03 October 2007

Edinburgh - Day 1

Took a trip up to Edinburgh to catch the New Zealand v Scotland World Cup match. Our crew consisted of Anna and myself, Anna's dad, Connor and James (plus whomever else we encountered while there).

Despite this being our big rugby weekend, we were keen to get as much sight-seeing in as we could (in between watching secondary matches at the pub). Edinburgh is a very beautiful city. Wide cobbled streets fronted by stone facades in all directions, with a liberal sprinkling of ornate public buildings and churches.

A local pub gets into the spirit:

The interior of St Giles' Cathedral (or the High Kirk of Edinburgh). At the midpoint of the Royal Mile, its highly distinctive hollow-crown tower forms a distinctive part of the skyline.

Famous for some of its stained glass and the small, but exquisitely carved, chapel of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Scotland's foremost Order of Chivalry.

Thank god for the scientific method!

Outside St Giles.

Edinburgh is full of 'closes', tall apartment buildings with narrow lanes between them running steeply downhill. These all have interesting names, some of which were relevant to members of the group.

We did a guided tour of the underground Mary King's Close. The upper apartment levels were demolished, and the foundations of the City Chambers built on top of the lower levels. Thus these, and the narrow lanes, all became subterranean. It's quite eerie, and with the number of plague victims and poverty-stricken people who had previously lived on these premises, ghost stories abound!

Back up in the fresh air, I noticed that there was quite a bit of graffitti about (admirably in chalk, and not permanent materials) decrying Scotland's position in the United Kingdom and supporting 'devolution' or home rule. Scotland for the Scottish!

Vending machine in a pub:

Stopped by to watch the Soth Africa v Tonga game, and have some beers/food. I tried a nice Scots pint called Belhaven, while the lads tucked into their haggis.

Anna and I passed on the England v Samoa game, and walked down to the National Art Galleries. There is a great view across the gardens to the city:

National Gallery building:

Edinburgh has a pretty good collection, with Velazquez, Gauguin (including one of which Anna had a print for many years), Raphael, Botticelli, etc etc. We also caught a special Warhol exhibition, for which they had even dressed up the outside of the building with Campbell's soup cans!

Scott Monument:

Edinburgh Castle from the Princes Street Garden:

A cheeky chap:

I couldn't resist trying the local delicacy, the deep-fried battered Mars bar. It may sound terrible, but it's awesome.

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