Across the Pond: Edinburgh, Day 3

The third day was probably the longest, but also my favorite. We decided to start the furthest location from the hotel and work our way home throughout the day. After breakfast, we decided to start with Edinburgh Castle.

On the way, we stopped by Greyfriar's Kirkyard to see if we could find the grave that inspired JK Rowling's Tom Riddle. We didn't find it. Apparently it's actually "Thomas Riddell." BUT, we did stumble upon the cafe where she used to write.

The castle was spectacular. We opted out of the guided tour and wandered around ourselves. It's kind of amazing being in a building that old (I touched a wall that was built in the 12th century and almost lost it). There are several museums for the military, as well as the National War Memorial and the Scottish Crown Jewels.

I forced us to go into the prison . . .  even though it was totally creepy. And all of the recordings of prisoners were French or American. Clearly, we belonged there. They had few of the prison doors on display. It was only going back through my pictures when I realized how many pictures I took of them. The views from the castle were just stunning. It was one of my favorite things we did.

On a door from 1781

^^ The backside of the castle from the street below ^^

After the castle, we meandered down the Royal Mile to the Writer's Museum. In honor of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson, the museum was tucked back on one of the side streets. It was small, but so well done. We chatted for a few minutes with one of the workers about the inspiration behind Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Deacon Brodie. Google him; it's a pretty crazy story) before wandering around the museum.

^^^ ROBERT BURNS'S STOOL FOR HIS WRITING DESK. THE DESK IS ABOVE. ^^^

A sculpture of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde cute from the book. Also, that nook was too good not to take a picture.

After the museum, we did a little bit of shopping and stopped for food before touring Mary King's Close. It's street that's now underground, but used to house hundreds of people in the seventeenth century. The tour itself was pretty kitschy (the kind with talking photographs, ya know?) but getting to walk in the spaces gave me a whole new understanding of when my teachers talked about overcrowding in European cities.

We ended the evening back at the cathedral for a program called Son et Lumiere. I couldn't take pictures, but the whole cathedral was dark, lit primarily by candles. The program started and two flutists played a piece, and then paused. The lighting changed, several minutes of silence, and then they played again. This pattern continued for a couple hours. I recognized several of the pieces: Pachelbel's Canon, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, something by Mendelssohn of which I can't remember the name. They ended with Auld Lang Syne. I liked it best when all of the lights were out and it was only the candlelight. The cathedral was cold, but absolutely beautiful.
That night might be my favorite part of the entire trip. It was just beautiful and moving and a quite moment to think and consider and pray. I did pray, right there in my chair and it was sweet. So sweet.

That evening was not without interruption. The two ladies next to us were talking quite loudly. We could hear someone singing Adele songs on the sidewalk outside, and every heel click echoed throughout the whole thing. But I still loved every minute. In fact, we were two of about five people who stayed until the whole thing was completed. I left feeling really grateful we had decided to come back for it.