The Castle, The Sherlock and The Shakespeare

  It’s said that Edinburgh Castle “dominates its city like no other castle in Europe.” I’ve seen only a handful of castles in Europe, but after spending two days in Edinburgh, I can’t disagree. The castle sits atop a steep volcanic rock and has been used as a stronghold for nearly 3,000 years, making it the oldest continuously fortified position in all of Britain. The oldest structure still intact is St. Margaret’s Chapel, in the middle of the castle grounds, built around 1130. Edinburgh Castle was the scene of countless bloody sieges throughout the centuries, especially during the long wars with England, and many kings and queens of Scotland ... [Read More]

The old world charm of modern Edinburgh

  “Have ya been dahn in England?” “Why, yes.” “Pffffffttttt! They got nofhing on us! Yust that bloody Buckingham Palace ‘n watnot. Not like ‘ere.” And with that our charming cab driver welcomed us to Edinburgh, Scotland. And he really was charming, like so much of the city of which he’s so proud. He went on to explain, often in English so heavily accented that Soo and I could only nod and feign understanding (there was no interrupting him), that we were daft buggars for having wasted so much time in Bloody England when we could have been in Scotland. At one point he pulled over, cursed about Bloody England again, ... [Read More]