An uncommonly sunny day in Edinburgh, Scotland - British Isles Explorer (see notes)

We had an early start to our day, as we needed to grab a tender well before 9 to get to our 10 am reservation at The Real Mary King's Close. We began to worry about the timing, as we waited 30 min for a tender, then had to wait for the shuttle to load before a 20 min drive to Charlotte Square in New Town, at least a 20 min walk (sprint up HUNDREDS of steps) over to the area of the city where just about everything anybody wants to do is located! (We were none too pleased about this.) Scott valiantly turned on international calling to call ahead, as we had received an email saying that late arrivals would be turned away with no refund. Perhaps because we did call to try to reschedule, they were very kind and accommodating and allowed us to arrive up to 20 min late (which we did) and caught us up to our wonderful tour through the old close (alley), long-buried by the construction of the Royal Exchange in the 1700's. The tour was fascinating, as it unfolds the history of first the Pneumonic Plague, then the Bubonic Plague -- or the "Black Death" -- which ran particularly rampant in this narrow, over-populated market area of Edinburgh. There were actually numerous closes in that location. Mary King was one vendor. There were only two plague doctors. The first lasted less than a year (died from the plague) and the second one, George Rae, survived the plague, mostly due to his odd and creepy uniform comprised of waxed robe and shoe coverings, hat, goggles and the distinctive raven's beak mask, densely stuffed with herbs to reduce the foul odors surrounding the Black Death. He was promised a huge salary, but received only 1/3 of that unfunded payment quite a bit later and ironically died from Tuberculosis! Very cool tour. We headed over to stroll up and down the "Royal Mile," where we found "The Hub," formerly the Highland Tolbooth St. John's Kirk (Church of Scotland), now a public arts and event center with a beautiful gothic spire. We then headed over to Victoria Street (much thought to have been JK Rowling's inspiration for Harry Potter's Diagon Alley) to find the Bow Bar, a local favorite, for lunch. They were only serving meat pies for lunch! (how quaint) Scott had chicken leek and Leslie had Moroccan lamb. And, of course, we each had a half-pint of Cromarty Brewing Co. lager, ironically a Munich-style Helles. To be fair, we did ask for a local ale ... but misunderstandings occurred and it was fine. Then on to the Grassmarket, an ancient 14th century marketplace, and now a vibrant pedestrian shopping and eating site below the castle. (The square is notorious for 17th and 18th public executions.) We finally made it to St. Giles Cathedral, the High Kirk of Scotland. Construction began in the 14th century, extending into the 16th. John Knox, a Presbyterian Reformer, was the minister there following the Scottish Reformation. The ornate Thistle Chapel, added in 1909, is the hidden Gothic home of Scotland's Order of the Thistle -- 16 knights of Scotland's highest order of chivalry. Finally we headed upward to Edinburgh Castle, which was still flanked with the enormous "Esplanade" -- bleacher seating for the annual Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. To be honest, it was a big eye sore! But we watched the painstaking process of dismantling it while we waited. Apparently it takes a month to set-up and a month to tear down (it used to take longer). Anyway! Edinburgh Castle was established as a royal castle in the 11th century. We were able to explore quite extensively. The canon turrets offered panoramic views of the city. The Crown Jewels are a must-see and are housed in the Royal Palace of the Stewarts, along with some other well-restored rooms and textiles. Our last stop in the Castle (as we watched the clock, needing to return all the way back to Charlotte Square before 3:30 pm :-|) was St. Margaret's Chapel. This tiny, yet quite beautiful chapel was built way back in 1130 by her son, King David I. We DID make it back to the shuttle and then the tender on time and enjoyed a lobster tail dinner and our usual late night entertainment. It was a fantastic, if a bit rushed, day! Viking Mira