Tuesday, September 8, 2009

the heart of the matter


Here is a traditional scottish bagpiper. I stood and watched him for a long while silently praying for a hearty gust of wind but alas my prayers were not answered...sigh.

Here on the street below me I noticed an interesting relic in the cobblestone street that passers by would carefully walk around so they would not step on it . However, what most people did do is take aim and spit a huge loogie towards its center. I was pretty grossed out and determined to find out what this tradition was all about!
It was during a walking tour of the city that the mystery was finally solved. They call it the "Heart of Midlothian" and legend has it that this very spot is where the tax man set up his booth so the average citizen could line up and get shafted by the government. If you did not have the dough to pay your taxes you were shackled to the village square and just taunted if you were lucky. When times changed and the small area was torn down, they placed this as a reminder of times that were not so great and that is why the locals "pay their respect" to it as they walk by. It is not a joke when they say it is the filthiest place in all of Scotland.

One funny story our guide told us was one day, they witnessed a young tourist on his knees in the center of the heart proposing to his lovely girlfriend as everyone around either cringed or yelled "Ewe Gross!" That couple probably left Scotland thinking that romance is dead here.. If only they had did a little homework before they arrived!


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Monday, September 7, 2009

Edinburgh Castle

Now where was I? Oh yes, I was sharing my adventures in Scotland with everyone and I was distracted by other crazy events that I will tell you about later.
Here is the outside of Edinburgh castle. Don't you just love that statue of the knight? He reminds me of the dark knight in Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail! This castle was the most amazing place to visit. I spent most of the day there wandering everywhere with the audio tour guiding me via my rented headphones. That rocked! If you ever get the chance to visit here, be sure to save some time to see this place. The history of this castle will blow your mind. More pics later for your viewing pleasure so don't worry.

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