So today I had another quite busy day!
I got up early this morning, ate breakfast, and then promptly went back to bed. Don't look at me in that tone of voice. I'm on vacation, I'm allowed to be lazy! Anyway, around noon (don't judge), we left the flat and went out on the town.
Ready to tackle the day! :) It was chilly out today so I decided to wear a scarf.
As I've mentioned many times before, Edinburgh is pretty beautiful. I always enjoy a gander around the city.
Sigh.
We started off the day by going back to the Royal Mile. Edinburgh International Festival is in full swing, so the entire old town was littered with an assortment of performers, musicians, aritsts, vendors, art and other interesting things. I feel like we really lucked out on choosing the time to come to Edinburgh, because this beautiful beautiful city is just TEEMING with life. And I love it! (Well.. to a certain degree. I love visiting it would be more accurate, as I prefer to live in quieter towns like Sudbury).
There were tonnes of vendors all over the place, as well as a diverse set of performers:
Wallace!
Bagpipes, of course. I actually don't mind bagpipe music. I often get people complaining to me that its horribly annoying, but I enjoy it. It sounds kind of regal and proud to me. Like a people that take great pride in their native heritage, and I like that in people.
I had my suspicions about these performers. But they were entertaining none the less. I laughed the entire time I walked by them.
There were a whole lot of musicians all over the old town. And they were all exceptionally talented. I was particularly impressed by this pair that we came across outside of the restaurant that we ate lunch at.
You can't see it very well, but this guy was swallowing swords! It was crazy.
We came across this lovely little restaurant called the Cannonball right on Castlehill in the old town. It was very typically Scottish, decorated with thistles (the national flower of Scotland), and whiskey culture items. The one thing I thought was particularly interesting about this restaurant is that they boasted mostly local products from all over Scotland.
Thistles growing outside the window. I thought it was *Uses thesaurus.com to check for lovely synonyms*... rather delicate looking. Added another Scottish charm to the place.
This is where we decided to try some haggis! For people who don't know what haggis is, this is how Google explains haggis:
haggis
ˈhaɡɪs/
noun
- a Scottish dish consisting of a sheep's or calf's offal mixed with suet, oatmeal, and seasoning and boiled in a bag, traditionally one made from the animal's stomach.
ANYWAY, this is what it looked like:
The haggis at this restaurant was rolled into little balls and served with a cheese-type sauce and picked turnip.
I don't know what I expected of haggis, but I didn't have any real strong feelings for the taste of it. The description doesn't sound particularly delicious, but I really thought it was appropriate to at least give it a try if I had the chance, and we definitely had the chance today. Anyway, I'd describe the taste kind of like... oatmeal and beef mixed together with a hint of lamb-taste added, and a strange mushy texture, like eating a falafel ball.I mean, it wasn't awful, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again. I'm glad I tried it though, just for the chance to say that I tried it. :)
I also ate mac and cheese. It was like... fancy cheese with fancy cheese sauce and baked breadcrumbs. It was delicious. For whatever reason, mac and cheese is super popular on restaurant menus in Scotland. I've seen it in almost every restaurant that we've been to so far. I wonder if its a cultural thing.
And of course, I had some Earl Grey tea to get my mid-day going. This Earl Grey was really good. I had it with a splash of milk and a tad of honey. It was perfect.
Anyway, we continued to walk around the city to check out the sites. One of the places on my list was The Elephant House, which we actually ended up finding! This place is said to be one of the places J.K. Rowling spent time at drinking coffee while she wrote the Harry Potter books.
The back room features a lovely setting to gaze upon the old city. And as I've said before, the old city really is lovely to look at. It kind of puts you in your place. And can you imagine what those old bricks would tell you if they could? How many stories they've seen? I often wonder what kinds of things have happened around the city in the time its been standing, which is a pretty long time - a couple hundred years at the very least.
Another place we went through is the Grassmarket. This area has a bit of a sinister past, as it was not only a hub of shopping but also the gathering area for the witnessing of public executions. People were hanged here.
Theres even a bar called "The Last Drop", where criminals purportedly took their last drink before being hanged.
When I read about the history of some of these places, I am astounded. No wonder there are so many ghost stories about Edinburgh.
Speaking of Edinburgh horror, remember how I told you guys about Burke and Hare yesterday, the guys who murdered people to supply doctors and students with fresh cadavers for money? Apparently there's a strip joint named after them, which I thought was in pretty dark humour. We came across it today.
Anyway, moving on to a lighter topic... Greyfriars Bobby! Greyfriars Bobby is a touching story about a loyal terrier dog named Bobby. This dog loved his owner, who was a watchman for the Edinburgh Police, a guy named John Grey.
When John Grey passed away, Bobby decided to guard his grave for 14 years until he passed away. This small fellow became known around Edinburgh, and gained the new name Greyfriars Bobby, after the graveyard where his owner was buried in the old town.
A lady by the name of Lady Burdett-Coutts was so touched by the story that she put up this statue!
Theres also a bar just across the way from the statue, named after the dog and his loyalty. Its a nice story.
Well, what else did I get up to, you ask? Well, calm down, I'm going to explain it all to you. Jeez.
I actually went to what I call a glorified Value Village, but the Scots call it Vintage Extraordinaire. For anyone who knows me (I should trademark this phrase), they know I love used stuff. Its a really good way to recycle stuff, and sometimes I really don't think you need to buy brand new all the time. Thrifting is great practise for anyone serious about living a more green lifestyle.
Anyway, this place was really amazing to walk into. A total riot of colour.
It was called W. Armstrong & Son Extraordinary Vintage Clothing. When I first walked in, there were a few other tourists in there, I think they were from England. I overheard one woman describe this place, in her heavy British accent, as "an absolute Aladdin's cave of textures...and stuff". I thought this was a rather accurate description of the place, so I smiled and took note.
Hats! Oh I love hats.
There was a diving Italian man with a feather boa flying down from the ceiling in there. I was in awe.
Anyway, I managed to find a lovely sweater for myself in there. Actually, since I got here, I really wanted to buy a cashmere sweater. But they're very expensive in Scotland because they're high quality, so you're looking at prices of upwards of 100 pound sterling or more. Thats a lot on a student budget. At this vintage store, I found a bright pink cashmere sweater for myself made in Scotland for 20 pounds. I was pretty happy about it.
End of day hair... stop laughing! But really, I love this sweater. Its so soft and comfortable. New favourite sweater.
I finished off the day by checking another one of the indie coffee shops from yesterday's indie coffee shops of Edinburgh map. This place was really cute and aptly called Lovecrumbs. It has an upcycled feel and offers food and really good, fair trade coffee.
I was even impressed by the take-away cups that they had. These cups are biodegradable, and the lids are made of vegetable based plastic. Neat, huh? :)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's edition of The Ecomodern Nomad! Feel free to tell me your thoughts!
Cheers,
KM
So cool! Hugely jealous back here in Canada -- enjoy your trip!
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