Hop-On Hop Off!

06-01-2022

It's sunrise at 4:30!! Luckily there's a shade that keeps it dark! Unluckily I woke up at 1:30 so it really didn't matter. I take my life in my two hands and clamber down from the top bunk and go down the hall for my morning ablutions and climb back up to add photos to yesterday's blog. Soon everyone else is awake and we do the dance that's required to get everyone dressed and ready to go in time for the 9:30 Hop-On Hop-Off Edinburgh tour.

We don't have to wait very long and there are lots of seats up top. The ones that are in the open have little tiny puddles from last night's rain; but they are easy to swish away and it's only water. The tour guide, like every Scot we've encountered so far, has that lovely dry wit and she's a delight! She tells us about Greyfriar's Robby, who was a skye terrier that belonged to a night watchman in the city. Every afternoon at one o'clock they would go to the pub and Robby would go on his rounds with him. Sadly, the watchman died when Robby was only two. But every day Robby continued to go to the pub and every night he would stand guard over his master's grave. The town's people loved him but they couldn't afford the seven shillings for his license and they appealed to William Chambers, who bought his license but wouldn't pay for his upkeep. He did, however, appoint Robby the official catcher and then the government paid for him!! There is a statue to Robby which has had three nose jobs because people keep rubbing it for good luck.!

This wall was constructed by women and children because all the men had been killed in war.

The English lion and the Scottish unicorn guard the palace gate.

The Balmoral clock is set three minutes fast so people don't miss their trains, except oon New Year's Eve.

The Waverrly station is one of the two remaining train stations. The other is Haymarket. There
were fifty-eight at one time.

The Gothic Rocket! It has darkened over time because of the trains.

Prince Albert's memorial. You can tell because the hors's head is lowered.

Sir Walter Scott inside his memorial.

She also told us that Sean Connery was a model for the Edinburgh College of Art when he was a body builder!! We learned that if you keep a statue of St. Andrew by your fireplace the witches won't be able to come down the chimney! Also, the statue too Sir Walter Scott is sometimes called the Gothic Rocket. It is one of 69 statues in Edinburgh by John Stewart and there is a museum inside! Other tidbits include the fact that St. Cuthbert's is the oldest Christian site in Edinburgh; there is a point in the city where there are ten. theaters and cinemas within a five minute walk; Edinburgh hosts eighteen festivals a year, eleven of which are in August; there are 500 castles in Scotland; The Elephant House pub is where J. K. Rowlings wrote a lot of her Harry Potter books. There was a fire; but her table was saved and you can sit there now. Speaking of JKR, she also wrote a lot at Nicolson's Cafe because it was owned by her brother-in-law.

Here's a fun one. King David the First was out hunting and a stag frighten his horse. He was thrown and in danger of being gored by the stag when he saw a gold cross between the stag's antlers. When he reached for the cross, the stag disappeared! Now you will frequently see statues or signs of stags with crosses. David was directed to build an abbey on the spot.

Just a couple of more! Maggie Dixon was accused of murder because she had a still birth. She was hung and declared dead; but while her body was being transported, she awoke! She couldn't be hung again because she'd been declared dead! She had more children and lived another forty years. She would often go tto hangings and tell the criminals that there was nothing to it! She'd already done it twice! There is a pub called "The Last Drop." The light fixtures are shaped like nooses!

Okay, that's enough! We went all the way on the bus once and decided then to hop off at The Dynamic Earth. It's an entire experience, rather like MOSI at home with interact displays devoted to geology! You can touch an iceberg, take a 3D plane ride through several different biomes, experience an earthquake associated with a volcanic eruption. And have a great lunch!

Across the street is the Scottish parliament. The window treatments symbolize curtains blowing open to indicate that the parliament operates in full view of the people.

We hopped back on and rode to the stop closest to Colton Hill, which we climbed for a great view of the palace and visited the City Observatory and several other monuments before climbing back down andd catching the bus for home.

We're having our leftovers from Makar's for dinner and then Connie, Ginger, and I are going to the little pub we found last night for Scottish music,

First Ginger and I spend a bit of time catching up our blogs in the lounge.

Along the way we encounter some other residents of our hostel fully kitted out for an evening's entertainment. And boy are they entertaining!!

And as they go down the stairs to the lower level of Edinburgh, we meet a couple who are looking for a place for a drink. We invite them to come with us and that was a great decision! They are delightful and we have a blast together.