Ocean Princess British Isles Cruise Review -Disney Sheep Go Rogue

[Kewz1]

I'm absolutely loving your pictures from Edinburgh. And your daughter is beautiful! I can only imagine how wonderful it must have been for you to see her "in action."

 

I had the good fortune to visit Edinburgh in 2012 with my family and we quickly fell in love. Your pictures have brought back good memories for me. And made me anxious to return.

 

More! More!

 

Kristen

[Shogun]

Hi There

Have come across Canadian's at Stirling Uni, fee and access structure for Uni differs between Scotland and England, if l can assist please get in touch. You might want to look at Stirling Uni web site for info on international students.

 

Off to Canada this weekend,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[perfect match]

Your DD really does make a perfect Merida! Seemed like she was having a great time, too. Hope she is able to work out the details of going to school in Scotland.

[ontheweb]

Many thanks for your kind comments about my photos. I would have been more than a little upset if anything happened to my camera - I definitely can empathize with your wife as I am sure that dropping her camera was stressful for her (and you), just as losing the Tattoo tickets must have been for both of you.

 

Glad to hear that you still managed to get in to see the Tattoo. My camera battery almost ran out by the end of our first Edinburgh day, so I did not take as many pictures as I normally would have. I am glad that your wife was able to get a new lens for her camera for the rest of your trip.

 

Overall, the 'problem' with Edinburgh is that there are so many wonderful things to see and so little time on a cruise to see it all! It is definitely on my list to visit Edinburgh again and hopefully for longer next time. We visited the Scottish National Museum as well on this trip, as I wanted to see Dolly the genetically engineered sheep and the older Scottish history centred exhibits.

 

Our table mates told us all about their time visiting the Scottish National Gallery as they were interested in the art work, and they loved it. Edinburgh seems to have something for everyone.

 

The camera battery---that turned out to be another problem.

 

Luckily, the camera itself was not damaged, only the lens. DW ended up with a better lens than she had had. It just took getting used to. Crew member Goran from photography was very helpful. (We also discovered after getting home that the price she paid for her new lens was competitive.)

 

Also, the previous pictures in her camera were not damaged in any way. No pictures, however not only for the rest of that day, but also for the next day since the shops were not open until the sea day after Edinburgh. The next day we went to Dunfermline (that may be spelled wrong), the ancient capital using a free shuttle we had learned about on the British Isles boards on cruisecritic. The highlights were the Carnegie Museum and an underwater aquarium on the way back.

 

After many more pictures both testing out her new lens and in Dublin, Milford Haven (we went on a ship's tour to a Welsh spoon making factory and Tenby) , and Milford Haven, her battery finally died on our last excursion. That excursion was from the ship to Dover to Heathrow airport by way of Canterbury.

 

She at least got some pictures taken in the Cathedral in Canterbury before the battery gave out. I wonder what would have happened had she not dropped the camera. Would the battery have given out earlier figuring another day plus worth of photos? Would she have got any pictures in Canterbury? Would it have died even earlier in one of the previous ports? She does take a lot of photos.

[Disney Sheep]

I'm absolutely loving your pictures from Edinburgh. And your daughter is beautiful! I can only imagine how wonderful it must have been for you to see her "in action."

 

I had the good fortune to visit Edinburgh in 2012 with my family and we quickly fell in love. Your pictures have brought back good memories for me. And made me anxious to return.

 

More! More!

 

Kristen

 

Thank you very much for your kind words, it really was wonderful to see our daughter and her friends in action on the Royal Mile, even if we did not get to see her group actually performing the play in Edinburgh.

 

I am happy that my pictures are bringing back good memories for you.

[Disney Sheep]

Hi There

Have come across Canadian's at Stirling Uni, fee and access structure for Uni differs between Scotland and England, if l can assist please get in touch. You might want to look at Stirling Uni web site for info on international students.

 

Off to Canada this weekend,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

I will pass on your suggestion about Stirling University for DD to add to her list to investigate - she does like to dream big - when she checked out Oxford she definitely got 'sticker shock' :).

 

Enjoy Canada - we are having a hot spell right now in central Canada, but it is scheduled to cool down to about 10 Celsius by the weekend.

 

And again, thank you for your advice.

[Disney Sheep]

Your DD really does make a perfect Merida! Seemed like she was having a great time, too. Hope she is able to work out the details of going to school in Scotland.

