Staying in another HUB hotel for the three nights I am here in Edinburgh. As I mentioned before, these are tiny rooms, but have very good free internet and a big screen TV, as well as very comfortable bed and bedding. Started off my first day in Edinburgh by sleeping in almost until noon and by taking a cab to the National Museum of Scotland. I was here way back in 2008, but this place was under a major renovation at that time, so I have been looking forward to coming back here.
Only problem with this visit is that it is horribly cold here (highs of 54 with a strong wind) and is expected to rain today and tomorrow. We only got a sprinkle today, but I am not looking forward to visiting Edinburgh Castle tomorrow because a lot of it is outside. Brrrr. I am really glad I have some jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to wear. I really need to find a zippered sweatshirt to wear under my lightweight rain jacket.
Actually, my first stop in the museum was the cafe where I grabbed a very large sandwich and Coke with ice. (Note: Getting it with ice is a real bonus because few British put ice in cold drinks, so places are not used to serving it, and not all cafes even have ice.)
This is the atrium of the museum. Nice looking building. This museum covers not only the history of Scotland, but science, industry, art, and a lot of other things. I focused on the history section.
The first thing I saw in the museum as I was headed to the history section was poor, old Dolly, the first cloned animal anywhere! Mostly, I think she looked a bit shaggy and could have used a cleaning and brushing. I wondered why her legs were so skinny until someone pointed out that she had had a lot of blood tests in her lifetime, so they had been kept shaved!
A hoard of Roman coins and the jug they were buried in.
There was a nice exhibit on Mary, Queen of Scots.
I had heard of putting the thumbscrews on someone, but I did not realize that there really were thumbscrews! Ouch.
Some random photos of exhibits:
And some belongings of James VI.
Part of the exhibit on the history of the Scottish weaving and mining industries.
After my museum visit, I headed to what is called The Royal Mile. It is quite a touristy area, and along with the Castle, it is often the only parts of Edinburgh most tourists see.
UK parking style.
If you ignore the many tourist places along this road and focus on the buildings, it is a very interesting place.
By the time I headed back to the hotel, the wind was really getting stronger and making me cold. Need to go shopping for something else to layer. Last thing I did tonight was pre-register for the car I have reserved for Wednesday and buy my train ticket back to York that morning.
I have been choosing to buy a first-class ticket because it is worth it for me to get a more comfortable, reclining seat that is by itself on one side of the train. In other words, there are two seats on one side of the aisle and one seat on the other side. Much more comfortable. Also, you get a bigger tray and also a free meal and drinks throughout your journey, assuming it lasts longer than 70 minutes. When I walked in, for example, I was offered tea or coffee, and soon after we left the station someone came by to ask about alcoholic and cold drinks, as well as provide us with menus to select our hot dinner choices! There are also snacks available several times during the trip.
The only problem is that first-class can be expensive. The regular price for London to Edinburgh is £325, but there are special fares so it pays to keep checking. I bought my ticket to Edinburgh the night before and paid only £189, and it ended up being even cheaper because I got a 50% refund for the train being late. Train to York on Wednesday will cost £69, and I will get drinks and a full, hot English breakfast on the 2.5 hour trip. NICE!!! Check out the menu here: https://www.lner.co.uk/the-east-coast-experience/first-class/menu/#Dinemenu
Today, my Fitbit says I walked 2.38 miles and took 5,978 steps--hardly anything compared to my days in London. And dinner was the rest of my sandwich from lunch and a Coke from the bar in the hotel
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