Calton Hill...it was not a Florida Hill!

Today we travel to Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Recall that this is still Day 2 of our trip. We have not slept yet. The cold and wind have been doing a great job of keeping everyone awake, and since we never stop long enough for a doze....yes, we have jet lag under control!

Terry (our Tour Guide, remember?) had a great surprise in store for us. We found that he did not tell us much in advance, which was a very good thing or we would not have voted to climb a hill! But, like in most situations, if you put one foot in front of the other and take one step at a time, you can really accomplish so much. And the reward, as you will see....was to be GREAT!

Calton Hill is toward the northeast side of Edinburgh. It was originally planned out as the location for the Scottish Parliament, but that building plan was de-railed somewhere along the way. They did, however, create a beautiful park at the top of this magnificent hill. Magnificent due to the views! The area is full of grand monuments. The Scots love their monuments! That is something we have continually found interesting in Europe....statues and monuments. These are scattered everywhere from small towns to great cities. We tend to put everything big in Washington.

We wondered where this door might lead....perhaps it was a short cut...or an elevator? The door was locked, so we kept walking.

If you keep your eyes open, you can find all kinds of great looking gates, alleyways, and such. These steps led somewhere, but they were not for us.

Oh....this is only part of the stairway to.....at the time, we did not know where. At least the treads were wide and the risers were consistent and shallow, so it was not the worst climb in the world....well, for the able-bodied and not-too-tired. We all made it...even the eldest among us! Remember...one. step. at. a. time.

After climbing and taking another uphill pathway, Terry was found scurrying up a hill...the kids followed him to the building that you see on the left. No, there was no sidewalk, there were no stairs. This was on our right, to our left was the most beautiful view of Edinburgh....more on that later. Let's find out what is up here!

Here is the reason to look at the buildings....Edinburgh is often referred to as "the Athens of the North."   Architecturally, Calton Hill is pretty important for this reason. Most of the buildings and monuments date from the Enlightenment period. When you think about the size of these structures and the lack of the type of building equipment we have today, just the building of it is pretty impressive. Remember that it is on a big hill.

This is the Robert Burns Monument. Actually, he has been moved to the Museum now, but it was worth stating that he had a grand memorial up here. (Poet...'love is like a red, red, rose'.....you remember him) This was styled after a Greek temple and the cupola copies the Lysicrates Temple in Athens.

The Dugald Stewart Monument

This was built in 1831, designed by the architect Playfair, and was modeled after the Tower of the Winds in Athens. Stewart was a philosopher and mathematician....brilliant student....who attended the Royal High School and then the University of Edinburgh and did his advanced studies at University of Glasgow. Here is the wild part...his father was a professor of math at Univ. of Edinburgh and when he became ill, son Dugald filled in for him. He was 19 at the time! By the time he was 22, he was made a co-chair of math, but continued to study and by 32 was the chair of the Dept of Moral Philosophy at good olde Edinburgh U. (he served there for 25 years and made it a center of intellectual and moral influence.....and Sir Walter Scott was one of his students) 

He died in Edinburgh, was buried at Connongate Kirk (graveyard at Holyroodhouse) and was principally responsible for the "Scottish philosophy" that was predominant in 19th century Europe.  

The rolling green hills of Scotland! We came prepared for blistering cold and sideways rains and wind. Imagine how blessed we felt! Scotland was having a mild winter...or at least a mild week!

By journal entries that I have been reading, the kids found the grass fascinating. Many described it as soft and wavy. I never thought about grass as wavy, but it was definitely different from our Florida variety. Terry told us that it stayed green because the Gulf Stream dead ends into Scotland and they get a lot of rain, so the grass keeps growing. 

The St. Andrews House which I believe was listed as the home of the 'Tea Drinking Society' these days. Pay attention to that monument to the left. Does it look familiar?

Political Martyrs Monument
Yes, it looks more than vaguely familiar...like the Washington Monument, perhaps?
It was built to honor Scottish Martyrs to Liberty who were imprisoned for campaigning for political reform in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
(get it? Washington...liberty from the Brits)
 

(Admiral) Nelson MonumentThere were so many photos of this monument. We first noticed it because of the cross on the top and as we kept taking photos, the moon started showing up in the shots. It was about 4 pm here...and yes, the moon was evident! Scotland is pretty far north!
Memory Test...who was Nelson?