 

I have to agree with you that the role of Merida does seem to fit DD well. When I first saw the movie I had a definite emotional reaction to the mother and daughter fighting! Fortunately I have managed to get over it, and enjoy the movie now.

 

DD really did have a fantastic time in Scotland, but when it comes to picking a University only time will tell at this point.

[Disney Sheep]

The camera battery---that turned out to be another problem.

 

Luckily, the camera itself was not damaged, only the lens. DW ended up with a better lens than she had had. It just took getting used to. Crew member Goran from photography was very helpful. (We also discovered after getting home that the price she paid for her new lens was competitive.)

 

Also, the previous pictures in her camera were not damaged in any way. No pictures, however not only for the rest of that day, but also for the next day since the shops were not open until the sea day after Edinburgh. The next day we went to Dunfermline (that may be spelled wrong), the ancient capital using a free shuttle we had learned about on the British Isles boards on cruisecritic. The highlights were the Carnegie Museum and an underwater aquarium on the way back.

 

After many more pictures both testing out her new lens and in Dublin, Milford Haven (we went on a ship's tour to a Welsh spoon making factory and Tenby) , and Milford Haven, her battery finally died on our last excursion. That excursion was from the ship to Dover to Heathrow airport by way of Canterbury.

 

She at least got some pictures taken in the Cathedral in Canterbury before the battery gave out. I wonder what would have happened had she not dropped the camera. Would the battery have given out earlier figuring another day plus worth of photos? Would she have got any pictures in Canterbury? Would it have died even earlier in one of the previous ports? She does take a lot of photos.

 

Wow, it really does seem like your wife's camera was 'determined' to malfunction! I am happy for her that it lasted as long as it did and that she managed to capture as many memories as she did - that's the way I look at photographs.

[Disney Sheep]

If you are a Harry Potter fan I highly recommend eating at The Elephant House and using the ladies washroom - ok, clearly that last bit would be specifically for ladies, however I have it on good authority that the men's washroom is also 'interesting'.

 

 

We arrived at the Elephant House around 1 pm or lunch time and found a line up. Although I was a little put off by the line I figured that most other places would also have a line at this point.

 

 

It turned out that the line up as you enter was to order and pay for your food, in that sense it is kind of like a cafeteria concept - however, once you order and pay, you proceed to the back of the establishment where you are shown to a table by the wait staff and then they bring you your meal when it is ready. It moved faster than I expected it to move - and even better, we did not have to struggle to find a seat. (Note: this photo is deceiving as this was the restaurant for a moment just as we were leaving, it was not actually really this empty at any time).

 

 

 

The tables and chairs are pretty much a mish mash of old fashioned wooden style and substance. There are comfy chairs grouped together and one wall is almost completely windows.

 

 

(Picture borrowed from the internet)

 

Apparently the Greyfriars graveyard is close by with names on grave stones that include Tom Riddell, McGonagal and Moodie and, you can see the Edinburgh Castle from the window, and speculation is that JK Rowling may have been influenced by the view when she wrote Harry Potter.

 

DS and I both chose baked potatoes (mine with chilli, his with cheese and bacon) while DH had a beef pie, all of which were enjoyable, but bacon in Edinburgh was not typical North American bacon. After our meal I teased my boys that I was going somewhere they couldn't and that who knew, I might even sit where JK had once sat - after all, the odds narrow in the confines of a women's washroom. Little did I know what I was about to experience! Almost every single inch of the women's washroom is covered in graffiti!

 

Essentially it is a shrine to JK Rowling, from the silly to the touching. If you were so inclined, you could probably spend a good deal of time trying to read all of the well wishes and general commentary, from the 'I love Dobby' to 'this way to the Ministry of Magic' to the 'Thank you JK for helping my sister become the person she is today, because of your books she learned to read' type comments. I must have had a strange expression on my face as I returned to our table since DH immediately asked me what was up. Since I could not figure out how to describe it, I simply grabbed my camera, opened the door to the empty ladies room and took a picture! It truly is worth a thousand words.

 

[RNGALNG]

Loving your review! The Ocean Princes seems like a beautiful ship! It has class!

 

So good to see some of the Fringe Festival events too. Our local high school also was picked to attend a year ago. The kids loved it so much that the drama teacher is taking a group back next summer as well. I understand what you meant about fund raising. I had thought of going as a chaperone but bowed out when I saw the cost. The kids have so much money to raise in order to attend. I think the first time around we had about 12 students who went. It looks like your school had many more!

