As we have said over and over, the very best part of our itinerant lifestyle is being able to host our family. Edinburgh is another such destination. Rob has been salivating over this Scotland trip and has done a lot of planning for it.
Our daughter Jennifer with husband Rob and grandson Jack arrived on a direct red eye flight from Boston to Edinburgh. They landed just before 7am and arrived at our place at 7:42 am.Because our apartment was not ready until 3pm Rob booked a two bedroom suite at the Marriott so they could sleep and freshen up while waiting to move into our apartment for the week.The hotel consisted of two bedrooms and bathrooms, a kitchen, living room and washer/dryer.While they slept we explored St Giles Cathedral located on the Royal Mile just across the street. It was founded in 1124 by King David and has been a working church for over 900 years.In 1558 Protestantism was beginning to take hold in Scotland. One night a statue of St. Giles was stolen from the church which was still Catholic and thrown into Edinburg’s Nor’Loch, a putrid body of water.The Scottish Parliament abolished papal authority in 1560 and decreed that Scotland was now a Protestant country. This was despite Scotland still having a Catholic queen, Mary Queen of Scots. St Giles 400 years as a Catholic Church officially came to an end.This is the Thistle chapel which is a meeting place for the Knights of theThistle, a select Order of Knights which form the highest royal honor in Scotland. They are limited to 16 knights and are given their own dedicated stall, a coat of arms and matching emblem or achievement placed on top of the stall.The magnificent blue vaulted ceiling contributes to the cathedral’s Gothic and historic character.There is no official count of the number of plaques in the cathedral but it contains many memorials and tributes as well as tombs commemorating important figures and events in Scottish history.Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was laid to rest here for 24 hours as part of a procession from Balmoral Castle following her death.After napping and showering our family was ready to take in the sights of Edinburgh before moving into our apartment. Here Jackson found his “close” which is a narrow medieval-era alleyway or passageway typically branching off the Royal Mile. They are named after prominent residents or trades that took place there. Charles Jackson was a a merchant who was a burgess of Edinburgh from 1650-1722.First stop was for lunch and despite how busy this restaurant was we snagged the best table in the house.We ordered drinks at the bar while waiting for our table to be readied.Rob getting into the Scottish spirit. He actually considered buying a kilt but decided he would save room in his suitcase for bottles of scotch instead.We had a great apartment on the Royal Mile with three bedrooms and two full baths. Jenn and Jack took advantage of the cozy window seats to curl up and read.Jack had the bunk bedroom.Rob and Jen’s bedroomOur bedroom.Kitchen with everything we needed.View from living Room window of the Royal Mile which is an historic street in Edinburgh that runs through the Old Town, connecting Edinburgh Castle with Holyrood House. We walked up the hill from our home to the castle for photos before heading to our destination which was the Saturday Grass Market.This is a great photo of the castle taken from the Grass Market which is a lively area known for its picturesque cobbled streets, independent shops, restaurants and bars. It was once a market for livestock and a site of public executions.We popped into The White Hart Inn for a wee dram and a pint. The White Hart Inn is said to be the oldest pub in Edinburgh and the most haunted. Established in 1516, it is believed to be the home of many spirits… and not just the kind behind the bar. Many photos online as well as spooky stories from the staff themselves confirm sightings here. Bike and Hare are famous grave robbers and murderers that drank here and it is believed that they even picked up one of their victims in this pub.Robert Burns as well as William Wordsworth visited the building on many occasions. They have a vast collection of Scottish Malt Whiskeys to offer.Jack made friends at the bar with an actor he recognized. Frank Grillo who has acted in the movie Zero Dark Thirty with Jessica Chastain. Jack is familiar with his character from the TV show Peacemaker.We were thrilled to find an Ethiopian food cart for our lunch.As you can see in the video below Jim enjoyed a bonding moment with the chef from his birth land of Ethiopia.
This must be some sort of Ethiopian dance ritual. 😲I spy a Jack in the (window) box.🤓Mother Daughter photo op on the Royal Mile.Rob booked us for a Whiskey tasting tour experience. He took this selfie beforehand and told us to have unhappy faces before drinking whiskey but some of us missed the memo as you can see.The Whiskey experience is a five star visitor attraction at the top of the Royal Mile which we highly recommend.Rob booked us on the gold tour which brought us on a sensory visit to Scotland and introduced us to how whiskey is made and the alchemy of blending. We viewed one of the largest collections of scotch whiskeys and received a gift of a crystal whiskey tasting glass as well as a guided tasting of four regional single malts.This was someones collection of whiskey bottles.As they toast in Scotland with the words Slainte Mhath pronounced roughly as slang-a-va and meaning “good health”. Thank you Rob for this fun and informative whiskey experience.And these faces sum up our post whiskey tour.
And so we relive the first 24 hours of their visit with us in Scotland which we feel was off to a very good start. We are always happy to have the opportunity to host this family of ours and are so grateful to them for providing us a home base in the guest room of their Newport residence so we can live this wonderful lifestyle of travel.
Wow! I absolutely love reading your blogs! The architecture you photo is so unique and beautiful. I’m so happy you have family and close friends tag along at times. Be safe and continue to keep us informed.
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