Battle of Trafalgar (1805) ~ He led the victory over the French and Spanish fleets, dying in the battle. He is also on the grand monument in Trafalgar Square in London. 

Back in 1853 a time ball was added to the mast. It was used as a time signal for the ships in Leith Harbor...at 1pm daily, the ball droped so the ships could set their maritime clocks. We have fancy technology today so the ball is not as necessary as it once was.

The National Monument
Familiar looking? Perhaps....the Parthenon.....are you getting the relationship as "The Athens of the North." ......ah, the inspiration! This one was built to commemorate Scots who died in the Napoleonic War. It was paid for with private funds, so as you can imagine..when the funds ran out........
The work was started in 1822, but only 12 columns were completed before the funds ran out. No government bailouts for 19th Century Scotland!

And now....kids having fun!
They photographed each other and I had a blast photographing them! I was also hoping this was their last 'second wind' before they would collapse into the bed!

In our photo album there will be some incredible shots on this monument!

Everyone stopped shivering long enough to smile!

The observatory......it was once used for setting the time daily....for accuracy, but we have better instruments today. Lovely though!

Saving some of the best for last....the mini path to the top is to the left. Most of the kids just ran up the hill because the path was pretty muddy and slippery. Check out the shadow in the right foreground....the sun is low in the western sky! (this was around 4 pm...when we first arrived at the hill)

There are so many photos with kids in them, but this is the view from where we started our climb. The River Forth, the mountains, and even with the misty sky, you can see green hills on the other side of the river. Imagine the view on a clear, sunny day!

The sun is getting lower in the sky! A view from the top of Calton Hill.

Enjoy the next views.....Kids just gotta have fun!

This might have been one of our first views. An AHHHH moment to be sure.
Quite possibly the realization had struck that they were starting off the new year....in Scotland.....what a remarkable way to start a new school year! Journal notes indicated that these wonderful kids realize that they are remarkably blessed.

Several journals indicated that a very important thing to consider is relationships. If they come away realizing that relationships are so much more important than stuff....that will last a lifetime! It is fun to watch new relationships being formed and old friends growing deeper and richer in their relationships. Twenty five years later....this is still something that I find wonderful and special at TMA. 

This camera had a neat feature....black and white with only one select color.
I discovered some quite talented photographers among this group of students.

Scotland JTerm at Calton Hill.
Thank you Terry for handling the cameras and ipads for us!

Our cheerleading group provided lots of fun! I did not have to worry too much about their 'stunts' because they are ....cheeeeerleaders! At least they did not toss anyone into the air!

We never figured out what this was, but possibly it was the meridian marker, used for tracking the daily 1 pm time. (???....just a guess) But the cheerleaders found a great use for this lonely chunk of stone.

First....get up. 

Sorry....this one un-rotated itself. 

Several people were shooting this but only ONE caught the ....oops..almost fall! Great balance! (That would be little ole me who caught it....yeaaaa Nikon!)

Can you imagine a more beautiful evening. Here we were at the top of the hill, reflecting on the beauty around us, clear across the world from home. But, we were with people we love, and we could not possibly be alone, because God was with us every step of the way. Though we had not slept for almost 30 hours, we kept putting one foot in front of the other....made it one step at a time....and we got to experience a most wonderful reflection of God's love at the end of our day.

The message is this....one step at a time. It is not our job to know it all or plan it all out. God has it all under control and has the most wonderful surprises for us when we trust Him....one step at a time, day in, day out, for a lifetime.

I hope no reader misses a moment of it!

And....thank you Terry, for not just dropping us at the hotel for an early rest!
Some tour guides might have done that. We did not know it just yet, but we were in for a spectacular trip!

Off to dinner, showers, and bed.
Goodnight, Edinburgh!

Edinburgh ~ An Afternoon Stroll

This many review blogs and we have not put our heads on our pillows yet! As we set out to take a stroll through the town, it was around 2 pm. Sunset was to be around 5 pm, so we covered a lot of territory before that time! Enjoy a little bit of Edinburgh with us!

The kids had to be tired, but with only 10 minutes in their rooms, they somehow got their second wind! 

The Edinburgh "pink bus' is the city bus.

Clock Tower. It does not show here, but this is one of the main towers you can see along the skyline. It is atop the Blamoral Hotel, which dates way on back and was the location people got to first when they came in by train. 

