Literary Pub Tour-Jill Peters

Greetings from Scotland, the weather has been great here so far which I am told is not the norm so we have been pretty lucky. Of course I have been lugging my rain coat around with me everyday in case it decides to rain, and well today it did during our dinner at the restaurant formerly known as Monster Mash, which name was stolen by another restaurant but that is a story for another time. So, of course the one time it rains I have left my coat back at St. Colms sitting comfortably on my bed. I was a little disappointed in my planning skills, but I do not want to dwell on the negative so I must inform all of you that we are having a great time here in Edinburgh. We only have a few more days here and I am a little sad, but also excited for our adventures to come in the Highlands and in Glasgow.
Today after our very good and very filling dinner, we went to our excursion, which was a literary pub tour of Edinburgh. I chose to blog about this for two reasons, first I love literature and would love to spend my days reading the classics like Pride and Prejudice in the beautiful Princess Street Gardens. My second reason is I always love a good pub, and I am really enjoying the pub culture here. The tour was not what I expected. I was not aware that it was given by actors. I was worried when an older woman entered the room and seemed to be very stuffy and proper. All I could think was how much she was going to dislike our group of fun loving, joke cracking girls. Well the joke was on me because she was part of the tour. It was a new experience to learn about literary history through comedic acting. I liked the lighthearted tour through Edinburgh’s history.
The tour took us to four different pubs located throughout Edinburgh’s new and old town. We walked through a lot of the city, which before I came to Scotland would have seemed horrible, but now walking long distances seems normal. Let us see if I can keep up the walking when I get home. One pub in particular was very charming it was called the Jolly Judge. It is the smallest bar in Edinburgh and has a beautiful hammer beam roof made out of wood from old ships. It was very small though so it was hard for the whole tour to fit inside, we had to take turns, but it was a quant little place I would not have encountered without this tour.
The tour not only focused on the history of literature, but on the contrast of good and evil, the dark and the light side of writers and the city itself. They told us, in their own theatrical way, of how these literary artists were pioneers of the time, but also had their vice and crosses to bear. The dualistic personality of the city is very apparent while walking through the streets. From certain points in the city, you can view the new town full of shops, restaurants, and bars built in a more modern fashion, and then look across the street and see the beautiful old buildings, churches, and Edinburgh Castle staring down at you. I really enjoy walking through old town on the Royal Mile, which connects the Castle with Holyrood Palace. The architecture and charm of the streets is amazing.
The tour not only made me think about the duality of the city itself, but the dualistic personality that resides in all of us. Most of us have more then one side to our personality and we all certainly have our vices, whether we like to admit it or not. It was comforting to know that even the great writers and visionaries of Scotland’s past struggled with some of the same issues facing many people today. They wrote many of their great works in pubs and taverns, enjoyed a drink now and again, and wrote about the common people they saw inhabiting Edinburgh. Great inspiration can come from the most humble of places, the everyday things in life are what make life worth living.
I have learned a lot so far on my trip to Scotland and I can only imagine the things I will see and learn in the weeks to come. I am looking forward to growing and changing throughout my experiences here, and to become more aware of the different aspects of my own dualistic personality.