 

Glad you could work out the visit with your daughter. Yes, you can tell that they just don't like each other at all! (Was that sarcasm?)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Did you see Greyfriers Bobby,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Disney Sheep]

Loving your review! The Ocean Princes seems like a beautiful ship! It has class!

 

So good to see some of the Fringe Festival events too. Our local high school also was picked to attend a year ago. The kids loved it so much that the drama teacher is taking a group back next summer as well. I understand what you meant about fund raising. I had thought of going as a chaperone but bowed out when I saw the cost. The kids have so much money to raise in order to attend. I think the first time around we had about 12 students who went. It looks like your school had many more!

 

Glad you could work out the visit with your daughter. Yes, you can tell that they just don't like each other at all! (Was that sarcasm?)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

 

Glad to have you reading along. The Ocean Princess may be small, but she is definitely a beautiful lady. Although we considered other options, in the end cruising on her and meeting up with DD in Edinburgh was wonderful. DD got to be 'independent' and go on her trip without her parents tagging along as chaperones. And the three of us got to have a great trip instead of just one of us being a chaperone!

 

DD had such a great experience, and a major part of that was meeting kids from other schools over in Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival. Her school actually has a great drama program, and there were 23 kids, 2 teachers and 3 parent chaperones on this trip.

 

And yes, we are very lucky that our kids get along so well.

[Disney Sheep]

Hi There

 

Did you see Greyfriers Bobby,

 

Yours Shogun

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Greyfriars Bobby coming up, but that would be Day 2 :). We really did pack a lot in to this trip.

[Disney Sheep]

After our nice lunch break at the Elephant House, we headed off towards Princes Street. DH first led us to the Tattoo office in order to pick up our tickets that we had purchased online for the night’s performance. Of course while DH stood in the small line up, I took the opportunity to check out the souvenirs being sold. I did notice that they sold a navy blue rain poncho with the official logo on it for 5 GBP, which could be a nice, relatively inexpensive souvenir if needed, however the forecast for our evening’s performance was dry.

 

 

As we crossed the bridge by Waverley Station, we noticed the Scott Monument immediately, but given that DH had already agreed to climb Arthur’s Seat with me, he was not willing to climb the Walter Scott monument at this point as well.

 

 

We next wandered along Princes Street and spotted a Marks and Spencer store and headed inside to pick up some treats to bring along for a picnic, either during or after our climb. At first I was disappointed since all we spotted was a very small food counter with a couple of shelves/food coolers near the front door, however once I asked a clerk, he directed us to go downstairs to the back right corner of the basement where we found ‘grocery nirvana’ from our perspective. Although called a food court, it was similar to a grocery store and delicatessen rolled in to one and was so large that we had to ask for directions again to find the gluten-free aisle. At first DS and I tried to figure out how we could fit a whole cake (icing and all) into my already full backpack, but we decided that we did not want to try DH’s patience. We ended up purchasing GF shortbread cookies and GF ginger cookies as well as some pop. DS was amused to find bottles of Coke with ‘Mate’ on them since the ‘You-tubers’ in an online gamer forum that DS frequents use that word all the time.

 

 

But the picture that I took was of the Mum and Dad cans that he found for us :).

[Disney Sheep]

By 3:30 pm we had managed to find our way to the car park at Holyrood Park, having already done a whole lot of walking for the day.

 

<I should point out that if we had been on a 'normal' cruise port day visit we would have had to head back to the ship by this point. AND if we had chosen to take the Princess excursion to the Royal Military Tattoo, then we also would have had to head back to the ship at this point as well>

 

 

This is a photo of Arthur's Seat taken from Calton Hill that clearly shows the 3 levels of 'up' that make up this really big hill. Now back to our climb already in progress...

 

DH and I checked out a sign with a map on it, while DS watched other people climb straight up a cliff. When we informed DS that there appeared to be more than one way to reach Arthur’s Seat and that we intended to take the slightly longer and less steep path known as the Volunteer’s Walk, it was clear that DS had other ideas! After discussion we agreed to let him climb up the cliff if he wanted to, however we arranged on a place to meet (the very busy and very obvious ice cream truck in the parking lot) and a time, in case we missed each other at the top for some reason. As DH and I headed off along Volunteer’s Walk, it became very obvious that this path simply lead you around the back way up Salisbury Crag, or the first of the three hills you have to climb. And at this point, seeing the next hill that we had to climb, I started to worry about whether DH’s ankle issues would let him climb the hill. I was also a little unsure of where DS would be at this point. In the end, when we reached the base of the second hill, I convinced DH to rest his ankle and I headed off towards the Salisbury Crag looking for DS.

