LAST DAY
IN LONDON (AKA LONDON DAY FOUR) AND EDINBURGH DAY ONE
I wrote
this up shortly after my arrival in Edinburgh.
If it sounds a bit different from my usual posts it’s because I was
ridiculously tired and reading way too much John Green at the time.
It's my
last day in London so of course the weather has to pull out all the stops.
Possibly it's the universe's subtle way of saying "move on" but
whatever the reason it's freezing cold, then it's hot, then it's raining, than it's
not. My umbrella may be broken but
I’m still spending a good part of the day in Saint James' Park, sitting in
alternating bands of sun and shade, finishing the last book in the Hunger Games
Trilogy.
I've come
to love London and there's so much left I have to see. I’m about to go take in Buckingham Palace. I've already seen Parliment and Big Ben. Later today I’ll move onto the London Eye,
the Southbank neighborhood festival, Blackfriars Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral,
and Covenant Gardens.
*
Now, it's
late in the day, almost seven, and I'm exhausted. I pick up my bags back at the hostel and head
for the bus station. The trip this time
goes more smoothly than my departure to Oxford.
I know where I'm going even with the wonky elevator setup in the Green
Park tube station. There's no wandering
around looking for a bus stall so I spend my last few minutes in London
securing myself a seat on an overbooked bus, putting in some earplugs and
falling asleep.
*
When I
woke up this morning I was in Edinburgh.
I picked up a map from the bus station's information center and asked
for directions to my hostel. I ended up
with a mini tour of the city drawn out on paper and a couple of good
laughs. Heading out, I was surprised to
find the streets quiet, the city it seemed was still asleep at seven thirty.
I walked
through St. Andrew's Square and passed the Scots Memorial in the Prince Street
Gardens. I watched shop after shop of
tartan (plaid for the US folks) pass by, along with stores with names like 'TheHouse of Fraser'. The architecture here is distinctly
different from anything I had seen in London.
I'm in the older part of the city called Old Town and it's obvious; it's
beautiful. I have to keep reminding
myself not to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and stare. There might not be people around to bump into
me but I'm not sure how long that will last.
I feel in a way as if I've stepped back in time or into a book and I love
it.
I drop my
bags off at my hostel and start my trip around town. Nothing is open; the shops don't open until
nine thirty and the National Museum of Scotland at ten. Greyfriars Kirk is open though, so I wander
around there first. So many of the names
here are familiar to me, the last few months have unintentionally revolved
around Scottish history. Greyfriars
Bobby is a mystery to me though, a small terrier whose loyalty is now
legendary. It's a touching story and one
that lends an element of realism to my meandering.
The
museum is also intriguing. I spend the
early afternoon in an exhibit chronicling the whole of Scottish history from
the Picts through the Uprising into the modern day. It's like watching Neil Oliver's documentaryseries but with real artifacts and interactive displays. I happen across the Lewis Chessmen and have
to refrain from having a total geekout, because these were the chess pieces in
the documentary and they're even more unsettling in person.
After the
museum, I stop outside the Elephant House where JK Rowling wrote the first of
the Harry Potter books. It looks like
any other cafe, quaint but bustling. The
only difference is the sign in the window proclaiming it's fame. I continue back toward the center of the city
and walk through part of the Royal Mile to get to St Giles Cathedral which is
now open. The stained glass is
beautiful, of all the cathedrals I've been to on this trip, this one has my
favorite windows. There's a band
playing, and I sit for a while to listen.
If the acoustics in a church are great, they're even better in a
cathedral.
When the
band packs up I head back to my hostel for a nap. It's dinner time now and I'm going to have to
find something to eat, somewhere on that map I got at the bus station there's a
couple of grocery stores marked off. I may just eat what I have with me, though.
I'm feeling like I need to take a nice long break tonight. I have quite a day planned for tomorrow to
make up for the fact it's supposed to rain on Thursday.
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