Greetings to all you guys and dolls! I have returned from yet another land of my ancestors, Scotland! Right off the bat, I'd like to debunk some Scotland myths and stereotypes.
1.) Kilts are only worn on special occasions.
WRONG! They are everywhere! Taxi driver? Kilt! Store owner? Kilt! Street performer? Kilt! Homeless man? Kilt! Groom? Kilt! Mannequin? Kilt! Statue? Kilt! Just as those of us from America would pull on our favorite pair of jeans, it seems that men in Scotland enjoy slapping on their trusty old kilt. I have to say, I'm quite a fan of the kilt. I like that here, people don't do it for the shock value of it...it's a part of the culture. And I can't say that I would mind my husband wearing a traditional kilt for my wedding...
2.) Bagpipes are also played on special occasions like weddings an funerals.
FALSE! There seems to be a constant soundtrack of bagpipes for the whole of Scotland. I can't tell you the number of men that I have seen playing the bagpipes on the streets. In all the shops, there is bagpipe music playing on repeat. I kid you not. Bagpipes are ubiquitous!
The double whammy: Kilt and bagpipes.
3.) Haggis is just haggis.
NO WAY JOSE! In Scotland, you can get haggis on your potato, in your panini, on your pizza, or with neeps and tatties (Get your mind out of the gutter! Neeps are mashed potatoes with nutmeg and tatties are mashed turnips with ginger. This is the most traditional of haggis dishes).
Now, on with the show. We got into Edinburgh at noon-ish after taking two trains. The hub of Edinburgh is called the Royal Mile and is filled with more restaurants, stores, and tourist shops than you can shake a stick at. We spent the majority of the afternoon looking in all the little shops. There were some street vendors selling jewelry and clothing. I bought a Celtic necklace from this one lady. I figured that it would be more authentic than a t-shirt saying Edinburgh.
Scotland is the kind of city that has maintained much of its original architecture, from the cathedrals to the castles. It's odd though because it seems as if modern society plopped itself where ever there was room. So, walking down the street, it wouldn't be unusual to have a cathedral with a Subway on one side and a bank on the other.
That afternoon, we were able to explore St. Giles Cathedral. Compared to the majestic and enormous cathedrals that we saw in Liverpool, it seems kind of lacking. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful piece of architecture!
Some exterior shots of the cathedral. This last one reminds me of Dimnent Chapel at Hope.
A big ol' pipe organ. A staple for any cathedral!
St. Giles had the most amazing stained glass windows I've ever seen!
After St. Giles, we decided to visit some of Edinburgh's other attractions. We visited the Grayfriars Bobby memorial. Apparently Grayfriars Bobby was a terrible faithful dog from Edinburgh and when his master died, he would sit at the master's grave. There was a small statue of the dog, as well as his burial site.
The statue was smaller than we had expected. But then again, it's life-size!
People left notes and pictures at Greyfriars Bobby's grave. I left him some American money.
Despite popular belief, Scotland's rich history is not always as far into the past as the days when its many castles were built. In fact, my favorite book series was written in this fabulous little hole-in-the-wall in Edinburgh!
Love ya, JK Rowling!
Katie's father had taken a trip to Scotland a few weeks before us. For more than 30 years, he has run the Niles Haunted House in Niles, Michigan. Naturally, he takes all the ghost tours and visits all the haunted houses in the areas that he visits. It would be an understatement to say that he is a seasoned professional. He gave us a recommendation for the Paranormal Underground ghost tour. At 5:45pm, we ventured down into the vaults below the bustling streets of Edinburgh.
In the 18th century, the North Bridge was built in the city. Beneath the bridge, a series of vaults were also constructed below the bridge. They were originally built with the intention of being an underground market where artisans could rent a vault and sell their goods out of it. Unfortunately, the builders did not water proof the vaults so whenever it rained above ground, it seeped down into the vaults and flooded them. Additionally, there is virtually no light down in the vaults and it was too expensive to burn candles enough to light the vaults for business. So unfortunately, the underground market didn't last long. After the vaults were vacated by sellers, they became a hub for thieves and smugglers. The vaults were the perfect place to hide stolen goods and to conduct illegal business. Nowadays, the vaults are the setting for ghost tours.
