Around the Castle

18 Aug 24

20:00 hrs

     Today we started of with breakfast in the hotel. Eggs Benny with shaved salmon. Mind you, it was Atlantic salmon which is actually a steelhead since it doesn't die after it spawns. Yes it is a salmonid, but it is not a salmon. My Better Half had the same but with English bacon. She found it less salty than the bacon at home, a little smokey and slightly sweet. (Which reminds me, that I'm going to try to make my own bacon when I get home.) 

     With breakfast done we headed of on a Hop On/Hop Off bus. There are three looping routes through Edinburgh. We purchased a two day pass so we could check out a number of sites before the planned tour actually starts. The bus has a 1/4 covered upper deck with a tour guide identifying local landmarks with interesting tales to go with them. For instance, I  the 17th and 18th centuries grave robbing was a common crime in Britain. However, if the robbers only took the body and left the clothes and any belongings (jewelery, keepsakes, etc) behind no robbery would have actually been committed. Only the body would be removed and it would be taken to a middleman who would deliver it to a medical school where it would be used for classroom disection. To prevent this ghastly intrusion the deceased's loved ones could pitch a tent next to the grave to protect it or hire a guard to do the same. A newly buried body had to be protected for thirty days. After that the body would be too decomposed for use by the medical schools. The person hired to watch over a loved one had to be there all night and the shift was referred as the graveyard shift. 

     The Edinburgh Castle sits atop a mountain near the centre of town. We were informed it was an ancient volcano. We went on our own to see the military museum held within its walls. Very cool. We're going to be going back to see the Tatoo in a couple of days.

     A local directed us to Grey Friars Kirk where Bobby, the wee Scotty terrier lays. If you don't know the story you're not as old as I am. Also, the Kirk yard has some very old residents from the 1700 & 1800's including characters like Tom Riddle who were immortalized in the the Harry Potter series. JK Rowling denies using names from the graveyard. She's lying. After the Kirk we sought out the Pipers Rest where we had apont and a bite. I had the steak pie while my Lobster had the pasta. Those two items were pretty much the only things that did not contain haggis. After supper we were done for the day so we headed home to rack out.