Edinburgh (Day 2)

Tourist day. Got to a late start due to the previous late night. First things first, off to Edinburgh Castle!

It's only a model. Ssh!


View of New Town from the castle.

The One O'Clock Gun.


Cool vaulted ceiling.

S-words. (Another Connery/SNL Reference.)

Had lunch in the castle restaurant, which was pretty nice for a tourist trap.

Tart version/interpretation of Cullen Skink (a traditional Scottish fish soup).

Haggis, neeps and tatties. (Haggis burried.)

Haggis exposed. (Neeps = turNIPS, tatties = potatoes)



Now that's what I call a cannon.



Where dogs get buried.

Inside a little chapel.

Old cannonballs.

Ok, back outside of the castle on the Royal Mile.



There are lots of parts of this town that are very vertical.

Mmm, local cheese shop.

Assorted vinegars, brines, and other soaked liquids.

Hmm, smells like pork.

This is the way pork should be served. Hello, Mr. Piggy!

Greyfriar's Bobby. Tribute to some dog that kept watch over his Master's grave. Seems similar in spirit to the Japanese dog Hachiko outside Shibuya station.

Singular of grits?

Inside Greyfriar's Kirk.


Greyfriar's Kirkyard. I'm guessing Kirk and Church are related/derivative words?



St. Gilles Cathedral

Heart of Midlothian (sounds like a name from Lord of the Rings). Said to bring good luck if you spit on the heart. Weird.

Inside the aforementioned cathedral.




I just took this photo because one of the computer clusters at school is called the Hebrides (it's a bunch of islands here), but we always remember it as "He-Brides" which sounds more like something sketchy from the darker corners of the Interwebs.

Him of "Wealth of Nations" fame.

There are lots of cool looking alley ways.

I think this was Cannongate Kirk.

The wacky Scottish Parliament building... interesting architecture.

Palace of Holyroodhouse across the street from Parliament.

There were lots of unicorns in the various crests and emblems.

Back to parliament.

Security entrance.

Each of those little windows has a different pattern around it.

Better view of the windows.

Looking through an alley at Calton Hill and the City Observatory.

Somehow I wandered back over to the hind-side of the castle. (I did a lot of walking today.)

Mmmm... Fleshmarket.

Random mug shot.

Ok, dinner. Another random selecton from Lonely Planet.

The real cullen skink.

Unremembered dead animal... might have been sheep/lamb again.

When presented with the option of a side of garlic, always order it.