Day 15 - Arthur's Seat & Edinburgh Castle

May 16, 2008

We woke up around 8:15am, got slightly ready for the day, and went down to breakfast around 8:45am (breakfast was served between 8am and 9am).

Our hostess asked us about the hot water and if we ever got it back. We told her "No" and explained that we had to heat up water for ourselves; this didn't phase her one bit that we had to got through so much trouble to finish our showers. She then went on to say that no one has ever complained before about running out of hot water and that the other guest rooms all had electric hot water so it was bascially our fault for running out of it. Somehow I find it very hard to believe that if we were the only ones using the hot water from the tank that the little bit we did use used all of it. It wasn't the most comforting feeling after having gone through that the night before to be practically blamed for it. She never even apologized for the inconvenience of it all.

Nevertheless, we sat down for breakfast. She asked if we wanted a full Scottish breakfast with Haggis and Black Pudding. Jeremiah said no to the Haggis and Black Pudding and I said no to the Haggis. I wasn't sure about the Black Pudding. I had vaguely remembered Jeremiah telling me what it was but with pudding in its name, it couldn't be that bad, right? Well, I ask her if I could just try a little bit of it but she said that wasn't really possible. So then I asked what it was. She then handed me a framed sheet of paper which detailed exactly what black pudding and haggis were.

After reading "congealed blood" in the description of the black pudding, I knew instantly that I would pass on that one as well. I told the hostess this when she came back in the room and she seemed surprised that I didn't want any and asked a few more times just to make sure I didn't.

She then left the room to go fix our breakfast. We got some cereal and fruit to start it off. There was a brother and sister at the table next to us and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. The hostess soon came back with some toast. I picked up a piece after she left and was about to put some jam on it when I noticed that it had mold on it. I put back the toast on the rack and told this to Jeremiah. He then inspected the rest of the rack and they all had mold on them. Jeremiah didn't want me to say anything about it to the hostess, but I thought that something needed to be said as that's just not acceptable any place you go.

When she brought in our hot food, she started talking to the guests at the table next to us and started giving them help on the bus ride in to the city. She then took them out to the hall to give them more information. When the hostess came back into the room I mentioned the toast and politely asked for some new toast and didn't make a big deal out of it. She looked over the toast and was surprised and then set it down on the table next to us. After a few minutes, she brought us some non-moldy toast.

As we were eating our meal, she then started to ask us about our plans. Each of our previous hosts have done this and we thought she was just trying to be friendly like them. We told her we were on our way up to Loch Ness and such but then she interrupted and asked where we were staying that night. We didn't really want to tell her that we were staying in Edinburgh at another place because we didn't want to make her feel weird that we chose not to stay both our nights in the city at her establishment but she was insistent. So we told her we were staying at a Travelodge not too far away (honestly, when we booked this place and the Travelodge, we had no idea until after the fact that they were only a few miles away from each other). Jeremiah tried to play it off that we like to try out new places and not stay at any one place for too long (instead of telling her that it was because they charged so much for the room that we couldn't afford to stay there two nights).

She was kind of shocked at this and asked us how much it cost. We told her that it was £30 for the night. She then insisted that it must be per person as no place could charge that little. We told her that it was for both of us for the night and then she insisted that it must be a hostel, not a Travelodge. I insisted that it was a Travelodge and to make her feel a little better I told her that it was somewhere between £30 and £40 for the night (I really couldn't remember exactly how much it was right then; it ended up being only £30 when I checked my paperwork later).

She then asked if we read reviews of places. She told us that we must not because she has heard that that place is very run-down even though she had never seen it herself. We told her that we did read reviews and we would just see how it went. Finally she dropped the subject and left us alone.

We finished out breakfast and Jeremiah headed upstairs while I waited below for the hostess to come out so I could pay our bill. I waited for a while but she never came out and I felt awkward knocking on the kitchen door to get her attention. I figured I would settle it later and went upstairs myself.

