Jasperites Travels Continue
After visiting London for three days, we said cheerio and took the fast train to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Our train was to leave London’s Euston Station at 7:30 a.m. arriving in Edinburgh by lunchtime.
We took a famous London black cab from our hotel in the Paddington area arriving in plenty of time to cash in our Oyster cards. Our first day in London we bought a transportation card, the Oyster Card, for five pounds, about $7 in U.S. dollars. Then you can add as much money as you want to use to ride subways and buses in London. At the end of your stay you just go to a self-service kiosk and cash out including your original five pounds. A good deal.
Since I was not familiar with the names of towns between London and Edinburgh, I kept checking with the Virgin Train agent to ask which train to take. Exactly five minutes before our train was to leave, our train number came up on the board and we took off running with our luggage to get to the train.
We just made it and the train pulled out of the station as we put our luggage in the carrier and got into our seats. We all had an extra seat so it was an enjoyable trip.
Edinburgh is located about 500 miles from London and the train passes through some beautiful countryside with vast plains of green fields lined in ancient rock fences. Fat white-fleeced sheep munched away at the green grass as our train flew by.
About half way between London and Edinburgh, we changed trains in Preston. Preston is on the far west coast of England north of Liverpool. The change was easy. We got off one train, walked about 100 feet and along came our train and away we went.
The farther north we went the cooler the weather, glad we had windbreakers and jackets. Our train arrived right on time. Our hotel for the next five days was not a hotel at all, but normally a college dormitory, CityLiveIn, where you can rent a single room and bath up to a five-bedroom apartment with living room and kitchen only during July and August when the students are in between semesters. CityLiveIn was just a short walk from the train station. We could not check in until later, so we left our luggage and walked back towards the station to a sandwich shop, Bite Me.
Bite Me turned out to be an excellent choice. They are only open for breakfast and lunch. Their sandwiches are all interesting with different combinations. My sandwich was goat cheese, a variety of roasted vegetables and green pesto on a toasted freshly baked bread sprinkled with oatmeal and toasted sunflower seeds. Yummy and filling.
Our rooms were similar to all dorm rooms with a desk, flat screen tv, built in shelves and closet with drawers. The bathroom was most unusual, it was all molded into one room including floor and ceiling. As far as I could tell it only had two seams. Most unusual. Strange what we are impressed with. Included in our apartment was a full service kitchen and a sitting area.
The area around our “hotel” had every kind of food from around the world, a good grocery, bus service to the city and the airport for a bargain.
Sunday morning, my husband and friend, Betty, were off early to catch the train from Edinburgh to Troon, Scotland to attend the 145th British Open. They found out that the train tickets we had bought the day before were not good that day, but luckily the conductor gave them a ride anyway and instructed them on what to do when they changed trains in Glasgow. There they talked to the train agent who wrote them out a pass and allowed them to travel without a problem. Another example of how friendly and understanding our host was.
I am not an expert on golf or its fans, but would have to say that attending the British Open, one of the big three tournaments, has got to be a dream for any golfer. Needless to say, my husband and friend had a great time and will be talking about their experiences for years to come.
On the other hand, I always enjoy going to the grocery store in other countries. In Scotland, I had a time trying to figure out what food was in the packages, rashers is sort of like our bacon, haggis is like our souse, and black pudding, well, better not go into those ingredients. Anyway grocery shopping was a challenge. The vegetables and fruits were mostly imported from Spain, peaches and strawberries were local.
After a day at the links, the golfers were pooped so we had dinner in our apartment kitchen, pasta with some kind of red sauce and a salad.
The next day, Monday, we rode the bus to the Royal Mile, their downtown area. One end of the Mile is Edinburgh Castle and the other end is the Queen’s residence when in Edinburgh, Holyrood Palace. We lunched at a kebab stand and then took the free walking tour of Edinburgh. Walking in Edinburgh is more like hiking as it is very hilly, lots of stone steps between streets. It was a real workout.
We only covered a bit of Edinburgh, learning some of the history of the most famous Scottish city, viewing St. Giles Cathedral, the government buildings, and about Scottish famous citizens, William Wallace made famous by the film, “Braveheart”, Mary Queen of Scots and her son who would be king of England, James with a sprinkling of famous Scottish poets and writers. Our walk took us to the base of Edinburgh Castle that dominates the landscape of the city.
We also were treated to the origins of J.K. Rowlings haunts as she wrote the first two Harry Potter books. Our guide took us to Greyfriars Kirkyard where Rowlings found inspirational names for her characters as she sat in the shadow of George Heriot’s School which would be Rowling’s Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Did I mention the countless shops bursting with tartan plaid everything?
The next day the golfers were off again to the links. This time to the most famous golf course in the world in St. Andrews. St. Andrews is located about 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh with the North Sea licking at its shore. From all indications,the golf course was a challenge with its deep sand traps and rough rough.
Final day in Edinburgh we walked from our accommodations to Edinburgh Castle for a tour with our Scottish guide, Donal who could roll his RRRR’s with the best of them. He was very entertaining telling many stories as we got the best view of Edinburgh. My personal favorite was a question he was asked about some land that could be seen easily. A tourist asked if that was the United States.
After our short tour with Donal we viewed the great hall, the bedroom of Mary Queen of Scot where King James was born, and lastly the Crown Jewels of Scotland and the infamous Stone of Destiny. The Stone is a large piece of sandstone used as a throne for centuries by the kings of Scotland. Later it was placed under the Coronation Throne of England as centuries of queens and kings were crowned.
Some history says it was used during the coronation since the 10th century. Finally in 1996 in a symbolic gesture to try and create cooperation between Scotland and England, the Stone was returned to Scotland. It now occupies a place of honor right next to the Crown Jewels.
Least I bring a bad ending to this trip, I will eliminate my experience of having to wait in Washington Dulles Airport for six hours due to weather-related delays in Atlanta. No matter where you roam, Atlanta is mostly always blamed for delays.
Happily we all made it home safe and with some great memories to cherish. Visit Great Britain you will be welcomed with open arms.