 

Fortunately, almost immediately DS popped up on the path headed towards me. It seems that he had climbed the cliff fairly quickly, and then being a teenager he had wandered around checking out all of the steep drops he could find before deciding he should try to come find us. We had a quick discussion and headed back to find DH and give him a chance to opt out of this climb. DH’s response? What do you mean stop? We are here, the hill is there, let’s climb! And with that, he headed for the path up the hill. DS and I pretty much did a silent happy dance and followed DH. Granted I am not sure if DH’s response would have been the same if he had seen hill number three that awaited us when we finally reached the top of hill number two.

 

The path up over hill number two was definitely steeper and narrower than the first path we had taken and there were indeed lots of places where we had to stand aside to let someone coming down pass by, however there were lots of beautiful views and foliage to examine closely and to enjoy along the way, especially while pausing to catch your breath!

 

[Disney Sheep]

Eventually we came up over the top of hill #2, and saw hill #3 ahead of us!

 

 

There were people having a picnic in the field in front of us, but we were focused on the hill that is known as Arthur’s Seat. Although there appeared to be a less steep path that wound around the hill, we headed for the path that pretty much went straight up – and when we hit the apex of the hill, a wall of wind hit us! Once on the top of Arthur’s Seat we saw that there were a fair number of people already there. On the positive side, that meant that there was someone there to take a family picture for us, however it also meant that we had to wait until lots of people got out of our way so we could take the picture!

 

 

Who expected a crowd at the top of a 2 Km almost straight up climb?

 

And of course I got DS to climb on top of the cement column structure that is at the very top in order to get a picture.

 

 

And then perhaps I had to stand on it for a picture.

 

 

Honestly, DS was worried, and not without good reason, that the wind might just blow me right off. Luckily I was able to counter balance by leaning into the wind, without any ‘Flying Nun’ issues.

 

I used my zoom lens to get a great shot of Edinburgh Castle with the bleachers all set up for the Royal Military Tattoo.

 

[Disney Sheep]

Heading back down over the hill, we were as excited as a basket of energetic puppies over our climb and reaching the top.

 

 

Yeah I know, we look goofy, but the nice guy who offered to take our picture really really wanted us to jump! Note this picture was taken near the bottom of the climb down the hill.

 

Granted we still had a long trip down that required us to pick our foot placements carefully, but going down for the most part was easier than going up. As we headed down, DH spotted a path of easier egress and we walked casually down that way, towards a car pull off area by a road way.

 

 

The only problem with taking this path was that we still had a fairly long walk to go to get back to the end of the Royal Mile. And although it was literally ‘a walk in the park’ compared to the other path, we still had to go down hill over an expanse of grass – so DS chose to simply throw himself to the ground and roll downhill. He had fun.

 

 

Realistically it took us about 45 or 50 minutes to climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat, and probably about 40 to 45 minutes to climb down, but it then took us another 20 to 30 minutes to walk all the way around the hill and back to the Royal Mile. So total time from the car park until we were picnicking on our bench was roughly 2 and a half hours, with about 10 minutes spent at the top.

 

DD also climbed Arthur’s Seat with her group. They headed up very early one morning in order to watch the sunrise over Edinburgh and when we teased her about having to get up so early she told us that everyone in her group declared it totally worth it. High praise indeed from a group of sleep deprived teenagers.

 

 

I have since googled ‘climbing Arthur’s Seat’ and discovered that there are probably a half dozen different routes that would have taken us up over Arthur’s Seat. Further, if we had travelled back down over the other side of the hill, closer to the car park, we could have checked out a small ruined Abbey. I know that if we get the chance to return to Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat will definitely be on our ‘to do’ list.

 

Eventually we reached the Scottish Parliament building and decided to sit down on a bench in front to re-group and enjoy our picnic and figure out where DD was (so lots of texting at this point).

 

Sitting on the bench and looking around I noticed the Royal lion on top of the Queen's Gallery and pointed it out to DH and DS and questioned the colour.

 

 

They both immediately rolled their eyes and shook their heads at me. Realistically, to my eyes the statue looked 'pink' rather than the Royal red, perhaps it was the setting sun or perhaps I do need to get new glasses.