I wasn't feeling too well so I laid down for a bit while Jeremiah went to the bathroom to finish getting ready. I must have fallen asleep for a bit because a little while later someone was knocking on my door. I couldn't think of who it might be other than Jeremiah but I was sure he took the key so I ignored it. A moment later, there was another knock so I answered it with my voice. The host then replied by saying that check-out was at 10:00am; it was now 10:15am. I was surprised at this as we were never informed of a check-out time. So I told him okay and I started to scramble around the room packing our things as quickly as I could. I then grabbed my toothbrush and headed to the bathroom.

On my way, the hostess was coming up the stairs and reminded me again that check-out was at 10am. I told her that we weren't aware of that and that we were just about finished so we could leave. She then went on to say that they needed to be leaving and that they needed to make up our rooms now. I again said we were hurrying. She then asked for me to pay. Now I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I was not expecting her to ask for the full payment after all we had to go through. I was at least expecting some type of compensation for the inconveniences but I guess they didn't feel the same way. I gave her the cash and went into the bathroom.

We finished up as quickly as we could and went back to the room to grab our things. The hostess was working on the room across the way from ours and reminded us again that check-out was at 10am. What more did they want from us?!?

We grabbed our things, double-checked the room to make sure we didn't leave anything behind (because, believe me, we did NOT want to have to come back here again), and walked out of the house to our car. We got in and just drove; we didn't even wait for the GPS to register so it could tell us where to go; we just wanted to get as far away from there as possible as quickly as possible.

We drove through the city a bit and then decided on going to Arthur's Seat (for those of you who aren't familiar with it, it is a mountain that sits right next to the Holyrood Palace). We found some parking and walked across the street to start climbing the mountain. There was a rocky path to walk up and it was rather steep (steeper than it first appeared).

We continued up, stopping every once in a while to take a look over the city and to catch our breath. Eventually we made it to a paved path and it was leveling off a bit. I figured we must be close to the final ascent to the top. Then the path started to decline and it didn't stop declining. I was really confused because we were not at the top yet and the only path in front of us was one that continued to go down, not up.

We continued to follow it and then came in our view another mountain, decently higher than this one, sitting right beside it. We were about halfway back to street level by now and standing between the two mountains. Jeremiah had been here before with some buddies from Capernwray and they came really late at night. They climbed the side of the mountain to get up it (he didn't remember a path at all) but then standing there, he thought maybe this is what happened before - they got to this point and couldn't find a path to go to the top so they climbed the side of the wall. It was rather disappointing to get this far and up such a steep path to not even reach the top.

Well, we saw that there was a path to go up the second mountain so we walked towards it. Then we turned around a bit and saw that there were smaller paths to go up to the top of Arthur's Seat, from the back-side. We decided to first go up the second mountain and then up Arthur's Seat.

We started our climb but this time there were steps to climb. This was not trivial either. We had layered on our clothes and at this point everything was off except the last layer. We were so thankful that it was a cool day out and that the sun was not shining down on us.

At one point, we stopped for a little break and we could see another couple climbing up behind us. One was a girl and she was in a bright pink jumpsuit. She looked very prissy and they were gaining ground on us. That was the last push for me to keep climbing without stopping. There was no way that prissy pink girl was going to beat me up the mountain!

The steps finally stopped and we started on a path for a little bit. Then it was a really steep path for the final leg to get up to the top. We climbed as quickly as we could but did need to take a short break and I'm glad we did because as we were standing there, a little bunny came out of a hole in the ground and started looking around. Then 3 more bunnies on the other side of the path popped out as well. They were so cute!

I tried to get close to them to see if I could pet any and I was able to get closer than I would have imagined, but eventually they ran back in to their holes. We made it to the top just to see that beyond this top, there was another bump to the mountain that was even higher that you could climb.

We found a rock to rest on for a bit and to take in the wonderful views; we were the only ones there. As we were sitting there facing Arthur's Seat, I saw there was a pretty level path that went along the back of Arthur's Seat. I wondered if this would be an easier way to go around the mountain and back to our car.

