The Tattoo
Last day in Edinburgh and the big evening I've been waiting for. Not only the big evening but the whole point of my side trip here.
The Military Tattoo. Held annually for three weeks in August, the never-cancelled 6 days a week performances have been taking place here as part of the Edinburgh Festival since 1950. Why, that's older than moi! There are lots of Tattoo performances around the world but it's the Edinburgh one that is the most well-known.
Per Wikipedia, "A tattoo is a military performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks."
The morning dawned cloudy and threatening rain. Of course it was. As I said before, Tattoo is never cancelled. The seating is all outdoors. It's like going to a football game with the playing field in cement. Well, no matter. I have a poncho now, so there!
After a nice breakfast I headed out. My goal was to spend the morning at the National Museum and then a stop off at a few more of hop on hop off bus stops. The museum was featuring a special exhibit about Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites. If you're a reader or follower of the Outlander series, you'll be quite familiar with the outcome of his attempts to regain the crown of England of which he believed himself to be the rightful heir.
It was a really great exhibit and I found that I had gotten lost in it for well over an hour. No photography was allowed, which was too bad as there's no way I could remember everything I read and saw.
After the museum I waited for the next bus to come along and then I stopped off at just one more place - Greyfriars Bobby. Bobby was a young dog who belonged to a John Gray, who was a constable in Edinburgh. The dog was always by John's side. When John died unexpectedly, Bobby was just 2 years old. The day they buried John Gray, after the funeral service was over, Bobby went and laid down on top of his master's grave. And there he stayed for the next 13 years, until his own death at the age of 15. The town buried Bobby a few yards away from his master, an unusual thing to do in a cemetery that was meant for people. A finer companion there never was.
Not much could top that, it was lunch time, I was hungry, so I went to find something good to eat and then went back to the B&B. I wanted to rest awhile in preparation for a long evening at the Tattoo.
I had bought a ticket months ago online and even that long ago, the only ticket available to me for opening night was what they called a Piper Package. It included a nice dinner before the show, and then a piper would lead us up the path to the castle grounds and to our seats.
Boy, was it ever worth it. The dinner was very nice. Roasted chicken and vegetables, a fruit custard for dessert and the wine flowed.
All too soon dinner was over and we made our way to the front doors of the restaurant, which was at the bottom of the castle hill. Magically, a magnificent specimen of a bagpiper appeared in the doorway and began to play his pipes. OH YEAH!!! He was kind enough to stand outside and allow about 30 of us to pose for pictures with him. Yes, me included. Yay!
Then, he turned and started walking up the hill towards the castle, still playing his pipes, us trailing behind him. What an amazing treat and start to the evening!!
After we were seated, a little time elapsed and then the show started. From beginning to end it was wonderful. We had some good rain in the early part of the show, but people just pulled out their ponchos - me included - and the show kept going. The evening cost me about $150 but it was so worth it! We even had fireworks at the end!
I went home happy. Tomorrow, airport and then my flight to Budapest to begin the second part of my European journey.
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