Edinburgh: Day Two

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley..."

Day one bled into day two as the jet-lag kicked in and we stayed awake into the wee hours, drinking Bulmer's Original Cider and making plans for our foray on day two. We finally racked out around 5:00AM and were up again at 9:45AM. Then down the road to My Cucina for a Full Scottish breakfast. Having reaffirmed our love of fried foods and grilled meat (black pudding is AWESOME), we headed back to the hotel for a quick planning session before beginning our second day of adventures. Hours later we awoke to find that jet-lag had, again, had it's wicked way with us. Unsteady, but undaunted, we slunk out of the hotel intent on hitting our first bus tour. A quick stop at Starbucks helped us gather our wits, and off we charged toward the tour.

We arrived at the bus tour kiosk around 5:20PM, just in time to see them shutting down for the day. They explained that we'd just missed the last bus, but were welcome to return at 9:20 the next morning. "Curses", we exclaimed (internally, we don't actually speak out loud like that). Disappointed but determined, we resolved to adapt and overcome. We headed over the bridge and up the Royal Mile, destination: Edinburgh Castle and, hopefully some great photos of the city from the castle's commanding vantage. On the way, we got some great photos at The College of Divinity and on Ramsay Place. Then, up the hill to storm the castle. Unfortunately we were thwarted yet again. The fellow behind the barricade informed us that the castle was closed for the day, and could we please storm it in the morning during business hours (really quite pleasantly). Bet this never happened to Edward I. Having decided that all plans were off, we held hands (mostly out of love, but partially so Mel didn't trip on the cobblestones) and again wandered down the hill toward St Giles Kirk. Happily, we found this lovely church open, and took some great snaps before ambling on down toward Holyrood House. Got some nice pictures of the palace, wandered through a peaceful and lovely Holyrood park and then found ourselves in The Regent Pub. Two Deuchars IPAs, one cider, a chorizo pasta and a mac & cheese later, we decided to head for home. Along the way we stopped in the Old Calton burying ground and visited the monument to philosopher David Hume. Back at the hotel at around 10:30PM, tired after much up-hill walking, we stopped in the Metro West pub for a Whisky, stocked up on Bulmer's Cider and ambled off to the room.

The wonderful thing about Edinburgh is that, even though we failed to meet our objectives today, we still found plenty to see and do. Edinburgh is a wonderful city to walk in (we logged about six miles today). The parks along Princes Street and Regent Road offer a quiet and restful way to wander through the city. We'll try to get some sleep tonight and tomorrow; the damned bus tour. Also for tomorrow; Mary King's Close!

Further impressions of Edinburgh: it's not possible to overstate how friendly everyone has been here. The staff at our hotel (the Apex European) go out of their way to help, even at 4:15AM. And they never seem to mind opening the door when you've gone out for a smoke at 5:00AM. Love this city, can't wait for tomorrow, jet-lag be damned.