I arrived in Edinburgh at around 8 o' clock in the morning. Nothing is open until at least 9 o' clock more like 10. I was a little at a loss what to do but then I realized what a perfect wandering opportunity it was. So for about an hour and a half I wandered the streets of Edinburgh looking at interesting and beautiful architecture. Edinburgh is built on hills and instead of leveling the ground people just built on them so the entire city is in levels. You can be walking down a street and enter a building on it's fifth floor. While it makes navigating a little bit confusing it creates an impressive view.
One of the few places open that early (they don't know the meaning of early!) was a Tartan weaving mill exhibit. It wasn't a new process for me but I loved seeing all of the different clan Tartans! Most tartans became prominent or even into existence with the industrial revolution, and they are expanding into a whole range of different colors.
When other places started to open I made my way up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. This castle was the birthplace of the Stuarts and older kings of Scotland. It was large, spacious and impressively fortified. One of the best defenses it had was a huge canon named Mons Meg that could hurl 300 pound cannonballs approximately 2 miles. That's one dangerous gun!
After the castle I sauntered down the Royal Mile. It was raining heavily so luckily the streets weren't too crowded. Nevertheless I stopped into every shop I could just to escape the wet for a little while. The Royal Mile was cool but mostly full of souvenir shops and cashmere shops that I couldn't afford so I left that in search of some other famous sites.
Of course I managed to find some. The first was the Elephant House made famous by J.K. Rowling who wrote most of the first Harry Potter book there. The other was a small statue of a Scottish Terrier commemorating Greyfriars Bobby. Greyfriars Bobby was a loyal pet to an old man for years. When his master died the dog refused to leave his grave so the people of the town built him a small house and took turns feeding him. Ahhhh....Oscar Wilde would sit on my grave. I just know it.
I then escaped from the weather into the National Museum of Scotland. I visited the Kingdom of the Scots exhibit which covered Celtic Scotland to the modern day over four different floors. I liked seeing the transition between the eras of history through artifacts such as weapons, clothing, house decorations, jewelry, tools, and everything else you can think of. Also, I always appreciate well thought out buildings and the museum was excellent. There were plenty of places to rest, eat, and enjoy yourself at a very leisurely pace which, after such a horrible nights sleep and freezing morning, I needed. I found out later that the museum had actually been re-done and the exhibit I visited was brand new so no wonder it was fantastic.
After that it was time to head back to the bus station and make my way to Perth where I would stay for the night. My aunt has a friend who has in-laws who live in Perth and that is who I had arranged to stay with. Talk about using your connections eh? I was a bit nervous to intrude into strangers lives but they were very welcoming and made me feel so comfortable.And they had the most beautiful garden!
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