My Edinburgh Through Brown's Eyes

Okay, so before I left for Scotland, I saw this episode from Samantha Browns Passport to Europe. It was all about Edinburgh. They finally were added to iTunes, so I filmed seven sections of the episode so that I can talk to you about them and show you all the places I know and frequent and all that.

Part 1

The opening shot is of Arthur’s Seat and the steeple of what is now called The Hub on the Royal Mile. Brown is standing on Calton Hill with the city as her backdrop. We have not, though, had a deep-fried Mars bar from Ben’s. But now we might! And whoever comes to visit, we’ll track it down and you can try it, even though now you can find everything deep-fried at county fairs across the US.

Part 2

The opening of this section is right next to Greyfriar’s Bobby. This is right down the street from where I get off the bus to go to campus. The second and third shots are the Royal Mile (a 5 minute walk from campus). Where she starts walking is right next to Greyfriar’s so I’m surprised they don’t show it. The castle shot goes up from this back area off of Lothian street, so I see that view quite often.

Ray and I have made it up the gate, but we haven’t paid to go in yet. I also went up to the front of the castle for the Treasure Hunt I did with some of my friends.

Part 3

Mom and I have, of course, been to the castle. We walked through the whole thing together, but forgot to see the royal jewels. I’ll get to see them again eventually. We also didn’t get to see the cannon go off, but at 1PM, if you’re anywhere near the castle you will hear it go off. Like when I was at Divinity, my class was at 1:10PM, so I heard the cannon go off every Thursday. Mom and I also went to the Prison exhibit they show here, which really was pretty impressive.

Really sorry about the poor copy, but I was just trying to share this with ya’ll. If you want a really good copy, go to iTunes and download the episode for $1.99. It really is foggy and misty, though. That’s not me.

The scene right after the gun is the fountain in Princes Street Gardens and is a staple image of Edinburgh and the castle. You’ll see it on a lot of postcards. After that you’re taking to the Royal Mile on the corner of George IV Bridge. I walk past here whenever I go to Divinity. The pub that you see there is Deacon Brodies Tavern and behind that is the Royal Bank of Scotland Museum and what is called The Mound. And as she says, she is now on the Royal Mile and I have frequented there with mom and quite a few other times. We have yet to find the inexpensive food, unless you veer off the Royal Mile.

The popular of Edinburgh literally doubles in August. Mom saw a lot of this, so if you get to talk to her, ask her about the craziness of the crowds! I can’t wait to show Ray how crazy it gets. We also made it to the Holyrood Palace. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside, but mom got her picture with a Scottish man there.

Part 4

I have been called a lass by bus drivers and there are many men who, year-round, walk the streets wearing kilts and sometimes full outfits. They aren’t doing it for show, either, some of them just really dress this way.

One of the pubs they show is the Whitetail Pub and it is the oldest pub in Edinburgh. It is in the Grassmarket, which is where a bunch of witches were burned back in the day. I had to go there on my Treasure Hunt.

I think the Bow Bar is on Cockburn, right off the mile. The road curves around and heads down to Grassmarket. There are several spiffy shops along the side roads leading to Grassmarket from the Royal Mile, one of which is where I bought tiny bottles of whisky and scotch to send home.

As you can see from this bartender, if you find the right shops, Scottish people are sometimes incredibly friendly and talkative and like to play with their own dialect. You can walk in and say lass or dram and they’ll just laugh along with you. It’s really fun when you’re around the right people. Everyone trades their own countries phraseologies.

Part 5

As you can see in the opening shot, parking attendants will write you a ticket and then take pictures of your car, the meter clock with the time, etc so that they have proof that it was you. It is really funny watching attendants on campus do this. This pictures are also time-stamped, or so I’ve been told.

The Close that Brown is walking down is right across the street from St. Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile, but I forget the name of it. Many of the closes lead downhill to other areas off the mile, but some are simply back alleys to other little nook areas. A few of the closes will lead you from Princes Street to the Royal Mile and the steps for them are REALLY dangerously steep. They are labeled as some of the most deadly steps of death I have yet to encounter.

She also heads to Mary King’s Close, but I have yet to visit there. I was holding out for an overnight Vigil, but I either miss them due to overbooking on one night or they just don’t regularly hold them. They are incredibly haunted, as is proven by several shows (including Ghost Hunters International). I might get Ray out there sooner or later for a “last tour of the day” when it might be the spookiest. My mom and I were in the Vaults, not Mary King’s Close. They were similar to Mary King’s Close, but were part of a large network of underground living. It really is eerily impressive to see these cities underground.

Part 6

The opening shots are of Princes Street, which is one of the main shopping streets in Edinburgh. Next to the Royal Mile and Lothian, Princes Street is the main street in Edinburgh. It also somewhat divides the New Town from the Old Town. Most of the park shots are of the Princes Street Gardens, which were created from a huge loch that dried up. In the loch is where the tested many a witch to see if she really was a witch or not. Some say the fertileness of the valley park is due to the loch and the “nutrients” that lied to rest in it.

Now, I think it’s absurd that she spends time on this really silly hotel instead of talking about some of the more awesome places to visit in Edinburgh, but oh well. I mean, if all the famous people stay there, I hardly see how I am going to enjoy Edinburgh when I can’t afford to stay there. They would have done better to warn the visitor that it’s better to rent someone’s flat or try to get a room in a hostel. It is a good segway into the Calton Hill, though.

Calton Hill really is brilliant and I’m trying to get Ray to head up there with me so we can enjoy the view of Edinburgh. As I said early, I went up there briefly for the Treasure Hunt that I did, but I didn’t really get to enjoy it. The monument she mentions is called one of the buildings referred to as the shame of Scotland, because it was never finished. There have been talks about turning it into something more modern, but sometimes in the summer or during festivals you can catch really great light shows up there. It is also one of the places fireworks are set off and the Fire Festival is celebrated up there.

I also have yet to go to the Military Tattoo. Tickets go on sale in December and sell out in February. I almost had two tickets for some really great seats, but missed them by like 2 seconds. Every Saturday night you can see fireworks from the castle. I intend to enjoy that this year. It is pretty expensive, though, to go if you want a halfway decent seat, but boy is it a site to see.

Part 7

When the pan through the garden and talk about Parliament sanctioning this area, you’ll see a building with two peaks. That is Divinity. That is where I go to meet my advisors, typically, and is the theology college where my secondary advisor is located.

This man in a kilt is a great example of the fun dialogue you can have with some of the locals when you find the right person. He is in the East Princes Street Gardens on the way towards the Fountain. I’m going to see if I can find him this year.

The Sandy Bell is right next to the bus stop where I get off to go to school. They really a nice little pub and the music is lots of fun. They’re like the pub we went to when we went on our Highland tour. The people are just really genuine and nice, but the pub is a bit small and can get incredibly busy, especially being right near the University.

And there you go. This hardly even touches the top of the iceberg of what you can do in Edinburgh. To be honest, it is a rather lackluster portrayal of the excitement, beauty, and adventure that Edinburgh offers. So if you come to visit, be prepared to see all of this and more and it’ll only take a max of 2 days. I saw it all and more in five hours on my Treasure Hunt.