July 21-22, 2010
It was time to travel again and this time I signed up for the REI Scotland Highlands and Islands hiking tour. Being 8 time zones and 20 hours or so of travel time away from Scotland determined my early arrival in Edinburgh, which left plenty of time for my body to catch up to the right continent.
When seated in pre-hinterlandia in the back of a plane with only 10 minutes to catch your connecting flight across the Atlantic, you hope that your body catches up with the right plane. It did, but only after a sprint to the gate.
I stayed at a beautiful B&B with wonderfully gracious hosts – The Elmview B&B in the Tollcross area south of Edinburgh Castle, across from The Meadows. Randy and Nicci, my wonderful hosts, are great sources for local information and ideas of what to do. And the breakfasts were divine.
Off I went exploring one of my favorite cities in the world, first to the Castle to visit the humble St. Margaret’s Chapel and the beautifully solemn National War Memorial.
http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/index/tour/highlights/highlights-scottish-national-war-memorial.htm. Inside were a couple of areas dedicated to wartime nurses in various organizations, and I found the whole memorial to be very moving. Afterwards I walked to the National Museum to see the Lewis Chessmen, a collection of 12th century Scandinavian carved walrus ivory chess pieces that were found in Uig on the Isle of Lewis in 1831. I love the expression on the Berserker, as seen in this postcard:
photo courtesy of National Museums Scotland
I finished the day off with haggis, neeps, and tatties and more walking.
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