Greyfriar's Bobby. You saw the Disney movie, right? It is the story of a dog who loved his master so much that when the master died, the dog laid on his grave for years and years. Photo one is the grave...shopkeepers fed the dog, as the legend goes. The statue of the dog sits atop the column in photo two. Greyfriars Kirk....that is a church....and it has  a really cool graveyard next to it. I have not run across very great photos just yet as the light was low when we arrived.

Saint Mary's Cathedral. This is right across the plaza from the Big Foot statue.

University of Edinburgh School of Divinity - the Gothic structure was designed by William Playfair, a central figure in Edinburgh's Enlightenment.  

It is not often that you see a multi story building with a light house on the windowsill. This is the main offices for the Northern Lighthouse Board and this is a model of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.

Don't know where this is but it surely is pretty!  I am continually amazed that it looked so much like Spring...but it was the first week of January. 

The chimney pots on top of the buildings were a fascination. It was an incredible scene when we ran across a block of townhomes. Each fireplace has its own chimney pot on the roof. Some of these homes have a fireplace in every room. That is a LOT of ashes!

Next up....we stopped by some famous pubs. Now keep in mind that pub means PUBlic place...like a place to meet and eat. It is like our Chili's or Mac Grill, Carabbas, etc. A lot of these places have been around for more than a century and were meeting places for lots of pretty famous people, so it was fun to take a look at where some of our writers recorded their inspirations.

The Royal Pub dates back to 1827 and is famous for its stunning interior. This one is mostly Victorian and Baroque. It has elegant stained glass, exquisite Victorian plasterwork and an irreplacable Doulton ceramic mural painted by John Eyre.  

Over the years, the Cafe Royale has changed hands many times but everyone saved the interior. Only one owner, the Grand Metropolitan Hotels was willing to sell...to Woolworth, who wanted to expand their store. The city planning officer voted it down and put the place on the historic register so we could enjoy this beauty for the future. Cafe Royal was also used as a set in many movies.


The Guildford Arms is another famous pub right off of Gabriel's Road and on the corner next to the Cafe Royale. Beautiful as well, it has lovely etching on the windows.

The Guildford Arms started its life in 1841 as a shop, then a hotel.  Over the years there were changes but most took place before the turn of the century (1900.) Before and after 1900 was the 'Golden Age of Scottish Pub Design" and the Guildford is a relatively rare survivor of the time period. In 1898 the Guildford was owned by the Stewart family, who invested well in turning this into an upscale environment, thus saving it from destruction...and the place is still owned and run by D.M. Stewart, Ltd.   (Savannah got some photos of the sign that stated that it was owned by the Stewarts!)

Silhouette....dusk is arriving. This is the ferris wheel....or miniature London Eye.....behind the Sir Walter Scott Monument. The monument is huge and there is a grand statue of Sir Walter Scott at the base of it. You can actually pay to go inside and take photos from the many decks you find on the way to the top. So much to shoot...so little the time.

Check out the profile and see if you recognize this guy. You are not in  DC but yes, this is Abraham Lincoln! This is the Scottish American Soldier's Memorial built for the Scottish soldiers who fought on the Union side in the American Civil War. This stands in the Old Calton Cemetery and is the first monument outside of the USA to an American President. The actual monument is quite large and interesting...we only saw the top as we walked by.

Good ole Duke of Wellington! You find his statue all over the UK! This is known as THE IRON DUKE (Wellington), was cast in Bronze, by the sculptor named Steele.  Recall that the Duke of Wellington led the victory over the French at Waterloo. His horse, Copenhagen, never flinched under gunfire and was retired to the Duke's estate where he died at 29...and buried with full military honors. That was some horse!

We did not see Nessy (the Loch Ness Monster) but meet BIG FOOT.  It is said that most people walk right by and don't even notice this foot....or look at it and chuckle, calling it an oddity. The official name is The Manuscript of Monte Cassino.  You can put the size into perspective with the next photo.

Scotland Tour 2012....atop the Big Foot in Edinburgh.

And now....for a little snack break....Terry introduced them to a SCOTTISH MALL! 

Most unusual store.....Appy Feet....a pedicure shop

But not just ANY plain old pedicure!

The Scottish version of Claire's......accessories galore!

Some kept their priorities in order and tried things like Nutella Crepes.

And others did like we all should have been doing.....POSTCARDS HOME! See the post office behind Deonna?

We also found "Everything's a Pound"......the UK version of Dollar Tree!

As soon as everyone gathered at the entrance, our walk to watch the sunset was underway. Next blog....some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine!