Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Everything about today was a zoo. Absolutely everything.
It started with the tenders. We "docked" in Newhaven but anchored a ways out. We had to get a numbered tender ticket, we got #15. No problem, we were told, they call 3 numbers at once. Well, after an hour of waiting, they were calling #9. We were going to miss our scheduled tour. So we stood off to the side, and when they loaded #9 and they said they had room for 2 more, we begged on.
The tender took half an hour, definitely not enough running. Then when we got to the dock it was a zoo. Someone told us (falsely) that there was a free shuttle going into town. We wasted alot of time running around trying to find it. Finally we hopped across the street and took the city bus, which had been our plan to begin with. $2 instead of $15 which the ship was asking.
The bus took half an hour to get into Edinburgh proper. We saw parts of the city we normally wouldn't. When we got off, we were in the center of the city and "zoo" doesn't even come close! There is an international "arts" festival going on, which is more of a giant busker festival. They are everywhere, with giant crowds around them, so you can't walk anywhere. Sandy told us that there can be 8000 "shows" happening on any given night. It felt like it.
Imagecredit:http://www.flybe.com/cheap-flights/edinburgh/edinburgh-events-16x9.jpg
One character from Edinburgh's history is "Half-Hangit Maggie". Margaret Dickson was hanged in Grassmarket Square in the 1720's for "the murder of her bastard child". On the way to bury her body, she revived and banged on her coffin. The authorities decided that she had already been hanged and could not legally be recharged. Now there is a pub named after her, of course.
Imagecredit:http://guessthiscity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/maggie-dicksons-grass-market-edinburgh.jpg
And then there were Burke and Hare, who murdered about 16 people in Edinburgh in 1828 and then sold the bodies to Dr Robert Knox who used them in his popular anatomy lectures. Burke was hanged in front of a huge crowd of 25,000 people, and his skeleton is currently displayed at the Edinburgh Medical School.
Imagecredit:https://thepenningtonedition.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/burke-and-hare.jpg
The dungeon tour was an hour and a half long! It was cheesy and meant to be creepy and scary. One poor tiny girl cried the whole time, we're not sure what the parents were thinking. Anton got put on trial for being a thief and a cross-dresser: he was accused of stealing pink bloomers off a clothesline and dancing around in them. When asked what his plea was, he answered, "They weren't pink!"
Imagecredit:http://www.royalbritishhotel.com/portfolio/files/edinburgh-dungeon.jpg
Next we visited St Giles Cathedral, free (yeah). Except you have to pay £2 for a photo permit. Parts of the cathedral date back to 1124, but most of it was destroyed by English invaders in 1322 and 1385. It was rebuilt in a grander style. It was named after St Giles, a 7th century hermit. He is the patron saint of cripples and beggars because he is said to have taken a hunter's arrow meant for a deer. The church switched from Roman Catholic to Presbyterian during the Reformation, and John Knox was minister here from 1559 to 1572.
Imagecredit:https://isaaclangslow.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/saint-giles-cathedral.jpg
One of the chapels in the cathedral is named the Thistle Chapel, which was built for the Knights of the Most Ancient Most Noble Order of the Thistle (we just like the name). Somewhere in the vaulting is an angel playing the bagpipes.
Imagecredit:http://www.collegeofpiping.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/celics1.png
Then to another underground attraction: The Real Mary King's Close. A "close" is a network of narrow, winding, streets. In the 1600's, this area was a busy trading area, and Mary King owned several properties here. Eventually the close was abandoned, and the Royal Exchange was built directly on top of it. Archaeological digs found the buildings and streets of the close were still intact. There have been rumours of the area being haunted (perhaps because it was built next to a marsh with escaping gases???) and rumours that those who suffered from the plague were brought here and left to die.
Imagecredit:https://edinburghbakers.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/real-mary-kings-close-4.jpg
Then we visited the smaller Greyfriars Kirk, a church built in the early 1600s for the Franciscan friars. The land was granted by Mary Queen of Scots. The National Covenant was signed here in 1638. This was a radical move away from recognizing the king's authority over the Church of Scotland.
Imagecredit:http://www.fotothing.com/photos/8ab/8ab9ee99d90eb2108e928296b07b7350.jpg
The graveyard around the church was created because St Giles Cathedral had run out of room to bury people, and the smell was bad in the summer. The graveyard is famous for having inspired some of the names of the Harry Potter characters. You can walk around and find McGonnagall, Moodie, and even Tom Riddle's graves.
The graveyard can seem peaceful OR creepy, depending on your perspective. We found it was a good respite from the crowds outside. There are iron cages called mortsafes over some of the graves to prevent people from grave robbing, and some of the graves look like they are built into the wall of the graveyard.
Imagecredit:https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2159/2196340402_db0f37f639_b.jpg
Perhaps the creepiest site is Bloody Mackenzie's Mausoleum. His poltergeist reportedly attacked 350 people in a 15 year span, leaving them with bruises and scratches. Perhaps he was unhappy about the pair of Goth teens who broke into his tomb in 2004 and played football with his skull????
Imagecredit:http://www.thereformation.info/Images/McKenzieMaus.jpg
Even more famous is the statue of Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby was a Skye Terrier who followed the funeral procession of his owner (policeman John Gray) into the graveyard, and then stood guard over his master's grave for 14 years (1858-1872) until his death! Although some people say now that it was all a publicity stunt, but we prefer to believe in the faithful pooch!
We headed over to Grassmarket Square to find something for supper. This is where they used to have public executions. There is a plaque with the names of those hanged here, and a silhouette of a guillotine in the stones.
Imagecredit:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGbwUogQICHJiHA_-LAPEbropqr-AhlNlYaASkoeXQUn6E9OnGwl6JH10fxMn96DyP0No6EAosSW7WB3U8Ab2UAJAgH9diMm0ztHY9ACakDs6uTEv5fMVsR2BJxub3t9LnNLbfnpvs0_I/s1600/Image00022.jpg
Why not have dinner at The Last Drop pub? "Drop" not being a reference to drink, but to the last hanging that occurred here. And of course they have their own resident ghost of a young girl, who plays pranks on staff and customers. Although we expected better from a famous pub. Frankie had to settle for fries as her gluten free option.
Imagecredit:http://www.executedtoday.com/images/Scotty_toast.jpg
In the evening (9 pm to 11pm) we attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. This event is so popular (217,000 people attend each year) that we got our tickets 8 months ago. Plus we paid $100 less than if we had booked through the ship!
Imagecredit:http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/media/images/82951000/jpg/_82951393_c47b3b64-9c59-4e76-9af3-075700c4334a.jpg
The word "tattoo" has its origins in the War of the Austrian Succession in the 1700s. Every night the army drummers would beat their drums to signal the inn keepers to stop serving beer and to send the soldiers back to their barracks. "Turn of the taps" became "tattoo".
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo was originally military music, but the show has evolved to include musicians and performers from all over the world. Music, drummers, bagpipes, kilts, colour.....
The seats are in the castle ramparts and we were so lucky that today it was not chilly or rainy, and the show was spectacular.
Exiting the show was a mass throng of people. We found our was to a quieter street and right away found a taxi, only 10 pounds back to the dock. We were among the first to return and got a tender right away. Everyone was in a grand mood. But the tenders sure are long here. Late night: 1:00 am. ZZZZZ......
No comments:
Post a Comment