After an easy morning of tendering, Steve, Jo and myself headed ashore in a tender and met up with Ian (the Travel Guide onboard) so he could take us into town to the castle. We jumped into a cab and headed straight into Edinburgh. The cab dropped us off at the base of the hill where the castle is located and Ian went one way while the three of us started the short hike up to the castle. Once we reached the entrance we realized how expensive it was to go in. It wasn’t just the price that stopped us, it was more the idea of spending that much money to spend just a short amount of time walking through the castle. After a bit of wavering back and fourth between going into the castle or not going because we didn’t want to have to rush through after spending almost 30US to get in. We realized that we actually have an overnight in the port in a month or so, so we passed and decided to tour around the city a bit.
Right at the base of the castle entrance, there was quite a bit of construction going on but you could see a storefront hiding through it all. I pointed out the store and we decided to walk in. At the front, there were your typical Scottish souvenirs of shot glasses, stuffed animals, hats, postcards and we can’t forget to mention the whiskey flavored condoms at the cash register. Jo and I found some amazing hats…
While we searched around the store, Steve bought me a bottle of IronBru which is a European soda (not sure if it is particularly native to Scotland, but I know it is to Europe…hehe). It reminds me of a Cream Soda, which is one of my favorites!
Behind all the souvenirs you could see lots of sweaters and scarves, so I went to see and touch them because they are all handmade and absolutely gorgeous! We realized that the store continued on and it turned out that it was a gigantic factory where they make all different fabrics that they sell as well as blankets and walls upon walls of different trinkets with every last name, surname and clan name you can imagine.
After spending 45 or so minutes walking through, we headed out to the streets to explore some more. Jo’s boyfriend was coming to see her so she wanted to find him a gift and needed an electronics store. We walked across town, but not without running into a few characters first. The man on the left was shouting “I’m not a beggar. I’m a bona fide collector!” (I’m typing this in the best Scottish accent I’ve got!) The man on the far right was playing on the streets in the city trying to make a few bucks.
With no luck at the first electronics store, we ended up at – you guessed it – a pub with WiFi! Apparently, it’s a big chain in the UK – Wetherspoon’s. Within 3 minutes of sitting down, we all had our computers (or my iPad) out on the tables checking email and ordering drinks (ciders!). Gabe (the bass player on board) had joined us and we had also met back up with Ian. We all saw Haggis on the menu and wanted to order it – but for fear of hating it, I wouldn’t do it. Gabe took the plunge and ordered it along with some root vegetable and mashed potatoes. Truly, it tasted alright. The texture was grittier than I anticipated and I also expected it to have a sauce over it but it was served quite dry. In the end, I tasted it and I’m still alive! I ordered bangers and mash and Jo ordered fish and chips with mushy peas. Delicious food as always – we know how to find it :)
Quote of the day: “You're alive. Do something. The directive in life, the moral imperative is so uncomplicated. It can be expressed in single words, not complete sentences. It sounds like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.”
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