 

Edinburgh. Culturally impressive, historically significant, architecturally fascinating. In short lots of really really old and really really cool stuff. And yet our best memory (aside from hugs from DD on the Royal Mile) was climbing Arthur's Seat together. Or rather having climbed Arthur's Seat together. The past tense part was good :). And so were the GF shortbread cookies and Coke products picnic we enjoyed afterwards on a bench between new city hall (definitely not as architecturally impressive as the older structures in the city IMHO) and Holyrood House Palace.

[Mibele]

I am totally addicted to this TR and thought I had caught it at a good time but now realize I must patiently wait for more posts!! :p

[Corfe Mixture]

DD..... is trying to figure out if she could get citizenship in the UK (like her cousin did since DH's older brother was born in Northern England), but since DH was born in Canada, I am pretty sure that it would be a little more complicated for her!

 

The requirement for automatic citizenship, for people born abroad, is that one of the parents must have been born in the UK.

 

There is one very famous example of this. The late Spike Milligan a very famous comedian in the UK, was born in India whilst his father was serving with the 'British Indian Army' prior to independence. Both his 'British' parents had also been born in India whilst their fathers had also been serving with the 'British Indian Army' and they both had British passports. Spike lived in the UK for most of his life and fought for his country in the British Army during WW II.

 

However, when we started to increase immigration controls on people with non-UK Commonwealth passports, he applied for a full British passport, only to be told that he did not have an automatic right, though they did say that if he applied for citizenship, it would be granted.

 

He objected on the grounds that his grandparents, parents and himself had all fought for the British Army and that the only reason he did not have automatic right to a full British passport was because both his parents and he had been born abroad whilst their parents were serving with the Army as he had done himself, and that as a point of principle he should not have to ask to become a British citizen.

 

Everyone agreed that he should be given full British citizenship but unfortunately the bureaucracy still required him to apply.

 

It was made clear, however, that an application would be accepted, and he simply had to apply, but he refused to do so on the basis that he should not have to ask to be British.

 

In the end the matter was sort of 'solved' when he applied for, and was granted, Republic of Ireland citizenship which, as Irish citizens have full residential rights, including voting, gave him all the full right of abode, without him having to compromise on the principal that he should not have to ask the British Government to grant him citizenship.

 

He remained living in the UK, but died, many years later, still an Irish citizen and was buried in the UK.

 

As a final protest, he asked for the inscription on his grave to be written in Gaellic. Translated into English the inscription reads 'I told them was ill'.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Corfe Mixture

[Woobstr112G]

Loved the "Arthur's Sea" series pictures. Keep them coming.....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited October 16, 2014 by Woobstr112G

[Disney Sheep]

I am totally addicted to this TR and thought I had caught it at a good time but now realize I must patiently wait for more posts!! :p

 

Glad to have you reading along. Photobucket has been challenging me, but I am persevering. And it will go faster after Edinburgh - but we really enjoyed Edinburgh :).

[Disney Sheep]

The requirement for automatic citizenship, for people born abroad, is that one of the parents must have been born in the UK.

 

There is one very famous example of this. The late Spike Milligan a very famous comedian in the UK, was born in India whilst his father was serving with the 'British Indian Army' prior to independence. Both his 'British' parents had also been born in India whilst their fathers had also been serving with the 'British Indian Army' and they both had British passports. Spike lived in the UK for most of his life and fought for his country in the British Army during WW II.

 

However, when we started to increase immigration controls on people with non-UK Commonwealth passports, he applied for a full British passport, only to be told that he did not have an automatic right, though they did say that if he applied for citizenship, it would be granted.

 

He objected on the grounds that his grandparents, parents and himself had all fought for the British Army and that the only reason he did not have automatic right to a full British passport was because both his parents and he had been born abroad whilst their parents were serving with the Army as he had done himself, and that as a point of principle he should not have to ask to become a British citizen.

 

Everyone agreed that he should be given full British citizenship but unfortunately the bureaucracy still required him to apply.

 

It was made clear, however, that an application would be accepted, and he simply had to apply, but he refused to do so on the basis that he should not have to ask to be British.

 

In the end the matter was sort of 'solved' when he applied for, and was granted, Republic of Ireland citizenship which, as Irish citizens have full residential rights, including voting, gave him all the full right of abode, without him having to compromise on the principal that he should not have to ask the British Government to grant him citizenship.

 

He remained living in the UK, but died, many years later, still an Irish citizen and was buried in the UK.

