Scotland Day 3 - Those Who Were Left Behind

I made a bad joke. I don't remember what it was, but I stand by the reaction.

Carrie, Theresa, and I found ourselves at Edinburgh airport again Thursday morning. Our last 10 travelers were due in after their ordeals. The group included two of the most reluctant travelers and, wouldn't you know it, the airline lost one of their bags. It took about an hour after the plane landed for people from our group to walk out!

Everyone was happy they made it!

The plan was to hop into three cabs and ride up to the front door of the hotel. The rooms were readied when the group checked in the day before, so there would be no waiting this time.

We grouped up and told everyone the plan. Carrie wanted to help with the luggage and offered to come back tomorrow and pick it up personally. However, the woman who lost her bags refused to speak to her. Hopefully, rest and time would ease that (the bags were delivered to the airport later without incident).

Everything went much smoother take two. The front desk was ready and handed out the dinner vouchers this time. The elevators worked, the rooms were ready, and there was a much smaller crowd making their way through.

I spotted the letter the hotel posted on the elevators yesterday laying nearby. Maybe they were keeping it handy just in case? 

Carrie answered questions until everyone got where they needed to be and then we were out and about!

I'd done a little poking around online to look for things for us to do (I like to look at maps!). I read about Arthur's Seat and it wasn't far from downtown. I told Carrie I was interested in hiking it and she agreed.

I would have been happy to catch a cab there, but Carrie said it'd be fine to walk. We stumbled into several stores that caught our eye along the way. Carrie got to examine a wide variety of wands from Harry Potter and look at some cashmere sweaters.

Edinburgh is a neat city. You can be walking down a street with wall to wall buildings...

...and then stick your head through an alley or arch...

...that opens up into something altogether new.

Grandpa mentioned seeing a "Parthenon-like structure" when he was in Edinburgh on a college internship. "A whole group of us went up to see it and it turned out a dump was right behind it!"

I don't know if we saw the same building in the distance, but I wouldn't have minded checking it out if we had energy left after our hike!

Carrie was beginning to realize what she had signed up for as we walked past the Scottish Parliament.

"You want me to climb that!?!?"

She took a picture and sent it to her mom. "He wants me to climb that!?!?"

What we thought was the Arthur's Seat turned out to be a smaller hill altogether. We'd discover that around the corner.

Robert Louis Stevenson described Arthur's Seat as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design." It is an extinct volcano that rises up 822 ft (250.5 m) and is considered one of the possible locations of Camelot.

It starts off with a simple grade, but gets steadily steeper. There was a more gradual trail that went up along the ridge to the right of this picture. Carrie wanted to walk the flatter way through the grass and then go up the "double black diamond," short but steep hill to "go easier on her knees." A cortisone shot may be in her future (once we get health insurance again).

There were some amazing views long before we reached the top.

My favorite views always include Carrie (whether she likes to be in the picture or not!).

We had a few rest breaks before we scaled "the final wee bit."

Pictures never seem to convey the true scale of things.

There were some path and steps cut or worn into the hillside, but it was mostly a choose your own adventure exercise! It was hard to tell where we'd come up when it was time to find our way down again!

But, we made it, babe! Carrie resolved to buy better hiking shoes in case I made her repeat a similar feat elsewhere (Her Five Finger slippers were not cut out for what we did!).

Elevation is a great ingredient for magnificent views. I read online that sometimes the city will be covered with fog, so that the castle stands among clouds.

Carrie caught a picture of me taking pictures this time around.

It's neat being on top of the world. There's a sense of accomplishment and a reminder of how small we are in the scheme of things.

The hill I originally wanted to climb is in the foreground. It would have been easier going and a closer in to the city vantage point. Maybe next time?

Once you hit the top, the only place left to go is down. Gentle downhills can be fun, but a steep downhill is worse than a steep uphill! We took it slow and really noticed the temperature change. It had gotten cooler and windy as we climbed the hill (very nice!), but we felt the heat creep in as we descended.

Thank you, Jesus, it was "Scottish hot" and not "Virginia hot."

We didn't stop taking pictures as we neared the bottom. We did discuss in earnest whether we'd buy ice cream or stop for food and rest!

We hailed a cab when we got back near the Parliament building. It only cost around £7 to scoot back to the hotel for lunch.

I've loved breakfast food in Scotland, but I'd missed bagels. 

I don't know that I ever imagined having "chips" with one, though.

I can't believe we went to Scotland and got sunburned. We went to the homeland of fog, overcast skies, and rain where all the fairest skinned dwell and crisped. We weren't even out that long.

It was a cathartic afternoon. We got to retreat up to our room afterward to enjoy aircon.

Carrie posted a picture online of her "burn." 

If that happened to her, what do you think happened to her ginger husband? I put a coat over my head whenever we rested and stuck to shade as much as possible, but I didn't escape unscathed.