heart of glass: the walk

So I woke up early last Sunday morning and decided I "fancied" a walk.

You know, just a mile or so.
And it shouldn't be just any mile.
Because I am in Scotland, after all.
So I hopped on a train to Edinburgh to walk THE ROYAL MILE.
{I know. I can't believe my life either.}

View of Edinburgh Old Town when you exit the train station.
NBD.

And yeah, SPOILER ALERT if you haven't been.
Edinburgh should be first experienced
without having seen lots of pictures of it beforehand.
That's how I discovered this awe-inspiring city two years ago.
So proceed at your own risk.

Calton Hill above Waverley Station.

Crossing over to Old Town, where I spent the day.

Climbing lots of stairs to get up to the Royal Mile.

And there were patches of blue sky in Edinburgh.

It's called the Royal Mile because it is exactly one mile long
and has a castle at one end and a palace at another.
Basically the House of Stewart didn't mess around.

Start at Edinburgh Castle, which sits atop the volcanic Castle Rock.
A royal fortress has been here since the twelfth century.

I went inside on my last visit to E-burgh.
They charge an arm and a leg, and it's not that exciting.
So I didn't go in this time.

From the castle, looking down the Royal Mile.

As you walk along, you'll see lots of closes.

These are basically alleys that are little shortcuts
downhill off either side of the elevated Royal Mile.

Approaching St. Giles' Cathedral. But first...

Take a detour on George IV Bridge.

Follow Candlemaker Row.

Candlemaker House.

You'll see Greyfriars Bobby.

Which means you're at the seventeenth-century Greyfriars Kirk.

Which has the most amazing kirkyard everrrr.

It gives you views all over E-burgh.

I'll devote another post to the macabre tombstones of the city.

But last look for now; view of the castle.

And back onto George IV and you pass
The Birthplace of Harry Potter.

Back on the Mile.
Smack dab in the middle is St. Giles',
High Kirk of Edinburgh.

It dates to the fourteenth century,
but was heavily restored aka destroyed in the nineteenth.

Its iconic crown spire dates to the sixteenth century.

Let's go inside.

Typically dark Scottish kirk.

But love the ceiling. Except it's not orig.

More ceiling.

The sg is modern.
{No medieval glass survives in Scotland, with
the exception of four roundels in a little chapel
in E-burgh, which I'll save for another post.}

Thistle Chapel of St. Giles.

It is misleading and dates to 1911.

Ugh I just hate it when things are modern, lolz.

Special Visitors.

Back outside and across the street;
City Chambers.

Heart Scotland.

Call Me; Royal Mile version.

Time for more closes.

Edinburgh is hauntingly beautiful.

There is no time.

Advocate's Close.

Edinburgh, I said I'd get back to you.

We live in a beautiful world.

Yeah we do, yeah we do.

You might be a big fish in a little pond.

Doesn't mean you've won.

John Knox House.

Yep.

Thistle Do Nicely; Scottish people so presh.

Can you spy Princess Di ?

Oh how I wish la Burrell was in E-burgh.
{Don't tell the Glaswegians.}

World's End Close.

Getting towards the other end of the Mile.

You'll pass the rather inconspicuous Canongate Kirk.

Don't be fooled; this is for real.

Zara Phillips {the queen's granddaughter}
is getting married here next month.
I'm going to be standing outside, btw.

Canongate also has a lovely kirkyard.

Cemeteries of [Edinburgh].

Back on the Mile & Clarinda's Tea Room.

I had tea here two years ago.

And didn't take a picture then. It's so presh.

Then you reach the end of the Mile, leading to
The Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Across the street from the palace is Scottish Parliament.

Give me time, give us a kiss/
Tell me your own politik.

But who cares about politics when there's ROYALTY around ?

Into The Queen's Gallery for the brand new exhibition
The Northern Renaissance: Dürer to Holbein.

The gallery hosts rotating exhibitions featuring pieces from
the Royal Collection. As a loyal Northern Renn girl, this was
AMAZING.

asldfjalksdfjhg; HOLBEIN MINIATURES.
GEEKING OUT.

Geeking out even more with a series of Clouet portraits.
I wrote my undergraduate art history thesis on the Clouets.
This is Marie Stuart en deuil blanc, by François Clouet, 1559-60.

Or: Mary, Queen of Scots in white mourning attire.
This is her after her first husband, François II of France, died at 16.
He was king of France for eighteen months; and Mary was his consort.
But of course, she had already been Queen of Scots in her own right,
for basically her entire life.