It's Not Edinburgh's Fault

After a 9-hour bus ride that cost me a fraction of what the train would have cost, I arrived in Edinburgh, miscalculated how far my guest house was from the bus station, and walked over an hour to get there. I dropped off my bags, ran out for fish & chips, and settled in for the night in my lovely and quaint little room.

Then Sunday happened. Trust me, it had nothing to do with the fish, or I'd have been feeling it much sooner. I wasn't feeling great when I woke up, but I figured it was just fatigue from the cumulative 29 hours of walking in London followed by 9 hours on a bus. I pressed on and walked the mile and a half back to the city center, picked a direction, and wandered.

Calton Hill turned out to be along my wandering path, where the Nelson Monument (which was closed and so I didn't get the view of the city from the top), the National Monument, and the Observatory are all situated in this nice little park.

I looked at a map and saw that the Palace of Holyroodhouse (the Queen's official residence in Edinburgh) wasn't far from the park, so I went that way, via a very old, sprawling, beautiful cemetery. I wasn't able to get a lot of closer shots of the more intricate stones because a preservation society was working on many of the stones and asked visitors to remain on the paths.

You may have noticed if you read my London entry that I didn't really do any tours or go into anyplace that I had to pay an entry fee (other than the zoo). Money's a bit tight, and much as I would have liked to see the insides of some of these incredible palaces, I just couldn't justify the entry fees. Holyroodhouse was no exception, so I contented myself with a few pictures through the gate and decided that since I was already at the starting point, I would walk the Royal Mile from Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle.

I didn't get far along the Royal Mile before I started feeling just a tiny bit hungry on top of still not feeling particularly well. This lovely little tea house (and their incredibly reasonable prices) caught my eye, and as it was made clear to me that if I didn't have tea at least once while I was there, I needn't bother coming home, I ducked inside for tea and a scone. While I'm not much of a tea drinker, it did seem to settle my stomach a bit, and I ate the scone very very slowly because it was so delicious that I wanted to order two more!

Onward and upward! That was another difference I noticed immediately on arrival in Scotland, that there are hills up here. London was actually pretty flat, so my already tired legs just loved the sudden inclines.

Ducking in and out of shops along the Mile (looking for a gift for my mother - I found one, but she can't have it until Christmas) kept the walk from being too taxing, but just as I was nearing the castle, my stomach lurched and whatever I had been fighting off decided to fight back. I was almost glad that I didn't like the entry fee for Edinburgh Castle any more than I had the other one, because I couldn't have really enjoyed the tour at all at that point.

I lingered in the courtyard for a few minutes snapping pictures before deciding that retreat was my best option and bee-lining it for the bus stop, stopping at a sandwich shop for food I knew I would want later.

Sadly, I spent the rest of the night very near to the waste bin in my room, watching murder mysteries and trying to stay hydrated. I felt no better the second day, running out first thing in the morning to a pharmacy for something for my stomach (which helped, but not until it was really too late to try fitting in another activity. Besides, why push my luck when I was only just feeling better?) and taking a quick jaunt down the street to a pub for dinner. That pub, by the way, was where I stopped on my way to the guest house my first night when I was lost. They were very kind and looked it up on a map for me, and I told them I'd come back for dinner before I left. I was not disappointed in the food, they smoke their own meat on the premises and their prices were some of the most decent I've seen anywhere since I landed in London (Clerk's Bar in Edinburgh, just FYI).

With only six somewhat enjoyable hours walking about (out of two whole days), Edinburgh was something of a bust, but it's not Edinburgh's fault. Thankfully, I had my own room here. Feeling this under the weather would have been a disaster in that hostel in London! This B&B (The Alexander Guest House) and the tea room (Clarinda's Tea Room) are both getting my highest praise on TripAdvisor when I get around to review writing.