We then decided to visit the bunnies one last time and then head up the second bump to the top. We went to the bunnies but the girl in pink was there and I think she scared them so they wouldn't come out. We then walked over to the second bump and started to climb the steep path up.

Surprisingly, there were a lot of people at the top of this mountain. We took some pictures but didn't like the crowd too much and there were a ton of flies so we only stayed a few minutes before we headed down.

We thought about taking a different path down, but couldn't tell if it actually went through or not. So we went back the way we came. This time we saw the bunnies again briefly; still very cute :)

We walked down all the stairs and it was a lot easier going down than coming up; no breaks needed. I then told Jeremiah about my idea of walking that more level path back to the car. We couldn't tell for sure if that's where it led but when we started going up Arthur's Seat, I did see a path going towards this direction so I thought maybe they met up with each other.

We only had about 20 minutes to get back to our car before the time expired so we walked quickly. As we were nearing a curve, I saw a path a little below that went the opposite direction we wanted to go and I started to get afraid that this path was not what I thought it was. So we started to jog a little just to see what was around the bend. That other path was just a branch off this one and this one led right back to the front of the mountain, across the street from our car. Whew!

We got to our car with a few minutes to spare and planned where we wanted to go next. We didn't particularly want to go to the Palace and walking around the streets of Edinburgh wasn't that enticing. Jeremiah had been told years ago that going to Edinburgh Castle wasn't worth the money but we thought that we might take a chance on it anyways.

We found some parking just below the castle on a street (very expensive parking, I might add, but it was a really good spot and we didn't want to waste time trying to find it someplace else that was cheaper). We had to climb some stairs and on one of the platforms there were toilets, so we made a little stop. Then we climbed the remaining stairs and started walking towards the entrance. By this time it was 1:00pm and I wasn't sure I could make it for hours inside the castle without eating anything. We didn't really want to take the time to go get a meal, so I hurried back down the steps to the car to grab a few snacks.

I then went back up the stairs and met up with Jeremiah. We headed towards the gates of the castle. There was scaffolding everywhere in front of the castle as they were setting up bleachers for an upcoming event.

We found our way to the ticket booth and bought our tickets (£11 each) and we added in the audio guide for £2 each. We walked up the path a little ways to the audio booth to pick up our headsets.

We punched in the appropriate numbers, found a bench, and started listening. This was an amazing castle and definitely one of my favorites. They had so much to see, including a museum, and so much good audio to listen to (the audio was definitely worth the extra money; we highly recommend it if you ever go). We walked around and saw as much as we could. By the end, we were rushing through things just to be able to see everything at least a little and hear all the main audio tracks (after you listen to a track, they sometimes have the option to hear more about a particular topic and you can choose whether or not you want to listen to it - we didn't get to do this as much during the end because we were running out of time).

They had the Scottish Crown Jewels on display, now called the Scottish Honors as they are no longer used in any crowing ceremonies. But the rock that goes under the English throne when a new sovreign is crowned (I forgot the name of it) was there on display and will travel down to Westminster Abbey when next needed.

We got inside the castle around 1:30pm and left when it closed at 6pm and we could have easily stayed there another 2 hours. So if you plan on going here, make sure to get the audio guide and plan on spending the majority of the day there.

When it closed, we walked out and back down to our car. We put in a little more money to get us through until the free parking hit in. We found the information we needed to find "The Real Mary King's Close." This was a tour that took you under the streets of Edinburgh to see what the streets used to look like that once existed before they were built over (close is another name for street). Jeremiah was really interested in this so we wanted to see if we could get in on a tour that night as their last tour started at 9pm.

We started walking on the street and looked around for High Street but couldnt' find it anywhere and I had left the information in the car on accident. We turned down one street and just didn't know where to look. So I stopped a local and asked him if he knew where High Street was. Apparently we had just come from it but I didn't realize that The Royal Mile was the same as High Street. So we walked back to it.

