View of St Giles from the front
Felyna and I posing in front of the Cathedral's entrance. The carvings along the main portal are lovely. See close up below!
Figures in the niches.
Save for the construction going on, it's a lovely cathedral with awesome stained-glass windows. At this juncture, I have a confession to make: not wishing to pay the 2pound photo-taking permit, I took advantage of the rather empty church and hastily took some photos, while the likeness of Christ looked on reproachfully. My surreptitious snap-and-go might account for the blurry and shaky quality in these, but I hope they give you a sense of the church!
One of the many stained-glass windows inside St Giles. Sadly, none of the windows from the Medieval period survive, and the existing ones date from the 19th and 20th century.
Another view of the church
Large, cavernous space!
All in all, a nice spot to visit. It's a very peaceful place for meditation and solitude, which offers welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of town. However, if you're keen on photo-taking, I'd urge you to buy a permit lest you end up with my shaky photos and guilty conscience. Alternatively, you can do what Felyna did and buy a postcard at the Cathedral giftshop, which is a very sensible thing to do really.
Second stop: The Museum on the Mound
Template for 20 pound note
Essentially, it's a museum dedicated to money. Several interesting artefacts including counterfeit notes, and a glass case containing a million pounds - just for fun! Also, in the section dedicated to the history of insurance and actuarial sciences, there is an extremely amusing touch-screen activity which helps calculate personal insurance premiums based on various 'medieval' occupations and afflictions. Ergo, if I were a lady's companion suffering from insanity and due for a voyage to British India:
I love the caveat at the bottom about duelling and suicide. Felyna played along as well and got her own Policy sheet; apparently if you're a mid-wife travelling to Jamaica, your risk factor increases by 200%.
On hand at the museum, were very helpful staff who answered our various questions which ranged from "Can notes produced by Scottish banks be used in England and Ireland?" (Yes, but not in Southern Ireland where the Euro is used) and "What is a guinea?" (equivalent of 21 shillings). Apparently, all the 3 major banks in Scotland (RBS, NBS and Clydesdale) issue their own unique notes! How cool is that? I must start collecting...
3rd Stop: Window shopping along Princes Street. Special mention to Lush
Headed down the rest of the Royal Mile for some window-shopping. Checked out Marks and Spencers which is absolutely enormous, spanning 4 stories. The food section in the basement is literally a gourmet supermarket, with fresh produce and packed meals lining the shelves. Capping it all off was the fantastic smell of pastries which permeated the wide, brightly-lit aisles, courtesy of the adjacent cafe.
And now comes the special mention. But first of all, check out these absolute scumptious looking photos:
...and my absolute favourite is when you put them all together!
No it's not a dessert or an ice-cream shop, though it certainly could be mistaken for one easily. They're the fresh handmade cosmetics and bath products which Lush specializes in. And what an apt name, for all of them do look extremely luscious and tempting to the palate. We were told that a customer actually took a bite out of the one above which looked like a chocolate cake thinking it was...well, a chocolate cake.
We were served by Ailsa, who is possibly the nicest and most enthusiastic salesgirl on this side of the hemisphere! And I can see why, working in such a heavenly shop. The smell is enough to get high on. Bodyshop has nothing on this.
After spotting us taking pictures of the macaroon-like bath soaps and being generally fascinated, she very kindly took us on a tour around the shop, letting us sample a gazillion soaps and creams, and even performed various product demonstrations just to satisfy our curiousity over the jelly-like soap and hot pink 'bath bombs.' Eventually, Ailsa gave us free shampoo and hair conditioner samples, and rounded off our Lush experience with a hand massage which warmed and moisturized my cold winter hands, leaving it smelling of chocolate and freshly-baked cupcakes :) We didn't buy anything at all, but weren't made to feel bad. But nevertheless, I'll definitely be back toward the end of my exchange to buy goodies for my mum and the girlfriends back home.
And finally, rounded off our day with a snack at Piemakers
A cheeky end to the day. Munched on freshly baked rolls while eyeing the various pies on the counter. Will definitely try one sometime soon.
And because I visited a museum about money and banking today, and because I also did vow to be more cost-conscious, and because I simply need to excuse to what I want to do anyway, I shall present a round-up of the day's expenses.
Total spent: 45 pence
And you said I'd never be able to spend within my budget, Joshua!
Glad you are enjoying Edinburgh. Had you heard of walk talk tours? - the downloadable audio tours of Edinburgh, York, Manchester and London to play on your MP3 or iPod. Ideal for independent travellers like you.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at www.walktalktour.com and see what you think.