This particular vault was used for storage at one point.
Let me just start out by saying, our tour guide, Alex, had the most amazing voice. He had the kind of accent that could lull you to sleep and that would be well suited to narrate children's bedtime stories. Anyway...our tour started with a brief history of the vaults, which I have already summarized for you. Then, we descended into the vaults. They are made completely of stone and brick. The ceilings are all arched and the floors are made of uneven stone.
Alex explained that there are three general types of ghosts. There residual ghosts which are just like holographs of events from the past. You cannot interact with them. There are interactive ghosts that, as their name suggests, can interact with people. These ghosts are not the souls of people, but are some other entity entirely. The third type of ghost is that of a human soul.
Apparently, the vaults were the centerpiece of the largest paranormal investigation in history several years ago. As a result of this investigation, they were able to identify the three most haunted vaults. The third most haunted room is the first one that we came to. There are supposedly three ghosts in this room. The first is of a naked homeless man who cowers in the upper corner of the vault, shielding himself from the elements. He is a residual ghost.
Apparently, this is where said ghost resides. I don't see anything.
The second ghost in this vault is an interactive ghost. It is apparently some type of winged monster that likes to swoop from one corner of the room to the other. People have reported feeling something brushing across their necks.
Can you see him? Imma have to say NO!
The third ghost in this room is the most absurd of all! Apparently, Abe Lincoln likes to hang out in the vaults. People have reported seeing a tall man in a beard with a tall top had sitting in the corner of this vault. Occasionally, he walks to the doorway to look at those who enter. Um...yeah. Why the heck would Abe Lincoln's ghost be hanging out in a place that he never visited in life? People are dumb.
Here's Abie Baby's corner!
At this point in the tour, we were given EMF recorders, which apparently pick up on the energy fields that ghosts give off. We were given 10 minutes to roam the vaults on our own. If the EMF was to tick in sporadic or spontaneous ways, we were likely encountering a ghost. A constant ticking would indicate some type of electrical appliance in the wall. Unsurprisingly, Katie and I got nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nil.
Next, Alex took us into some of the other vaults which were inconsequential. The second most haunted room in the vault was our next stop. Apparently there are also three ghosts in this room. One is a veiled woman who stands in the corner. She tends to interact with mothers or women who are pregnant. Legend has it that pregnant women who stand in that corner often feel threatened and one woman even got scratches on her back when standing near that corner.
A second ghost in this vault was once a cobbler. Witnesses say that he has shoe making tools surrounding him. He is one of the nice ghosts, according to Alex, and visitors often feel movement around their ankles as this cobbler admires their shoes.
The cobbler's corner.
At this point in time, I was very entertained by the tour. I was having a great time but was not buying into the whole ghost thing. However, the third ghost in this room gave me reason to think otherwise. Alex had all of us stand in a tight circle with our EMFs pointing toward the center of the circle. (There was only one other couple along with Katie and I so there were only 5 people in the vaults at this time). This third ghost is named Jack and he is a child. Alex asked Jack if he would come out an play. Immediately, the other lady in our group's EMF began to tick. Alex explained that Jack would be more likely to respond to us if we were in a circle because he would think it was a game. When Alex asked Jack to run around the circle, he apparently refused to because our EMFs did not go off. However, when Alex asked Jack to make this lady's EMF tick faster, it did! Now let me explain, there is no way that this could have been rigged! When Alex passed out the EMFs, he tested each of them to see if they were working. Some were broken. He also let us pick out our own EMFs from the bag. There were more EMFs than there were people so there was no way that Alex could assure that one of us would picked one rigged to tick at that moment. This lady's EMF continued to tick for the duration of the time that we were in the circle. Alex asked the lady what she did for a living. She said that she was a real estate agent. We all thought that it was a bizarre question to ask at such a time but as it turns out, Jack tends to gravitate toward individuals who interact closely with children. Surprisingly, the lady in our group had a 7 month old daughter. Talk about freaky!
