me plenty of time to wander before any of the sights opened. I began my visit by walking to Calton Hill, which is an open park area with several monuments and memorials. The air was cold and rain was inevitable, but the views from the top of the hill were incredible, and I was glad that I stumbled upon that area. (And, because the city was still asleep, it felt very peaceful.) As the clock inched toward 9:00, I made my way back up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. (As I found out, the castle actually opens at 9:30 rather than 9:00, but I waited and was relieved to be toward the head of the queue...yeah, I said "queue"...more British by the moment...) I spent about two hours wandering the castle with the audio guide. My favorite part was St. Margaret's Chapel, which is actually the oldest building in Edinburgh...it was small and simple, but I thought that the simplicity made it more beautiful. I had tea in the cafe before heading out, and my next stop was at the tartan weaving mill next door to the castle...the machines used for weaving the tartans are huge and noisy, so I was only there briefly. (Which reminds me: I saw more men in kilts in one day that I think I ever have before, including the Scottish regiment at Trooping the Colour.) I spent the next bit of time at the Camera Obscura, which I remembered slightly from a childhood visit. Essentially, the building has a series of lenses and mirrors which can project the activity on the street below onto a small white table on the top floor. When I was little, I thought it was magic, plain and simple, and even though I know how it works now, I still thought it was magical (so those of you who thought that my cynicism was out of control can see that I am still able to be enraptured and humbled by simple things like lenses and mirrors). My favorite part involves the use of cards to pick up cars and people on the road below (I remember being little and wondering what was happening to the real cars below while we were playing upstairs). The rest of the museum is pretty cool as well, with displays on holograms and optical illusions (including a hologram of a telescope that you can actually look through). As I was finishing up on the last floor, the fire alarm went off and the building was evacuated. I had planned to wait and see what was going on, but when a firetruck arrived, I thought that I should probably make my way along rather than wasting time. My next stop was the Museum of Scotland, where I only checked out a few choice exhibits. (I wanted to see the cast of the tomb of Mary, Queen of Scots, since I had already seen the original at Westminster Cathedral in London.) I particularly enjoyed an exhibit about Scotland Today which featured interviews about what it means to be Scottish. On my way back to the Royal Mile, I checked out the memorial to Greyfriars Bobby and stopped for tea and shortbread at The Elephant House (the cafe where JK Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books...thanks Amelia and Drew for the recommendation!). I ducked into St Giles' Cathedral just as the rain started thundering down, which was a beautiful and peaceful space. I also stopped by Canongate Kirk, which was much more modern, but still a beautiful house of worship. As I continued down the Royal Mile, I visited the Museum of Childhood, which was charming. My favorite exhibit was a collection of doll houses, which were so intricately detailed and gorgeous. Just as I was preparing to leave, the heavens broke again, so I loitered in the gift shop a bit longer before biting the bullet and going out into the rain. I made my way to Holyrood Palace (for which I had allotted time in the afternoon) only to discover that it was closed due to a visiting official. Instead, I went into the Scottish Parliament building (I was searched on the way in, but did not find much of personal interest) then back to the Queen's Gallery to see the exhibit of conversation portraits (which had an excellent audio guide). I stayed there until they closed, at which time I still had about an hour and a half before my train was due. I visited a small cafe for dinner (leek and potato soup...can't get much more Scottish than that if you don't fancy haggis) before making my way back to the train station. The ride home was easy, although it started pouring outside again as soon as I reached the Metro station closest to home. (It was fine though...I stayed under shelter for five minutes with three local guys and we chatted about lousy Newcastle weather.)

Yesterday was another quiet day: time with Grandma, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I went out for dinner with Adrian, Denise and Catherine at a restaurant that is part of an inn in the country, which was lovely. The views along the way were beautiful, especially as we were coming back with the sunset. (And I have now discovered the joy of panna cotta and fudge ice cream!) Today was similarly quiet. I went over to Grandma's for Holy Communion (one of the ladies from the local church brings it to her and they have a lovely little ceremony in her room, which I attended, as well as one of Grandma's neighbors), then went to an antique sale with Denise and Catherine. We spent a fair amount of time picking over a heap of silver jewelry that was being sold by weight (I found three lovely rings), and I bought a beautiful vintage silver dress with exquisite beading (the ladies I bought it from had purchased it at an estate sale in North Yorkshire)...that definitely wins the prize for the best five pounds I have ever spent. :)

This evening, I finally planned out my return south: I will leave Newcastle on Tuesday (August 4) for London, spend all of Wednesday in Cardiff (finally getting to Wales! And for only £10 on the bus!), and fly out on Thursday morning. Catherine is coming with me, so I will have some company in my final days. In the mean time, I'm soaking up Newcastle sights and heading over to Auntie Brenda's for my final weekend. :)