Getting the fuck out of Sheffield...

[jarsy]

for a bit, thank Christ.

So I'm off to Edinburgh for the weekend. This a very YAY state of affairs. I've only been for one night before, and that was for the Serenity premiere last year, so I didn't really get the chance to see much of the city.

I know that a lot of you on my flist have been to Edinburgh, some of you pretty recently, so any recommendations on what to do and what to see would be great. Hop to it!

Comments

[siria]

Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities in the world; you'll love it! The castle and the palace are probably required places to visit, although the admission fee is pretty hefty, so maybe you'll just end up like us, standing outside and saying 'Ooh, pretty.'

Marginally less expensive, but also well worth a visit, is Mary King's Close. It's on the Royal Mile, tucked in on a side street, so you'll have to look to find it. It's a tour which brings you down into some of the medieval housing which is buried beneath the City Chambers. It's very cool, both because it's apparently haunted by plague victims, and because you can still see the original medieval decorative block printing on the walls.

Okay, maybe that last part is only cool to me, but still.

For free touristy stuff, there's St Giles' Cathedral, the Scottish National Museum, the National Art Gallery, etc. You can also take a wander down to Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is not only the last resting place of Greyfriars Bobby, it's also (we think) the place where JK Rowling got the inspiration for a lot of her character names. There are definitely Moodies, Cruickshanks, Blacks, McGonagalls, and even the grave of Tom Riddell Sr and Jr.

And also the Spankies, though they're probably completely unrelated to the HP series. Probably.

You must also try the haggis, if you get the chance (it's very like black pudding). There's a great little pub towards the middle of the Royal Mile called the World's End (appropriate for Neil Gaiman fans) that has some very delicious haggis, and the staff are nice and didn't at all mind the four of us loons.

[jarsy.livejournal.com]

Okay, maybe that last part is only cool to me, but still.

Mise agus Bloke are both archaeologists, so it's definitely not only cool to you.

And I'll so be dragging him to the HP graveyard. Oh yes I will.

I would love to try haggis, but alas, I do not partake of red meat. Which is at least a part of le haggis, I believe? I did used to love black pudding...

[siria]

The Close is really very cool! There are a couple of houses they won't let you go into, because they're still hung with the original wallpaper. And since very early wallpaper was made with arsenic, the atmosphere in them is toxic. It's all kinds of fun.

Haggis is made of lamb/mutton, so you probably wouldn't eat it. I do believe that you can get a vegetarian version, though, so maybe that might appeal? It's not exactly the same as black pudding, but it would be close; a lot like the Clonakilty stuff.

[jarsy.livejournal.com]

I do believe that you can get a vegetarian version, though, so maybe that might appeal?

Ooh. I'm a definitely going to try and find some. I'm sure the bloke will eat plenty of the real stuff though. Wouldn't want to let the side down. Yay Edinburgh!

Also, yay arsenic! I love medieval history...

[almarsare.livejournal.com]

Have never been sorry. Hope you have a fantastic time though.

[jarsy.livejournal.com]

thanks! I'll do my best!

[lil-nibbler.livejournal.com]

Have a great time the two of you. Do all tyeh great things we didn't get to do: like walk the Royal Mile and the HP graveyard sounds amazing plus that other place that's haunted. Have fun!
p.s. you should go back to that tapas place we went to!

[jarsy.livejournal.com]

My dad's given me the names of about a million pubs and restaurants I should go to. The tapas place may have to wait.

[jaaam.livejournal.com]

Just make sure you don't bump into Morgan!

[jarsy.livejournal.com]

No court in the land could convict me...