Day 2: Scotland vacation 2007

This was our first full day in Scotland. We left Ayr after breakfast, which was our first try at the traditional Scottish breakfast like this one, and took a train to Glasgow. I have to say, the train was very convenient. If you get on at a small stop without a ticket counter, you just get on the train and wait for a conductor to come around, and you can pay on board. At Glasgow we got on a train for Edinburgh; we shared a seat with a woman from Iowa who was showing around her visiting family. Funny how we ran into so many Americans on the first part of our trip.

When we got to Edinburgh, we wanted to store our luggage and look around before heading to our bed and breakfast, but they wanted 5 bucks a bag(!!) at the “left luggage” office in the train station. (It took a little convincing to prove to John that “left luggage” doesn’t mean “lost luggage.” That crazy British English!) There was a mall at the end of the station, so we went into the food court, where we could each get what we wanted. Hannah had her standard McD Happy Meal, but John gave fish n chips a try.



Then we fought our way up and down the sidewalk outside the Waverly Station, looking for the Visitor Centre. The Edinburgh Festival was in full swing, and a tent had been set up outside the Visitor Centre to sell tickets to the Festival events, so it wasn’t quite so easy to see, even though it was located right on the roof of the mall where we’d eaten. We found out which bus we needed to get to the B&B, and headed out to unload our luggage.

(Ours was the top room in this picture.)


The buses are also pretty easy in Edinburgh. You have to have exact change, but it is quite cheap compared to here (2.50 pounds to ride all day, or 1 pound for a one-way trip). Unfortunately, Edinburgh was already pretty booked up when John was looking for accommodations 3 months in advance (!), so our B&B was in nearby Penicuik. I think it was only about 10 miles away, but by bus that could be as long as 50 minutes when the traffic was heavy. Fortunately, we got to Edinburgh early-ish, so even after going out to Penicuik and back, we had some time to walk around Edinburgh that afternoon.

We started out in Princes Street and walked through the gardens.



John had done his homework and could tell us most of what we were seeing, like the monument to Sir Walter Scott



and the floral clock celebrating the Scottish boy scouts’ anniversary



and the castle.



Along the way, we passed some Fringe Festival performances at the museums midway through the gardens. We missed our turn to the New Town and had to make a bit of a detour, but as I said probably every single day of our trip, it’s not our family vacation if we’re not lost. We finally found George Street, which was a bit posh for my taste, but at least we found a bookstore. In our family, books are souvenirs. Unfortunately, they are very heavy souvenirs.

After this ode to the British phone booth and letter box,



we looped around to the other side of the museum, where we were able to see their advertisement for their Andy Warhol exhibit. I would kind of like this on a poster.



After that, we were too footsore and tired to do much else, so we ate some Chinese buffet and went back to our room to rest up for another day of trooping around Edinburgh.