[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
Edinburgh
After
flying all night we were a bit pooped around the edges when we landed in Edinburgh this
morning. That said, we did arrive safely. Past that, everything else is just details.
We actually PAID for these tickets -- a rarity! -- and traveled in the back of the bus, even more rare. (Got to love those comp upgrades!) Business Class is clearly a more comfortable ride than coach, but I question whether it is really worth the premium, even when you "buy" the ticket using frequent flyer miles.
There's no question that the experience isn't worth the dollar difference if you are paying your own cash. It appears that others may share my sentiments -- there were only two passengers in Business Class on the flight from New York!The guest house had our room ready so we just cleaned up a bit and set off to see what we could before we dropped in our tracks. The main attraction in Edinburgh is the so-called Royal Mile, the route down through the historic buildings of Old Town from Edinburgh Castle (at the top) to Holyrood Palace, summer residence of the Queen, at the bottom.
Some of the old charm lives on in the architecture, of course, and the narrow alleyways between buildings (called a "close") that usually lead back to a courtyard. The alley could be closed off with a door at night, hence the name. Unfortunately, but perhaps inevitably, the Royal Mile has become a slalom course of tourist-oriented shops, pubs, cafes and souvenir stands, all wrapping themselves in their Scottish-ness and pitching themselves to the visitor.
It is a shame and a bit of a paradox really. The more these places try to tout themselves as the "real" Scotland, the more they come across as shoddy imitations. I am not there is a good way around it, though. They certainly have to create some awareness in order to get noticed, just as restaurants must. Still, it is doubtful that they can establish a unique identity by doing the same things the same way that every other shop does.
Until the mid 1800's there were two settlements here -- Edinburgh and Canongate -- separated by a wall that surrounded the castle. We were a little punchy but not totally brain dead so we started our jaunt at the top of the hill with a tour of the castle grounds and worked our way downhill, pausing only for a late lunch at World's End, one of the more well-known local pubs.
That was about as far as we got before the energy ran out. We headed back to the guest house and crashed. The only mistake I made was to wake up at 7pm thinking that if I tried to sleep on through, I would be wide awake at 2am. Turns out it was the last decent sleep I would get all night. I guess the April Fool's joke was on me!
The Royal (Half) Mile and the World's End Pub
© 2009 Restaurant Doctor