To Travel Is To Live: Scotland 1: Edinburgh

Edinburgh: picking a hotel based on location pays off. A view from the breakfast room. Right on Princes St, practically at the foot of Castle Rock.

Edinburgh: walking up the Royal Mile. The crown steeple of St. Giles Cathedral.

Edinburgh Castle: St. Margaret's Chapel, built in the 12th century, is the oldest structure in the city.

Edinburgh Castle: in the same building housing Honours of Scotland (crown, scepter, an sword) is this small room with an immense historic importance. This is where Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI, who would later become king of both Scotland and England. So that's when it all began.

Edinburgh Castle: in the adjoining building is the Tea Room. The "Taste of Scotland" plate is eminently edible, which bodes well for the rest of the trip through Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle: a cross-bow demonstration. Glad it did not fire, as it's kind of aimed at me!

Edinburgh Castle: the wooden ceiling is part of the original Great Hall built in the 16th century. Oliver Cromwell, predictably, converted it to army barracks.

Edinburgh Castle: moments before the "One O'clock Gun" goes off. Why join a big crowd when there is a better vantage point?

Royal Mile: outside the Castle, this man's doing quite well, as all tourists seem to want a picture with him.

St. Giles Cathedral: a modern window dedicated to Robert Burns, a beloved poet here. The circle in the middle panel represents brotherhood of man, Burns being an internationalist (oh, how do we need it now!). The top panel: "O my Luve's like a red, red rose" - John Knox, whose statue is in the cathedral, probably would not approve.

St. Giles' Cathedral: three pounds gets you into the Chapel of the Knights of the Thistle with exquisite wood carving. When one of the 16 members dies, a new one is appointed by the Queen, who presides from this stall.

Scottish National Gallery: Raphael (left) and Botticelli (right). A good portion of the items here originates from dispersion of the original collection of Philippe d'Orleans (bust on right) following the French Revolution.

The Scott Monument: not an ordinary Scot but Sir Walter Scott. Largest monument in the world dedicated to a literary figure. Right around the corner is Waverley Bridge, named after his first novel (so is Waverly Place in Greenwich Village, NYC) , where we get on the hop-on-hop-off bus.

Ferry Road: Goldenacres Playing Fields is where a race scene was filmed in "Chariots of Fire." Also a good view of the Old Town.

Royal Yacht Britannia, Leith: we get off the bus at this popular tourist attraction but settle for just a glimpse of the exterior. In a span of 15 minutes, the recorded commentary on the bus rattled off, at appropriate locations, a number of famous Scots, including Walter Scott, David Livingstone, JC Maxwell, RL Stephenson, JM Barrie, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Sean Connery.

The Kitchin: after a few minutes' walk in Leith, we arrive at our dinner.

The Kitchin: a carrot veloute with other seasonal vegetables

The Kitchin: Chef Kitchin is seen working hard in the kitchen, which is reassuring. Halibut tartar hiding underneath caviar. What a name for a chef. The food here is worthy of his name.

The Kitchin: a dessert featuring sea buckthorns, a type of berry (a very thin semi-solid orange-colored layer here). A map of Scotland showing where the ingredients are sourced, true to their "Nature to Plate" motto.

Charlotte Square: a row of Georgian Houses with a prestigious address in the "New Town" although they date back to the 17th century. In the middle is the Prime Minister's residence. Just to the left of it is "the Georgian House" open to the public.

The Georgian House, 7 Charlotte Sq: a house well restored by the Scottish National Trust, where you can get a sense of the "upstairs-downstairs" type of living. With two volunteers stationed per room, the guide to visitor ratio is very high!

Holyrood Palace area: another trip on the hop-on-hop-off bus takes us to this major sight.

Holyrood Palace: a quick bite on the palace grounds before going in. Cheese scone, fruit scone and Whiskey cake.

Holyrood Palace: historic stomping grounds of the House of Stuart and now the official residence of the Queen, when she is here.

Holyrood Palace: no photos are allowed inside once we pass this courtyard. The site of dramatic events again involving Mary, Queen of Scots, including the assassination of her secretary by her husband, Lord Darnley, in her chambers.

Holyrood Palace: we come out into the evocative scene of the 12th century abbey, partially ruined by the English.

Scottish Parliament: next door to the Holyrood Palace is the new assembly building, providing a modern contrast. This is the Debating Chamber.

toward Calton Hill: we settle for this walk, instead of a more challenging hike to Arthur's Seat or Salisbury Crags, which are in view here.

The Edinburgh Castle outline from Calton Hill

from Calton Hill looking down on Princes St

Old Calton Burial Ground: on the way down, we pay homage to David Hume. Next to his tomb (left) is a monument to Scottish-American soldiers who died in the American Civil War with a towering statue of Lincoln.

Victoria St, Old Town

The Elephant House: not a big Harry Potter fan, but I am a sucker for pilgrimage. Of all the HP-related sights, however, this probably tops in the milking-the-JK Rowling-connection category. With Chinese signs everywhere, it probably underwent an ownership change.

The Elephant House: the haggis balls aren't half bad actually. I probably have the same perspective from my seat as in the drawing of Rowling on the menu (bottom picture). (Seen through the windows are Edinburgh Castle as well as the Greyfriars Kirkyard.) She would not have frequented this cafe while writing early HP novels, had it been an around-the-clock zoo like it is now.