 

As a final protest, he asked for the inscription on his grave to be written in Gaellic. Translated into English the inscription reads 'I told them was ill'.

 

And this is one of the reasons that I love Cruise Critic - this is where you benefit from the knowledge of others. Glad to have you reading along.

[Disney Sheep]

Loved the "Arthur's Sea" series pictures. Keep them coming.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

More trip report coming up. Glad you enjoyed the photos and to have you reading along.

[Disney Sheep]

The World's End (the Tavern as well as saying good-bye to DD). Texting with DD, we found out that she was once again 'free' for a short period of time, and we once again walked back up the Royal Mile to meet her (and her group) near a Starbucks close to St Giles Cathedral.

 

 

Although we only had a short visit with her, it was great to enjoy more hugs before she and the group had to continue on to their next scheduled activity! And the hugs were great - even if the kids were teasing each other and messing around a little again- especially with the photographer!

 

 

 

The three of us started back down the Mile, heading for The World's End Tavern.

 

 

Originally, for people in Edinburgh, there was a wall around the city at this point, and in many ways it was the end of their world. I was interested in eating there because it was part of the world of Claire and Jamie Fraser in one of Diana Gabaldon's books from the Outlander series. Actually most of Edinburgh seems to be an 'Outlander stage' once you have read the book series.

 

The only rain shower of our trip that we got caught in started just as we approached the pub and we made a rapid dash along the remaining distance to the door. It seemed however that everyone else had the same idea of getting dinner and of getting out of the rain, and we ended up having to wait a little while for a table. Since we managed to find some chairs/stools near the bar we were happy enough to simply take a rest and wait patiently.

 

Eventually we did get seated, and service was efficient and the food was great. DH had fish and chips, DS chose the steak and I had an amazing salad that was more than a salad - and yummy. Truth be told I can't remember what it was called, just that it was delicious. As a side note, this was not a cheap meal, but it was perfect for what we needed right at that point and we did feel that we got value for our money.

 

 

Clearly my boys were both more than a little tired after our busy day of sight seeing so far - and it wasn't over yet! We really enjoyed the World's End Tavern, my boys for the food and the rest after our day. For me it was for the same reasons, as well as for the 'Outlander ambience', even if that was mostly in my imagination :). And it was also kind of a celebratory meal for us after successfully climbing Arthur's Seat.

 

As we left I made sure to snap a picture of a lighted display box'.

 

Edited October 16, 2014 by Disney Sheep

[Disney Sheep]

When we left the pub, I informed DH that I wanted to go to Calton Hill to get some photos of the city at sunset - since it was in the opposite direction to Edinburgh Castle and the Tattoo, neither of my boys were excited about this opportunity. When I indicated that I was willing to go alone and suggested they give me my Tattoo ticket and we would meet back at the castle, DH resigned himself to even more walking for the day and we all headed for Calton Hill.

 

Calton Hill is located in the city of Edinburgh just beyond Princes Street. At one point there was actually a village of Calton (but spelled differently I think) which is probably what made it Calton's Hill - that would be back when Edinburgh stopped by 'the World's End Tavern' and Holyrood Palace on the southern slope of the hill was another 'land' altogether!

 

 

The hill is now the location of several iconic monuments and buildings: the National Monument, the Nelson Monument, the Dugald Stewart Monument, the old Royal High School, the Robert Burns Monument, the Political Martyrs' Monument and the City Observatory.

 

Twenty minutes later we climbed up a set of stairs and found ourselves surrounded by several of these intriguing monuments. I was torn between the delicate round columned Dugald Stewart monument that is based on the 'Lysicrates' monument in Athens that often 'grounds' the amazing views of Edinburgh,

 

 

and the 'Parthenon-esque' National Monument that DS just could not wait to climb.

 

 

Initially the light was a little duller than I had hoped for and to add to that I discovered that my camera battery was low. Urgh.

 

And then magically the sun shone through the evening clouds and lit Edinburgh up just enough to make me happy with what my camera was 'seeing'.

 

 

Even better was DS's attitude - then again, we are a family that loves to climb things. Watching DS enjoy climbing (along with lots of other tourists) over the Parthenon like monument made me very happy, but it also made me wish we had more time - and more camera battery(!), in order to explore Calton Hill more fully!

 

 

We didn't even get to check out the Nelson monument.

 

 

DH was pretty insistent at that point that we needed to head for the Tattoo.