The most haunted room in the vaults apparently is home to a vicious ghost called Mr. Boots because he makes noises that sound like heavy boots walking on a floor. Alex told us a story about how he would whisper "GET OUT" into visitors' ears and stupid crap like that. Pretty much the only thing that was scary was when Alex shouted during the little ghost story about Mr. Boots. I was not impressed.
Mr. Boots is full of lies!
Overall, the tour was very interesting and rather fun! But afterward, Katie and I were both famished. We walked up and down the Royal Mile looking for somewhere to eat. Most restaurants have menus posted outside. Entirely too many of the menus included haggis or some other form of innards. But then, God sent us a beautiful gift! One of the menus read "macaroni and cheese." Enough said. We had a wonderful American classic that night. It was just the thing we needed to sooth any homesickness!
Our hostel provides a shuttle from the hostel into the heart of Edinburgh, since, unlike in London, we were not staying in the hub of the city. Being as tired as we were from traveling and walking, Katie and I were lame and too the 9:00 shuttle back. I needs to be said that I actually liked staying in the hostel. I had had it in my mind that a hostel would be a big creepy building where people slept in army barracks in the same room. Basically, it was a place where I could never sleep if I wanted to leave with my life. It also made me think about this movie:
Yeah, no thanks!
But wonderfully enough, this was the exact opposite of my hostel experience. I got to sleep in a Lego room, people! I named this the Lego room for obvious reasons:
Very comfy beds!
And our own bathroom!
Phew, this was a long post! Hope you made it through alive! Stay tuned for more haggis-filled adventures from Scotland!
PS. It never gets dark here...
Yeah, that's PM
The castles' crest.
A scale model of the castle. It amazing to see all the different buildings and to think that each one of them was build by hand! Wow!
The castle offered fabulous views of the city of Edinburgh.
One of the castle's intricate edifices.
Just shootin' stuff with a gen-u-ine siege gun!
If these guns were to be fired today, this would be the target. Good thing these guns are disabled!
One of the castle's many underground vaults. This one is called David's Tower. The crown jewels of Scotland were once hidden here during World War II.
More remarkable architecture!
We were able to see the Honours of Scotland (aka the crown jewel) but photography was prohibited as it would set off the alarms.
I found this picture online. This is how they were displayed.
Here is a better picture of what they consist of. They were made in 1617 and were first used in the coronation of King James VI.
These royal portraits are hung in the Birthing Chamber, where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI. It's really mind blowing to stand in a place where so much history was born!
Quite a lavish fire place!
This is the Great Hall, where many royal gatherings and celebrations were held. It has been recently restored to its original condition.
The walls of the room are decorated in genuine pieces of armor and weapons. They were very artistic displays!
As the sign says, this is the castle's oldest building and was built by King David, in honor of his mother. It was so tiny! It was probably 9ft by 15 ft!
This was probably the coolest thing in the castle. There were doors on display from the actual cells. Prisoners had carved their names and other pictures and words in them.
During the Revolutionary War, some Americans were held in the cells of the castle. One of them scratched an American flag into the door. So cool!
Here we are in jail. Lauren looks quite pleased to be there!
The view after about 10 minutes of climbing.
A gorgeous view of the ocean and coastline! Still not to the top yet!
The view after about 10 minutes of climbing.
A gorgeous view of the ocean and coastline! Still not to the top yet!
Nope, not there yet! Not how the layers of clothing are diminishing.
More lovely views--where nature meets industry.
SUCCESS!
The view from the top! (823 feet in the air!)
Champion climber!
Brooke, Katie, and I conquered Arthur's Seat and avoided pregnancy. Yay us!
Ol' Frothy!
Frothy at sunset was a very beautiful thing!
Ol' Frothy!
Frothy at sunset was a very beautiful thing!
