Of Ghosts and Ghouls.

Of Ghosts and Ghouls.

This day the Entourage had based us in the hotel and after a hearty breakfast my staff and I caught the bus into the heart of Edinburgh.

Having made it to the centre of the city, we hiked, trekked or climbed, up to the "Royal Mile" at one of which sits Edinburgh Castle. Wandering along I was sadden to see that this great city has become a something of a tourist trap. The cheap Chinese bags, flags, postcards and koalas were nowhere in sight but there were a great many shops selling tartan, shortbread, fudge and whiskey.

The Entourage immediately fell into one of these though to be fair it also included replica weapons and armour both to order and those based on TV shows and movies. Marcus was disappointed to be unable to find a great kilt.

We finally escaped and made it to the castle and went inside. Two things became apparent. One: the area for the Tattoo is really quite small. Two: the castle is a three dimensional jigsaw puzzle based on a Escher drawing. Quite and interesting place but many of the buildings, like that containing the Scottish "Honours", think Crown Jewels, did not allow photography.

From there the party navigated down the Royal Mile in search of the National Museum of Scotland, they fell into another tourist trap of a shop known as "Warhammer". They were soon parted from their money by some very happy and helpful Scots who commiserated with the Entourage on the price charged for their goods, in Australia. They sold the Entourage some of their stock, at about 2/3rds of the Australian price (including exchange rate), shipped it to their residence (for free from their Australian wharehouse) and ensured that they would be in line to have the VAT refunded. The wargamers amongst my readers will understand.

The National Museum was a wonderful place. An Australian would find it and odd combination of the Australian Museum, the Powerhouse Museum and the Museum of Australia. There was natural history, national history, arts and crafts as well technology all in the one location. The Junior staff were very much enthralled.

Afterwards there was a dinner in an Italian cafe before meeting our guides Rachel and Lara for our "The Doomed, the Dead and the Buried tour". This was a walking tour through some of the back streets, narrow lanes, catacombs and graveyards of the city. All very atmospheric and enjoyable.Even the junior members had fun.

The view from our hotel room.

Evil wizard's tower?

The Castle.

The view from the castle.

"Is this thing loaded?"

The Royal Mile.

Evil place.

The castle at night.

At last I am a true Scottish Laird!

Comments

  1. Unknown17 April 2018 at 00:28

    Hey, thats pretty neat! May I ask who is sticking their face in a cannon?

    And are you guys planning on going to Ireland?

    -Nick

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sanwah19 April 2018 at 11:14

    The head in the cannon would belong to Marcus.
    This trip we are not doing Ireland....need more time.

    ReplyDelete
  3. jenjen25 April 2018 at 14:59

    A) I'm glad someone found a kilt, I'm just sorry it wasn't junior staffer Marcus, and B) that panda on the Royal Mile is effen creepy! Luss youse. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tony Wilkinson26 April 2018 at 17:33

      Marcus wanted a great kilt which goes up an over the shoulder as well as around the waist. We didn't find a very helpful gent who could have one made but it was outside Marcus' budget. The panda was even creepier close up.

      Delete

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