Edinburgh is a beautiful city, it contains all of the classic elements people associate with Scotland, and the United Kingdom in general... cobblestone streets which look phenomenal after the rain which is fairly common. A castle perched atop a hill overlooking the city. And a million winding alleys and closes throughout... A close is basically just a tiny alley in case you wonder.
This time around I am only going to post a few photos, but I am going to include a few friends took via Instagram etc as well, just to give this post a bit more community feeling since it was most definitely a joint venture trip... we had the most amazing new years ever.
First of my guest shots, the awesome cobbled streets after a spot of rain, it truly is a beautiful town.
A Ferris wheel setup for the Hogmanay Festival, looking pretty at dusk.
Awesome cute whiskey bar/cafe, made really awesome eggs benedict (my favourite breakfast ever)
Yet another castle... this one is cool mostly for location, its all about location in a castle... this one is perched on a hill and has canon emplacements... that is total street cred in a castle.
Serious gentleman of some note...
Next are a few shots from along the Literary Tour, which was also fantastic, a local author and guide will take you to some of the notable sites around Edinburgh and tell you of its rich literary history.
Interestingly in Edinburgh many of these sites are not marked in any way, they do not tend to place plaques on things of significance or signpost them in any way. This man is amazing and well worth checking out if you are a literary enthusiast. (link at the bottom of the post to his site)
The pub where Inspector Rebus from the Ian Rankin novels drinks...
This is where the lecture halls are where Joseph Bell taught, he was the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes, and all round amazing guy. A good example of his skills is this story of how he taught his students to be perceptive. (taken from "The Original of Sherlock Holmes" by Dr. Harold Emery Jones)
"This, gentlemen" announced Professor Bell, "contains a very potent drug. To the taste it is intensely bitter. It is most offensive to the sense of smell. But I want you to test it by smell and taste; and, as I don’t ask anything of my students which I wouldn't be willing to do myself, I will taste it before passing it round"
Here he dipped his finger in the liquid, and placed it in his mouth.
The tumbler was passed round.
With wry and sour faces the students followed the Professor’s lead. One after another tasted the liquid; varied and amusing were the grimaces made.
The tumbler, having gone the round, was returned to the Professor.
"Gentlemen", said he, with a laugh, "I am deeply grieved to find that not one of you has developed this power of perception, which I so often speak about; for if you watched me closely, you would have found that, while I placed my forefinger in the medicine, it was the middle finger which found its way into my mouth"
This pub used to be Rutherfords, which is where many excellent writers drank, including Robert Louis Stevenson, it was renamed to The Hispaniola after the ship in Treasure Island
Arthur Conan Doyle lived at this house once upon a time, he was the man responsible for Sherlock Holmes, and general legendary author.
And in something of a rarity on this blog... a photo of people! including myself!
These beautiful ladies were the team who made this the best New Years I have ever had. As for the decidedly unbeautiful gentleman on the left, he is most excellent company in shenanigans and noise making.
References:
http://www.edinburghbookloverstour.com/ - The Literary Tour
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle - Arthur Conan Doyle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bell - Joseph Bell
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