Edinburgh - Day 3

Time to bid farewell to the Scots, but not without a quick morning trip to Edinburgh Castle! This is an ancient fortress looming over Edinburgh. It stands upon the basalt plug of an extinct volcano, 120m above sea level. Other than the East side entry, the castle is surrounded by sheer 80m cliffs.

Human habitation of the site dates as far back as the 9th C, though the castle's structures are mostly from the 16th C. It is one of the few ancient fortresses that still has a military garrison, albeit for ceremonial purposes, and is the official headquarters of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and 52 Infantry Brigade, as well as home to the regimental museum of the Royal Scots and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

There's a great view from the ramparts:

The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day (except Sunday) at precisely 13:00, allowing citizens to check their clocks. Originally to provide sailing ships in the Firth of Forth with a reliable means to check their marine chronometers, the ceremony has become a popular tourist attraction. We crowded around the rain to watch it go off - and you can certainly both hear and feel it.

Gardening of the cliffsides.

The oldest building in Edinburgh is the small St. Margaret's Chapel, from the 12th C. King David I built it as a private chapel for the royal family and dedicated it to his mother, Margaret, who died in the castle in 1093.

This is Connor freezing his nipples off in Crown Square, while we queued to visit the Honours of Scotland. The crown dates from 1540, and is made of Scottish gold set with 94 pearls, 10 diamonds and 33 other precious gemstones. The most treasured possession of Scotland is also located here - the Stone of Destiny (or the Stone of Scone), upon which the monarchs of Scotland are traditionally crowned. It is on permanent loan from Westminster Abbey (except when needed for a coronation). By the time we got in, Connor's nipple was the size of the large Rock Crystal that adorns the top of the sceptre.

I will miss the lovely Scottish food. I never did get to try the battered hamburger patties, frankfurters etc.

Edinburgh - Day 2

We decided to visit the recommended attraction of the Royal Yacht Britannia. It was a little out of the city centre, so we caught a tourist bus that told us interesting things on the way. We drove past Robert Louis Stevenson's birthplace and the Royal Botanic Garden with their impressive domed glasshouses. We could also see Fettes College where James Bond was educated.

Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia was the 83rd Royal Yacht since the restoration of King Charles II in 1660. She was commissioned in 1954 and retired in 1997, and is now permanently moored as an exhibition ship. The interior is very impressive, and it was nice that Queen Elizabeth II had shown some taste in scaling back on the overblown decorations that normally accompany any royal space. It was also curiously dated. That is, not old enough to look antique, but old enough to look out place. Witness in particular this officer's room, with its old Pentium computer and tape-deck stereo.

View from on deck:

So they couldn't resist some obscenely baroque flourishes, such as this fancy-pants compass holder:

The dining room had interesting displays gifted to the royals from its various destinations, such as a narwhal tusk, and this mere from New Zealand:

The spotless engine room. Visting US General Norman Schwarzkopf famously commented: "Well, I've now seen the museum pieces. Where are the real engines?"

I have to say, as interesting as all this was, it just stoked my anger over the concept of monarchy. Quite apart from the ridiculous ceremonial aspects we learned about (such as on board staff having to wear a different uniform for each function they performed, requiring up to 8 changes of clothing in one day), the fact that this amount of money was spent by people that didn't earn it, but were born to it thanks to an out-dated and undemocratic system, really made me chafe.

Anyway, came back to our room for a wee rest before heading out with the assembled hordes to catch the game that we were there for. Here are some of the 60,000+ assembled hordes:

Anna and Terry, just before we parted ways. (We had managed to pick up an extra ticket for Terry, but alas, not seated with us. I think it was better seat though!)

We had a pretty good vanatge point, as you can see:

We've all "got our black on" for All Black fever!

Sadly our boys weren't allow to wear their traditional black uniforms, as this would apparently be confusingly similar to the Scots' all blue. Except the fact that both teams had little strips on them was actually more confusing! Anyway, we're in the grey...

After celebrating our successful game with a few pints, Anna and I did a ghost tour with my old school chum Richard Cotman. From the tour page:

By day Edinburgh is a bustling metropolis – but at night the old buildings and narrow closes take on a more sinister air…A long history of murder, torture, hangings and plague has left a haunting legacy on the city's Old Town and ghostly apparitions now walk its streets.

Enter the underground vaults whose walls, it is said, have absorbed the memories of those who once lived and worked there. This part of the tour is not for the faint-hearted. Cling tightly to the person beside you: we try to leave with the same number as we had on going in!

Choose the extended tour and end your experience with a complimentary drink in the atmospheric Megget’s Cellar, a candlelit nook located above the Underground Vaults, where the guide will continue to entertain you with eerie tales from Edinburgh’s past.

Richard posing with a serial killer's death mask. Creepy!

Trying Scotland's other culinary accomplishment, the deep-fried pizza. This is also very nice, as the frying makes the pizza crust nice and crispy and somewhat salty-tasting. Mmm!

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.

Ireland panoramas

Due to how long it takes me to write up a decent blog entry, and given the fact that picture is worth a thousand words, the blog has become rather image-heavy recently. What better way to continue this tradition that with a series of nice panoramas from Ireland?

Fisherman at the Ring of Kerry:

View of King John's Castle at Limerick:

The Cliffs of Moher:

Roundstone, County Galway:

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara national park:

Perfect rainbow over Laugh Eskie:

Carrick cliffs, County Donegal:

The similarly-named, but different, Carrick-a-Rede cliffs near Ballycastle: