Tourists, especially my mom, enjoy visiting historical sites. This is natural given how much more ancient Edinburgh is compared to Portland. A minor problem arose: by the time we were settled into our place of stay, a nice apartment, it was already 3:30. Sites would close soon.
In our haste, we traveled to the Scottish Parliament, a neatly laid out building finished in 2004. Unlike much of Edinburgh, it sported a very modern aesthetic. Fortunately for us, there was disability parking across the street from us. (We were fortunate to be able to use our disability parking placard from the US.)
To get there, we had taken a back road along Easter Road, bypassing the traffic heading through Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile. For those who do not know, the Royal Mile is essentially a giant hill running along the heart of the city, with the Palace of Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament by the bottom ("the foot") and the Edinburgh castle by the top ("the head"). We started at the bottom, in other words.
The Scottish Parliament, which has free entry, seemed impeccable open to the public. Unlike the US Congress, which even in better years did not accept visitors without express permission, we simply had to pass through a simple security checkpoint and were allowed to wander around inside. (Because the Parliament was in recess, we could not witness the debate chamber.) The interior managed to be simple yet modern and spacious, leaving much room for me and my wheelchair. The inside was mostly taken up by a set of displays highlighting excellent visual journalism. Most notably, an image from this year of a black woman standing down US cops equipped with shields and dogs. These displays contributed to a feeling of accountability: this legislative body observed the world around it, rather than simply dictating rules seemingly on whims (see: US Congress, most of the time).
This did not quite scratch the historical itch, however. So now it was time to visit the nearby Palace (which was just across the street)!
...But it was now past 4:30 pm, and they no longer sold tickets. Such an exciting visit would have to wait until the next day.
So we settled on something more Portland-esque: the Edinburgh Cocktail Festival. We ended up there by traveling up the Royal Mile, which is difficult on wheelchair (as one might imagine). Lured by the promise of live music, we sat down by the makeshift stage and waited. Unfortunately, our timing coincided with a break. We decided to rest there before heading to dinner. A familiar drumbeat began playing out of the speakers -- it sounded like Radiohead's song "High and Dry." But instead it was the song I always mix up with "High and Dry." When Ira Kaplan's vocals came on, I realized that the piece was "Autumn Sweater" by Yo La Tengo, a song that warmly reminds me of music I liked in high school. (Still a piece I wholeheartedly love.) Imagine coming all the way to Scotland to hear an American song played in public!
After twenty minutes or so, we headed (down the Royal Mile) to Kilderkin, a pub we heard was quiet good. It was time to finally eat some fish and chips in the UK! ...Or so I thought...but it seemed they weren't serving it at that time. What a disappointment!
On our way down, some tourists devouring tasty-looking fish and chips had told us about Bene's, a small food place across the street. So, with myself in a wheelchair, we trekked upwards, fighting gravity heartily, to head to Bene's. For 7.2 pounds for fish and chips (which me and my parents ate) and 5 pounds for doner kebab (which my sister ate), it seemed reasonably priced. The plan was to eat on the University of Edinburgh's campus, but we got lost. Instead, we settled by the fountain outside the Scottish Parliament. No friend of grease, I found the fried fish quite pleasant. Much better than fish and chips I had eaten in the US. Finally, after several days in the UK, fish and chips were in my stomach!
On our second day, we saw the Palace of Holyrood and Edinburgh Castle, which are at the bottom and top respectively of the Royal Mile. In the morning, my mom and I visited the Palace, whereas all four of us (my mom, my dad, my sister, and I) went to the Castle in the afternoon.
Thanks to my wheelchair, I earned a 5 pound discount, and my mom got in free as my assistant (wheelchair pusher). Unfortunately for my mom, photos were not allowed anywhere inside the Palace. This was something of a relief to me, as my inability to pose properly for photos is a minor source of anxiety. After a few exhibits, we were confronted with a grand spiral staircase, which held us back on the first floor.
Fortunately, the wardens took us through side paths to arrive at the elevator, allowing us to skip the stairs. Surprisingly, the elevator fit in quite well with the historic designs of the palace, despite appearing quite recent. One major highlight was the Great Gallery, covered by a royal red rug, which featured 96 portraits of Scottish royalty. Clearly this land had much more history than I had realized. As we made our way through, we listened to our audiobooks, gaining mastery over this history. (However, this mastery has already been undone. )
My mom saw the room of Mary, Queen of Scots -- whereas I could not because of a spiral staircase leading up, and no elevator. I witnessed the room through a video display on a computer in the Great Gallery; it was apparently best known for its collection of weapons. Except for one rather important detail. Supposedly, it was the room where Mary's secretary was executed by the King (her husband) on account of jealousy. (By this point, I have probably shared this anecdote a hundred times.)
Many of the rooms featured beautiful tapestries, some downright Rococo, but I cannot show them to you due to a lack of photos. The Palace was beautifully impressive, beyond my capacity to describe in this travelogue. Very likely, my highlight from the trip. We also got a chance to witness the gardens.
Now we met up with my dad and sister, who were again in the disability parking by the Parliament. We found Cajun chicken sandwiches on the Royal Mile at a place fittingly called Let Me Eat. That certainly described my current sentiment, as my sister pointed out. Then we continued our way along the Royal Mile towards the castle. This drove home the intricacy of Scottish history even further.
The roads became congested with pedestrians, forcing us to move exceedingly slowly. (We were allowed to drive on account of my mobility challenges.) We made our way to the top, and saw the castle entrance. However, it quickly became apparent that the entire complex was its own hill, even steeper than the Royal Mile. And....we were given no wheelchair discount this time. A taxi ferried us to the top (free of charge beyond the ticket), and we got out and took many pictures. (Photos were allowed here.) Apart from cool historical buildings, the Castle had cannons and a beautiful view of Edinburgh. Where the Palace is compact, the Castle is quite spread out, but both are quite charming.
There was a last item on the bucket list for that today -- a site in Edinburgh famous among certain tourists. In particular, those who are Harry Potter fans. The whole city, especially the Castle and the Palace of Holyrood, are said to have inspired the series. An ancient college near the Castle is said to have in particular provided a foundation for the design of Hogwarts -- this a Palace warden had told me, But, there was a more concrete connection. This place on our bucket list was a place where JK Rowling had spent time writing -- it is called the Elephant House, clad with a maroon banner above the doorway. For the sake of memory, I ordered a hot chocolate to go, my very own disposable memento. The creamy chocolate drink certainly left me contented.
By this time in the day, most touristy things had closed. We had missed our chance to see the National Museum of Scotland, much to my mom's chagrin. My sister suggested a night ferry. Instead, we headed back to the apartment with the realization that we had just the following morning for sightseeing. However, we did not leave the apartment at all during the evening.
It was 9 AM the next morning. Typically, it could not be taken for granted that all of us would be up, let alone ready to leave. But today was different -- we bucked the fatalism of time by heading to the National Museum of Scotland that we had passed up. (This museum is actually located on a road branching off the Royal Mile, freeing us from worrying about hills.) It was free, so there was no other argument against going. There were some neat science exhibits, creating the backdrop for exquisite photos (taken by my expert photographer of a sister). Then we walked around outside and witnessed more street life of Edinburgh, complete with a dash of drizzle. This may come as a surprise given one's expectations about Scotland, but it was actually sunny during our first two days, and quite bright. Most notably, we were given a pamphlet for a Shakespeare play that may not actually contain any Shakespeare.
After some exploration along the road, we returned to the car, feeling simultaneously ready to head back to Leeds and not ready to leave. For one, my mom hadn't even seen the Edinburgh Museum she had wanted to see. But that was the time allocated for the trip. During previous plans, I had considered visiting Glasglow -- later on, I learned that it is better for shopping, not history. Perhaps my real reason is the fact that the band Franz Ferdinand hails from that city. Alas, a return to Scotland may have to happen sometime in the future, as that was quite fun,
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