The problem with Edinburgh is that there are too many pretty buildings...

Sorry this is a bit of a long one...

I've spent the past week hanging out in Edinburgh, being a tourist and getting to grips with the local shops. But what I've really been here to do, and at which I have failed utterly, is set up a bank account. Welcome to British bureaucracy! In order to get a bank account I need proof of a UK address... I can apparently use my national insurance number confirmation for this. In order to get an NI number I had to ring a number and request the forms, which they will post to me, taking 7-10 working days. I then fill it out, send it back and wait another 10 working days to get the number. I will be visiting my friend in York (who is kindly letting me use her address) quite a bit I think. So in 3 weeks I may just have a bank account! Watch this space.

So on to my tourist adventures. I've visited the National Museum of Scotland, climbed Carlton Hill and Arthur's Seat, wandered around Edinburgh Castle, looked at the stained glass windows in St Giles, and visited Bobby's grave at Greyfriars.

On Carlton Hill

Inside the Museum

Greyfriars

Greyfriars Bobby

Up Arthurs Seat

Across town from Arthurs Seat

Me and Susan up Arthurs Seat.

This could be anywhere in NZ, but no its Scotland! Gorse in its natural habitat people.

I spent 5 hours wandering around Edinburgh Castle. There is the national war museum on the grounds as well as a number of exhibits in the castle. Although it was £15 to get in, it was definitely worth it. There was a lot of security around the Scottish crown jewels, but their value probably lies more in that they are the oldest crown jewels in Europe rather than their actual jewels. I suspect the London ones have a bit more bling, but will need to go check those out to confirm.  I went on the 30 minute guided tour and basically the history of the place largely revolves around people being held prisoner, executed or various factions trying to win back the castle. Our guide also told us the story of Private McBain, whose wife gave birth and decided shortly afterwards to go back to England. She gave her husband the three week old baby and being sent out to fight immediately and with no one to give the kid to he stuck it in his knapsack and carried it into battle. Apparently they both survived and the kid grew up ok. I was also surprised to find out that they have a dog cemetery for all the army dogs since Queen Victoria's day. There are a lot of cannons around, but apparently the majority have never been fired.

Edinburgh Castle

Mons Meg

One o'clock gun - fired at 1pm, followed by the time ball on Carlton Hill dropping.

National War Memorial - contains the names of the 148,000 Scotsmen killed in the first world war.

Argyll Tower - named after some guy they held prisoner there for a few months before they chopped off his head.

St Giles.

Not sure if it is the same seagull but there was one on top of this statue every time I walked past.

I've also seen some interestingly dressed people doing a half marathon and seen enough scottish kilts/scarves/accessories/tourist junk shops to last a lifetime (there are at least 10 along the Royal Mile to the Castle alone). Highlight of the week was watching a dalmatian running around the top of Arthurs Seat. A kid in front of us was eating lunch with his dad. He put his sandwich down on his bag and the dog came running over and scoffed it in about 3 bites then stuck its nose in the bag looking for more food. The poor kid didn't know whether to laugh or cry but the kid's father thought it was hilarious and yelled out to the owner "you owe me a sandwich!" The boy did get a chocolate bar out of it so probably not a bad trade, but highly entertaining watching the owner try and grab the dog.

Off to York tomorrow.