'Cause the houses 'round here are all flashy and swank

For those of you just joining me recently this will be completely out of the blue as well as stupidly out of order. Please forgive. I owe myself a finished trip report...

Edinburgh trip report - early April 2012 - Day 3 - Edinburgh Castle

What a gorgeous day this turned out to be. I really should have gone into the Pentlands, which I had scheduled for Day 4, but Day 2 dawned sunny as well and quickly clouded over so how was I to know?

So, the Castle. It looms over the city on this massive mountain of rock. I keep taking pictures of it, hoping to show how epic it is but it just doesn’t manage to translate onto the comparatively miniscule screen on the back of my camera. Similarly, the views from the Castle are unbelievable and difficult to translate to screen.

One of the interesting things is that the buildings up there don’t look very - castley - to me, and this is hilarious because there was an exhibit which I absolutely could not get any pics of because it was in a closed in, dark room that simply defied my camera - but it was all about remodeling the castle buildings - and a couple of the proposed ideas were quite epically castley. In the end none of the plans were adopted. As they stand, the buildings are fairly square and practical, barracks-like. I approached the Castle through Princes’ Street Gardens and part of the cemetery attached to St. John’s.
( On with the Castle )

'Cause the houses 'round here are all flashy and swank

For those of you just joining me recently this will be completely out of the blue as well as stupidly out of order. Please forgive. I owe myself a finished trip report...

Edinburgh trip report - early April 2012 - Day 3 - Edinburgh Castle

What a gorgeous day this turned out to be. I really should have gone into the Pentlands, which I had scheduled for Day 4, but Day 2 dawned sunny as well and quickly clouded over so how was I to know?

So, the Castle. It looms over the city on this massive mountain of rock. I keep taking pictures of it, hoping to show how epic it is but it just doesn’t manage to translate onto the comparatively miniscule screen on the back of my camera. Similarly, the views from the Castle are unbelievable and difficult to translate to screen.

One of the interesting things is that the buildings up there don’t look very - castley - to me, and this is hilarious because there was an exhibit which I absolutely could not get any pics of because it was in a closed in, dark room that simply defied my camera - but it was all about remodeling the castle buildings - and a couple of the proposed ideas were quite epically castley. In the end none of the plans were adopted. As they stand, the buildings are fairly square and practical, barracks-like. I approached the Castle through Princes’ Street Gardens and part of the cemetery attached to St. John’s.
( On with the Castle )

An' the front bit is what's called a façade!

Trip Report Edinburgh - April 2012 - Coda to Holyrood Palace

So, for those of you just joining me, it actually isn’t that much of an adjustment if you’ve browsed my photos of Chicago. Set loose with a camera I do the same thing in any city.

I hadn’t meant to visit Holyrood, it was only on the maybe list. Circumstances made it a good choice. It was one of the few places I had to pay admission for. It was worth it.

The audio guide was included in the admission, so it was a slightly surreal experience which morphed slightly once I emerged into the ruins of the Abbey and the Gardens.

Pictures happened. Lots and lots of pictures...
( On with the trip )

An' the front bit is what's called a façade!

Trip Report Edinburgh - April 2012 - Coda to Holyrood Palace

So, for those of you just joining me, it actually isn’t that much of an adjustment if you’ve browsed my photos of Chicago. Set loose with a camera I do the same thing in any city.

I hadn’t meant to visit Holyrood, it was only on the maybe list. Circumstances made it a good choice. It was one of the few places I had to pay admission for. It was worth it.

The audio guide was included in the admission, so it was a slightly surreal experience which morphed slightly once I emerged into the ruins of the Abbey and the Gardens.

Pictures happened. Lots and lots of pictures...
( On with the trip )