Edinburgh, UK

 We left Cambridge ridiculously early to go to Edinburgh. We took the 5:45 train which got us there nice and early – around 11:00. Along the way we saw lots of sheep, a few small towns, and the North Sea. There was coffee and snacks available on the train, but when we stopped in Petersburgh, we had time to grab coffee and warm breakfast sandwiches from Pumpkin at the train station. 

 
We checked into the Marriot Residence Inn, which had just opened on Monday. The place was amazing! It was a like a modern loft with floor to ceiling windows and a kitchenette. 

Edinburgh is filled with historic, intellectual, and literary associations. Names such as Mary, Queen of Scots and her nemesis Protestant reformer John Knox; pioneer economist Adam Smith and philosopher David Hume; authors Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; as well as inventor Alexander Graham Bell: They are all part of Edinburgh's past. More info is available at Frommers. 

 

We went to the Edinburgh Castle, (14 £ each); one of our highlights was hearing the cannon go off at one o’clock! Apparently the cannon has been sounding every day (except Sunday for hundreds of years).

We also enjoyed the amazing views of the sea and the city as the castle is at a high point of the city. The Scottish Crown Jewels were cool to see as well especially with the hopes of later seeing where they were hidden for several years at Dunnottar Castle. 

We had lunch near Marketstreet at a UK chain Pizza Express and had the Romana style pizza: Etna with hot soft n’duja sausage, roquito peppers, speck ham, and grana padano. It was really really spicy! 

 We walked south on the Royal Mile and went to St. Giles cathedral where the John Knox, leader of the Scottish reformation pastored for several years.

We continued south, poking in and out of tourist shops to look at all the cashmere and kilts. We saw what is alleged to be Knox’s birthplace, it's quite unlikely, but at least it's one of the oldest remaining houses in the city. 

 

It got dark extremely fast! I was thankful and slightly amazed that shops were open late, but then I realized it was only 4:30! It was just already dark!  While walking, we also looked in a few of the many closes and wynds, along the way down past the new Scottish Parliament building on our way to the Queen’s Scottish Residence – the Holyrood Palace. Since it was dark, we could only peer through the gates. 

To break up the long walk back up the hill, we stopped at Chocolate Soup for some hot chocolate, which seems to be a big thing in Scotland.

Inadvertently, we had dinner at a famous pub, the Greyfriars Bobby’s. We had walked by it twice and decided it looked like a great local place, and indeed it was. Tim had the haddock and chips, and I had the beef and vintage ale pie; both were great.   

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This helpful map of Edinburgh online was available to print for free.