Edinburgh - "Hop On/Hop Off" (Day 1)...

The first thing on our agenda was breakfast. We found our way down to the hotel restaurant and found before us a glorious "Scottish breakfast", which included baked beans, black pudding and stewed tomatoes. Thankfully, they also had regular "we gotta' feed the tourists" items like fried eggs, sausage and hash browns.

Well, it IS the most important meal of the day...

What they also had on the buffet line was something I'd sworn for years I would never try. It's that dish you've never actually seen, let alone tasted, and if you're anything like me you've successfully navigated your way through every renaissance festival you've ever been to without being accosted by it. But there it was.

Haggis.

It's not as bad as you think...

There's not a single thing in the Wikipedia description of haggis which makes it sound the least bit appetizing:

"Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though now often in an artificial casing instead."

Aw, yeah, serve it up! 

In all honesty, though, it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe. You'll never find it on a buffet line in the States but, if you find it one a buffet line in Scotland, give it a shot. It's not going to kill you, and you might find that you actually like it.

Following breakfast, we grabbed an Uber down to Waverley Bridge, where we would buy our "hop on/hop off" bus ticket. As I've said countless times in the past, this is seriously the best way to get around a city. If nothing else it'll save you a mountain of money over taking taxis all day long.

On our way over to the bus stop, we walked down into Waverley Station, the main rail station serving Edinburgh. A continuing renovation has made the station a lot more passenger friendly, serving millions of travelers every year.

Waverley Station in Edinburgh...

Jess and I weren't getting on a train, though. Our primary reason to stop here was to see the Booking Hall. It's definitely an impressive sight.

The Booking Hall. Photos don't don't do it justice...

Once on the bus, we decided to do one full tour without disembarking. This would let us see what was out there and give us an idea of where we'd want to check out a bit more in depth. The entire circuit around the city takes about 75 minutes.

Our first stop was at the Grassmarket. Once upon a time this area was a main market in town. The area now is populated with shops, restaurants and pubs. We decided to stop at "The Last Drop" for lunch. The pub's name doesn't come from anything having to do with how much ale is left in your mug, but rather the fact that, starting in 1660, the Grassmarket was also the sight for public executions in Edinburgh. "The last drop" could certainly have also been  reference to the fall through the gallows for the condemned.  It, like so many other pubs and restaurants, are believed to be haunted. The Last Drop is believed haunted by a young medieval girl, although there's no information about her beyond that.

This explains it all...

 

Inside The Last Drop. And, yes, people really do wear kilts here...

Scotland, and certainly Edinburgh, have some excellent local beers...

After lunch we walked back out into the Grassmarket, which is cordoned off to traffic and is open to pedestrians only. It was bright and sunny teeming with people, as you would expect on such a gorgeous sunny day (which can be rare in Scotland). As we strolled along, we came upon the spot where the gallows stood, and which gave the period between 1661 and 1668 the name "the killing years" as, along with the daily executions, over 100 Covenanters (member of the Scottish Presbyterian movement) were executed.

This small monument, about ten feet in diameter, is believed to be where the hangman's gallows once stood...

From the Grassmarket we continued on and made a left onto Victoria Street, which was built between 1829 and 1834. As you come around the corner, the first thing you notice is "the nose". It's difficult to miss a pair of giant "Groucho Marx" glasses hanging above the street, and that's exactly how the proprietor of the Ahahaha Joke & Novelty Shop wants it.

Not everyone appreciates "the nose"...

In 1996, however, the idea was initially rejected by Edinburgh Council for being too big, and detracting from the atmosphere of the area which, admittedly, is quite different than a giant nose and glasses hanging above the door of a store. Nonetheless, the Council relented, the proprietor prevailed, and now the nose is proudly displayed above the door of the shop.

As you walk up the street from Ahahah, it's impossible to miss the multi-colored storefronts on your left. These have resulted in Victoria Street being one of the most photographed areas in all of Edinburgh.

Victoria Street...

We decided to walk back down to the Grassmarket to pick up our bus. Our next destination would be Castle Hill. Castle Hill is where you disembark to visit the mammoth Edinburgh Castle. As it was already going for 4:30pm, we decided to wait to visit the castle until later in our trip, but that didn't stop us from venturing up and having a look. The castle is large enough to be seen from just about everywhere in the city.

The entrance to Edinburgh Castle...

Not wanting to ruin the visit we would make in the ensuing days, we instead turned down the Royal Mile, a major shopping and dining district, and find our way down to St. Giles Cathedral, which has served as one of Edinburgh's religious focal points for over 900 years, and the current structure dates from the 14th century.

While it was certainly nice enough on the inside, I thought it was odd that I had to purchase a "photo permit" , for £2, to take pictures. I've photographed countless houses of worship over the years, and this was a first. If you do this, though, beware: The staff does absolutely nothing to ensure that you're actually able to take photos, to wit: Some blockhead stood in the very center of the church, taking panoramic photos of the entire church, for almost 20 minutes. My view is that, if they're going to charge you for the pleasure of taking photos, the staff could at least be somewhat proactive in helping you do just that.

St. Gile's Cathedral...

Looking towards the entrance of St. Giles...

We worked our way back into the newer section of the city (known as "New Town") and decided it might be time to make our way back to our hotel. While walking down Prices Street (one of the main drags in Edinburgh), we walked past one of the most visible monuments in all of Edinburgh: The monument to Sir Walter Scott.

The monument to Sir Walter Scott...

At 200 feet six inches, the tour bus guides will tell you that it's the largest monument in the world dedicated to a writer. Well, it's not. Don't get me wrong, it's large, but it's not the largest. The largest is in Havana, Cuba honoring Jose Marti.

An Uber ride got us back to our hotel, and it wasn't long before we called it a night. Day two on the "hop on/hop off bus" would come early...