Day Sixteen: Tuesday September 18

The last full day in Edinburgh.

Today was the last chance to walk around and see the sights before tomorrow's train back to London. I decided to see the rest of the Royal Mile in Old Town. I have adjusted to the fact that it just rains all the time here. The tour guide I had yesterday said "the only thing you can count on is that you can't count on the weather." Once again, it was raining as I left my hotel to see the sights.

My first stop was at the opposite end of the Royal Mile as Edinburgh Castle: The Palace of Holyroodhouse. This palace is the official residence of The Queen when she stays in Scotland, which is most of the summer. It is a beautiful place that has a lot of history in it.

The audio tour that comes with the admission price is outstanding. I feel as if I have become a sort of expert in audio tours on this trip. The beauty of all the different tours has been that each and every tour has had something about it that has set itself apart from the others. The tour leads you on a room by room tour and answers a lot of questions you may have on any room before you think of it. The layout of the tour too was done expertly, with an actual sense of anticipation leading you on through the Palace. I have learned so very much about the history of Scotland during my brief stay here.

After leaving Holyroodhouse, I walked around for an hour or two and saw more ancient buildings in this time than probably the rest of my vacation combined. Around every corner there was another building looming in the distance that I just had to see close up. The final stop on my walk today was the Scott Monument.

Like you, I'm sure, I had assumed that this was just a recent addition to Edinburgh. Perhaps a building quickly constructed when the people here learned of my upcoming visit. I was then surprised when I discovered it was a monument to the Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott that was built way back in 1844.

The monument itself has a winding staircase (287 steps actually) that leads up to a spectacular overhead view of Edinburgh. After recovering from the steep climb where the stairs actually get smaller as you get higher, I was treated to a cold blast of wind and a perfect view of everything within 3-4 miles of the monument. It was a great, final look at Edinburgh.
With that last stop of the day, my walking tour of Scotland was finished. I headed back to my room and packed most of my stuff in preparation for tomorrow morning's early departure. My train leaves at 10:30am and I should be back in London before 6pm. I am going to miss this place & like all other places I have been, hope to return soon. What has been unique here is that from 10am until sunset you can hear bagpipes playing faintly in the distance. It isn't loud enough to hear unless you are listening for it, so it is perfect. Another random observance on this town (and this is strange) is that I have seen LOTS of people walking around limping or on crutches. This has been every single day, dozens of them. Most people who know me know that I am pretty accident prone. I have stories & stories that mainly consist of me falling down stairwells, falling off short curbs & just overall clumsiness. Seeing all the walking wounded is one more thing that really makes me feel at home here, with all my clumsy comrades. Well, I am off to the bar downstairs for a few drinks then off to London in the morning.