Day 8 - Edinburgh for A Day

The only direct flight from Scotland to Madrid was via Edinburgh so on Friday morning I took the 45min train ride from Glasgow to the capital city and spent my last day in Scotland exploring Dun Eideann (that's Scottish Gaelic for Edinburgh).  It was a short stay - all of 18 hours.  I stayed in a 4-person hostel room and I was in the room for about four hours to sleep and never actually saw or met the other three guys in the room.  Despite the short stay, I made the most of my stopover with a few fun events including a walk down the Royal Mile, a Scotch Whiskey tasting and tour, an Edinburgh Castle visit, and a special Taste of Scotland Show held at a private estate on the outskirts of town.

I took a stroll down the Royal Mile, the main historic road in the city center that leads to the Edinburgh Castle, and I was instanly amazed by how old-school, yet well preserved the architecture was.  Everywhere I looked it felt like the clock had been turned back and I was in an 18th century film.  I expected horse-drawn carriages to come up the cobblestone streets and people dressed like Ebenezer Scrooge with their top hats and coat tails to start coming out of the buildings. 

Royal Mile with 18th and 19th century buildings on both sides.

The street level of each building was filled with shops, cafes and pubs.

A statue of famous Scottish political economist Adam Smith was outside the City Hall building.

 

There were tons of little side streets and alleys that looked dangerous but then there would be a fun little cafe, pub or store tucked away between the buildings.

 

 

 

My first stop of the day was a scotch whiskey tour.  When you think of Scotland you think of golf, plaid kilts, bagpipes, and whiskey.  Well, up until this point I'd done three of the four, so it was time for a scotch whiskey tour!  In Edinburgh city center they offered a somewhat "Disneyland" scotch whiskey tour, and by that I mean it was in the touristy part of town and it lacked authenticity.  None the less, it was the best I was going to do with the limited time I had.  The tour literally started out with a Pinocchio-style ride where you sit in a cart on a track and it takes you through a visual tutorial of how whiskey is made.  It's a bit corny, but it improved once I started drinking. 

The tour was called The Scotch Whiskey Experience.

I felt like I was getting ready to go into Disneyland's "Haunted Mansion" ride.

 

 

Next, you pile into a screening room where you each get a card showing the four main regions where whiskey comes from - Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside and the Isles - and the distinct aromas and tastes that identify those regions. Finally, once you get the full run down you get to pick one that you'd like to try - just one is free but you can pay to taste them all...yes please! 

 

The screening room.

The different colors correspond to the different regions - Highland, Lowland, Isles and Speyside. Each region has distinct smell and taste characteristics.

 

From there you get escorted into a massive room of floor-to-ceiling whiskey bottles. With 3,384 different bottles of single malt and blended scotch whiskeys (non of them opened), it is considered the largest collection of scotch whiskey in the world. 

There were about seven walls like this all filled with different whiskey.

Although none of the bottles had been opened some were half full because the liquid evaporates over time.

Bottoms up...I tried one brand from the Islands area, which is known for its harsh smokey flavors, and my eyes started watering immediately. I looked like I just finished watching Marley & Me...the pup dies at the end and it's ridiculously sad.

The scotch whiskey collection had all types including some that came in bottles shapped like golf bags, golf balls, and drivers.

Once you're educated on the regions and aromas you can put your expertise to the test at the bar.

And finally, the tour wraps up by filtering you into the shop where you can buy the whiskeys you liked...glad they put this at the end after you've boozed a bit and are a little looser with your cash.

The shop had all the big brands like Macllan, Glenlivet, and Glenfiddich as well as the smaller more regional distilleries.

By the time I walked out of the whiskey tour I was a bit tipsy...definitely not like a Disneyland ride afterall.

Once I got my bearings back after the whiskey tour I headed up to the world-famous Edinburgh Castle.  It was a rainy day so the clouds were heavy which limited the views, but I still got a sense of how grand this structure is. 

The entrance to the Castle

A view from the main courtyard area looking at the Palace where the Crown Jewels are displayed.

A view of Edinburgh from the top of the Castle.  It sits on an extinct volcano well above the city.

Two caption options:

1) "Where did I put my cannon ball, I know it's here somewhere..."

2) "That is a huge cannon...that's what she said."

 

My final event of the day was a special outing called The Taste of Scotland Show.  I learned about it because it was an event being held as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, a three-week blowout of the very best in international opera, music, theatre, dance and more.  It's held annually around this time of year and I lucked out because it ends Sept. 2, so I just made it.  I was told the population of Edinburgh is around 400k, but during the "Festival," as they call it, the city's population surges to close to 1.2 million. 

The Taste of Scotland was held in the stables of the Prestonfield House Estate, which is privately owned and used for special events and occasions.  It’s an evening of Scottish music, costume, bagpipes, fiddles and dance, plus I opted for the dinner part so I was treated to a gourmet dinner and the show.  It felt like I was crashing an extravagant Scottish wedding. 

The Prestonfield House stables.

Greeted by men and women in kilts and Scottish garb was a good sign.

It was quite the formal affair.

 

The performances primarily focused on old traditional Scottish songs and dances.

The hosts did a good job of getting the crowd involved and on occasion brought audience members onto the dance floor to try a dance...I gave it a go at the end, but wasn't able to get any photos.

One of the highlights for me was when they performed The Proclaimers' hit "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)."

An ensemble piece...

One of the singers in the show reminded me of the girl from the animated movie Brave, so I had to take a photo.

During the show we were able to enjoy the traditional Scottish dish of Haggis.  It's basically Scottish meatloaf. I really enjoyed it.

In honor of Scotland and since it was played during the Taste of Scotland Show, (and it describes how much distance I covered during my time in the UK), I'm sharing The Proclaimers' song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)."

Saturday is a travel day.  I am up bright and early to fly from Edinburgh to Madrid.  Good Bye UK, hello Espana!