Sandman Walking Tours are the best. Too bad we didn't have 3 spare hours to stay for the whole thing. Troy (an Ozzy not a Scotsman...) took us on a journey through Edinburgh and shared stories about the city every which way we went. It was both a cultural and historical tour. So cold though! The winds were crazy. Everyone had closed up shoppe, and there weren't many places open for a quick coffee even. We left the tour early not because it was 3 hours long, but because we were too cold and trying to get home in time for Christmas Eve service at Greyfriars church. This was actually one of our stopping points on the tour, where Troy led us to the Black Mosseleum, the most haunted place in the world...right around the corner and down another path was a grave marked Tom Riddle, and a second marked Mogonagul. Yes, my friends, JK Rowling took many of her character names from walking through the graveyard here. We passed by the Elephant Cafe on our way out, where she spent many days creating the Harry Potter we all know and love today.
I rushed over to Marks & Spencer hoping to find a chicken (pre-cooked) that would surfice for our Christmas dinner. I was in luck! Although many of the rows had been plucked over, there were still a few prime birds left on the shelf. Now I faced the challenge of walking across town with this sucker, in addition to a pie, ice cream, Asti, and a few other essentials for the next morning.
Church was a great welcome! The congregation was very welcoming, the minister very nice and the choir was so talented. Their passion for singing the carols radiated on each of their faces. Who would have ever thought we would be spending a Christmas Eve service in Scotland?
After church, it started to spitter rain - and apparently there was another carol service at 8pm that Aunt CC wanted to go to, so we passed up efforts of trying to make it to the German Christmas markets again. Fail. What a bummer, the other itineraries took precedence again. So we popped into a pub for a drink, where we chatted briefly with the very nice bartender. He made Britty a delicious Baileys Hot Chocolate. A mulled cider for me, and mom grabbed a mulled wine. We headed to St. Gile's Cathedral at quarter to 8, and unfortunately Aunt CC had gotten the wrong night...Oh well, what are you going to do, right? C'est la vie. Tomorrow is Christmas, so we won't let it rain on our parade!!
Church was a great welcome! The congregation was very welcoming, the minister very nice and the choir was so talented. Their passion for singing the carols radiated on each of their faces. Who would have ever thought we would be spending a Christmas Eve service in Scotland?
After church, it started to spitter rain - and apparently there was another carol service at 8pm that Aunt CC wanted to go to, so we passed up efforts of trying to make it to the German Christmas markets again. Fail. What a bummer, the other itineraries took precedence again. So we popped into a pub for a drink, where we chatted briefly with the very nice bartender. He made Britty a delicious Baileys Hot Chocolate. A mulled cider for me, and mom grabbed a mulled wine. We headed to St. Gile's Cathedral at quarter to 8, and unfortunately Aunt CC had gotten the wrong night...Oh well, what are you going to do, right? C'est la vie. Tomorrow is Christmas, so we won't let it rain on our parade!!
x Krista
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