We continued walking a little ways and then we found it. We walked inside and saw a sign that stated they were all sold out for the night. We asked about it and they were sold out but were taking reservations for the next day if we wanted to book. I said that we were leaving the next day and then I asked if there were any other tours like theirs that toured the streets below. Of course there isn't one exactly like theirs but they thought one across the street did take you under the city.

We talked about it and were a little disappointed we wouldn't get to see this one. Then we thought about how much time we needed the next day to do what we had planned and we decided we could squeeze in the tour first thing in the morning.

So I went back inside and got us tickets for their earliest tour at 10am. We then got directions to the nearest Subway (earlier we had seen people eating it so I knew it had to be near). It wasn't too much futher down the road so we headed there for dinner. We got our famous £5.99 meal for the two of us and found a bench nearby to each.

We ended up sitting in a square where there was a statue in the middle and there was a tour going on talking about how people used to be tortoured on that very spot. Oh, I should mentioned that we happeded to be in Edinburgh during their annual Ghost Festival so there were tours like this going on all around and was probably one of the reasons the tour we wanted was all sold out.

We then headed back to the car for some reason but I can't recall why. There was a payphone nearby so I waited in the car while Jeremiah talked with his mom for a bit. I was ready to hit the road to the Travelodge but Jeremiah want to walk around a bit more as it was still light out (my feet weren't really up for it but I thought I would regret it later if I didn't go).

So we started back up those steps again and were on a mission to find the place where Jeremiah had seen a monument to Abraham Lincoln by accident 10 years ago. He didn't really remember where it was that he had stumbled on it so we just walked down some streets.

There were some high walls we walked by and then there was tall gate to an opening. It was a graveyard and the gate was closed. I decided to push on the gate just to see if it would open and it did. Jeremiah wasn't sure if we should go in in case we weren't supposed to but I figured that it would be locked if we shouldn't be there.

So we walked inside and up some stairs to see some really old graves from the 18th and 18th centuries. We looked to our right and to the back and low and behold, there was the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Seems like the best way to find this thing is to stumble upon it.

We looked around for a bit and read some gravestones. It was crazy to see that the same year some of these people had died was the year that another person in a grave just next to theirs had been born. One grave was exactly 200 years old this year. It was also sad to think that the people who had known these people were not around anymore either, which is probably why this graveyard didn't look like it was very well taken care of.

We stayed there for a bit and then left. Since that is what Jeremiah wanted to see, we started walking back to the car. On the way, some very lively (and extremely drunk) girls came up from behind us. As they passed by, one actually grabbed on to Jeremiah and started talking to him. It was really weird.

Walking through the city, it wasn't one that I particularly liked, not like New York or London. There was just something unfriendly in the air about it and I was kind of glad we weren't staying there any longer than we were.

We got back to the car around 9pm and started off for the Travelodge. It was only 10 minutes away off one of the freeways; really easy to find. We checked in and went to our room. This place was just a welcomed site after our experiences the night before. It was clean and had everything we needed (including one thing we didn't need - a spider!) and did not come with unfriendly hosts.

We brought in our stuff and then I convinced Jeremiah to head back out to a McDonalds for ice cream (I was really craving it!). We got in the car and found a McDonalds on the GPS. We had passed one on the way to the Travelodge but I didn't know the street it was on so I figured it was best to trust the GPS.

We were on the freeway and then I saw what looked like the street the McDonalds we had passed was on. We got to a roundabout and decided to keep going to the one the GPS was taking us to; I figured it couldnt' be too much farther away. Well, I was wrong; it was quite a bit farther away but we got there and at least they were open.

We got some ice cream and brought it back in the car with us and then headed back to the Travelodge where we could enjoy it. And we did enjoy it! We then got ready for bed, set our alarm, and went to sleep.

Even though the day didn't start off great for us, the rest of it was superb.

Love,
S&J