Return From Edinburgh
We caught the train at 9:30 this morning from Waverley Station and arrived in Harrogate at about 1:45 p.m. Brad snoozed while I read on the way home. We had a wonderful visit with Michiko and her husband Hiroshi yesterday. It was the first time I had met Hiroshi -- he's a very nice fellow, quiet and unassuming. He lets Michiko do all the talking. Michiko explained to me that he does not speak much English. But he certainly appears to understand English; he reacted appropriately to our conversation.
Since Brad and I stayed at the same hotel as Michiko and Hiroshi, we met at the breakfast table. Michiko came in laden with gifts from Japan. In addition to the wonderful gifts she had brought for me, she also presented me with gifts from our mutual friend Fumiko, who had recently made a trip to Italy with her husband to celebrate their 25th anniversary. I in turn presented my gifts to Michiko. Over breakfast we planned out our day. Hiroshi offered to drive us to our first destination: The Royal Yacht Britannia, docked now in Leith. The Yacht has been decommissioned and turned into a museum. I had a blast wandering through the yacht, viewing the royal apartments, the sun deck, the various bars, officers mess, engine room, sick bay.... I was most surprised by the Royal bedrooms: the Queen slept in a separate room from Philip in a tiny twin bed.
After touring the Britannia, Hiroshi drove us to Linlithgow, about 25 miles outside of Edinburgh. We were very impressed with the fact that he seemed undaunted by driving in and around Edinburgh. We had lunch at a pub in Linlithgow before touring a site that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to see: Linlithgow Palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born and where all the Stewart kings had lived. The palace is a huge ruin now and we spent quite some time wandering around the halls and corridors, towers and stairways. We had gorgeous weather all day and the views from atop the palace towers were breathtaking. We were so grateful that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to go to Linlithgow; it was a right royal treat.
From Linlithgow we headed back into Edinburgh, stopped off at the hotel for a brief rest before heading out again, this time on foot. We walked partways along the Royal Mile, stopped off in St. Giles Cathedral, one of my favorite spots in Edinburgh. We left the old town for the new town. By this time (6 p.m.) Jenners department store had already closed. Michiko was especially disappointed by that as I had told her what a wonderful store it is. After strolling around in the new town for awhile we stopped off at The Dome for dinner. Dinner was tasty, conversation was lively and the setting was spectacular.
We walked back to our hotel, weary from the day's adventures. Michiko and Hiroshi met us again for breakfast this morning and then we said our goodbyes. They planned to spend one more day in Edinburgh before flying back to Tokyo. On their agenda were The Castle, Holyrood Palace, possibly the Museum of Scotland or the National Gallery of Scotland and, of course, Jenners department store.
We caught the train at 9:30 this morning from Waverley Station and arrived in Harrogate at about 1:45 p.m. Brad snoozed while I read on the way home. We had a wonderful visit with Michiko and her husband Hiroshi yesterday. It was the first time I had met Hiroshi -- he's a very nice fellow, quiet and unassuming. He lets Michiko do all the talking. Michiko explained to me that he does not speak much English. But he certainly appears to understand English; he reacted appropriately to our conversation.
Since Brad and I stayed at the same hotel as Michiko and Hiroshi, we met at the breakfast table. Michiko came in laden with gifts from Japan. In addition to the wonderful gifts she had brought for me, she also presented me with gifts from our mutual friend Fumiko, who had recently made a trip to Italy with her husband to celebrate their 25th anniversary. I in turn presented my gifts to Michiko. Over breakfast we planned out our day. Hiroshi offered to drive us to our first destination: The Royal Yacht Britannia, docked now in Leith. The Yacht has been decommissioned and turned into a museum. I had a blast wandering through the yacht, viewing the royal apartments, the sun deck, the various bars, officers mess, engine room, sick bay.... I was most surprised by the Royal bedrooms: the Queen slept in a separate room from Philip in a tiny twin bed.
After touring the Britannia, Hiroshi drove us to Linlithgow, about 25 miles outside of Edinburgh. We were very impressed with the fact that he seemed undaunted by driving in and around Edinburgh. We had lunch at a pub in Linlithgow before touring a site that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to see: Linlithgow Palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born and where all the Stewart kings had lived. The palace is a huge ruin now and we spent quite some time wandering around the halls and corridors, towers and stairways. We had gorgeous weather all day and the views from atop the palace towers were breathtaking. We were so grateful that Michiko and Hiroshi had chosen to go to Linlithgow; it was a right royal treat.
From Linlithgow we headed back into Edinburgh, stopped off at the hotel for a brief rest before heading out again, this time on foot. We walked partways along the Royal Mile, stopped off in St. Giles Cathedral, one of my favorite spots in Edinburgh. We left the old town for the new town. By this time (6 p.m.) Jenners department store had already closed. Michiko was especially disappointed by that as I had told her what a wonderful store it is. After strolling around in the new town for awhile we stopped off at The Dome for dinner. Dinner was tasty, conversation was lively and the setting was spectacular.
We walked back to our hotel, weary from the day's adventures. Michiko and Hiroshi met us again for breakfast this morning and then we said our goodbyes. They planned to spend one more day in Edinburgh before flying back to Tokyo. On their agenda were The Castle, Holyrood Palace, possibly the Museum of Scotland or the National Gallery of Scotland and, of course, Jenners department store.
posted by lenora at 10:27 AM
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