A month all ready?

Wow! I don't believe I've been on the road a month. Well, admittedly, there's been a day or two here and there where it seems like it's been longer but when I look at the calendar I really can't believe the time has gone by. Right now I'm in London. My last full day in Edinburgh was a pretty good one though at the start I thought it was going to be kinda miserable-y like because it was raining, windy and way cooler than any temperature I had experienced up to that point. I was setting myself up for it to start beginning to get wintery but Scotland had a grand surprise in store for me. I started out from the hostel that morning in the windy drizzle and headed to Calton Hill on the east end of the city. There are several monuments up there including one called Edinburgh's Folly which is a never completed replica of the Parthenon. Another monument was shrouded in scaffolding and the third wasn't opened yet (I keep getting up too early!). But that's OK because it was the statue honor Admiral Horatio Nelson. It looks like an inverted telescope, has 143 steps to the viewing platform at the almost top and a ship's mast at the very. Just before 1 o'clock every afternoon except Christmas Day and a another day here and there throughout the year, a ball is hoisted to the top of the mast and drops at exactly 1 PM so that all the ships at sea can adjust their chronometers or whatevers. Since you can see the monument from all most every place in town, I didn't feel the need to stick around. I made my way down the hill to the Royal Mile and headed up towards the castle. I stopped at the Camera Obscura touristy place and played around in there for a bit -kinda rekindled my interest in b&w photography! Then I stormed the castle! Well, me and a few dozen other tourists who didn't seem to mind the wind and the rain. It was a bit pricey to get in and I hesitated because so far Scottish castles hadn't done much for me. But it was my last day in Edinburgh so I went for it. I was a little disappointed that the live tours were not happening because of the weather so I went for the audio guide and heard (and then forgot) all kinds of historical facts about the castle which is really hugh and actually a pretty cool place to hang out in. Lots of cannons including Mons Meg, a hugh beast AND a modern day cannon that is fired at 1 PM each day to accompany the ball dropping at the Nelson Monument. This procedure has been going on for a very long time. Yes, that info was on the audio guide and yes I forgot when it started but it was way way back and they update the gun now and again. Anyway, I was there for the firing. There's no pagentry to it and the gun's not as loud as I thought it would be but apparently there are three reactions you can expect to see around Edinburgh when it happens-the tourists at the castle applaud (I did), the tourists not at the castle jump and the locals check their watches.

I wish I could remember and then share all the interesting facts about the castle but that ain't gonna happen. I do remember that although that sight has been a castle site for a long time the present castle isn't the first one built there. Remember Robert the Bruce and his exploits at Stirling Castle? Yeah, Bob was at Edinburgh, too. The oldest building in Edinburgh is within the castle. Mary's Chapel. A popular place for weddings it is as it only holds 20 people. It was built by on of the James' for his Mom, Mary (I think). I visited the basement area of one of the buildings which was used as a military prison for various wars throughout the ages including the American Revolution. A few of the original doors of the cells have been preserved and among the graffiti scratched on the doors there's an American Flag.

I also saw the Scottish Crown Jewels which they call The Honours. Along with The Honours (A crown, sword and sceptor) was The Stone of Destiny. That's a story all by itself but basically every monarch Scotland's every had has stood upon this stone at his/her coronation. At some point the stone was even placed under the throne of the English Monarch.

My last bit of Scottish tourism was to dash across the George IV Bridge in the morning before I caught the train to London. I went down there to take a quick snap shot of the Elephant Cafe. The claim to fame of that little place, aside from now being fully licensed to sell alcohol (it says that in the window), is that it is the 'birthplace' of Harry Potter. It says that in the window also, right above the bit about the alcohol.

So now I'm in foggy London and lucky for me the fog isn't. It is getting a bit cooler and I'm having to make adjustment to my wardrobe but I sort of figured this would happen. I was hoping to get by until I got over to Europe 'cuz things are a wee bit cheaper but I decided I'd rather be a little poorer than do laundry today! I arrive on the 1st and that was pretty much all I did on the day. It took a while to find the hostel and I was all done by the time I got there. It's not a YHA and the culture is a bit different at this one. It looked like mostly 20 something Germans, mostly males. London is probable the most expensive place I'm going to be in and I have to be here about 10 days while I get a few more visas for later on in the trip so I went on line to find a better deal than the YHA. The YHAs in London are about 26£-that's $52 folks! The one I found is only £17/night for a mixed 6 bed dorm. Yes, I was concerned about the mixed part, too but . . .time's up!