The Adventures of the Small and Mighty: Edinburgh (you make me happy)

Edinburgh was everything I hoped it would be and more. There's so much history and lovely architecture in this town that I was awestruck at every turn. I'm so glad I got to celebrate New Years here! I spit in the heart so I will definitely be coming back.

The view from North Bridge overlooking Waverly Station and Princess Street

There was a carnival and market going on that increased the fun, fanciful atmosphere

Greyfriars Bobby!! This little guy was so loyal to his master John Gray that after he passed away Bobby would sit and guard his grave everyday for 14 years. His loyalty and love inspired so many people that Bobby was eventually adopted by the city council of Edinburgh and a statue was created in memory of him a year after his death in 1872.

Greyfriars Bobby was our first stop on our free walking tour

Bobby's grave just outside the cemetery (you can't bury a dog on consecrated ground apparently)

Our group entering Greyfriars Kirkyard

Marty, our awesome tour guide explained that Greyfriar Kirkyard is famous for several reasons. One story in particular is that of Burke and Hare. Before 1832 there weren't enough cadavers available for study, so men in the anatomy profession like Robert Knox would pay a high price for dead bodies. William Burke and William Hare decided they could make a good living by digging up a freshly buried grave, stealing the body and selling it to Knox. Soon other body-snatchers started doing the same thing. Families were put on high alert to guard graves and iron gates were installed around coffins, putting a stop to Burke and Hare's plan. Well, not for long. They realized the next best way to get a fresh body is to make one. 17 murders later Burke was hanged and publicly dissected while Hare was jailed after giving a full confession. Burke's skin was later made into a book that sits in Edinburgh College.

This area of the cemetery is closed off because it's rumored to be one of the most haunted places in the world. Several people have reportedly left this area with random black outs, scratches, bites and bruises. The hauntings are said to be attributed to 'Bloody' George Mackenzie, a man who tortured imprisoned Covenanter's in this part of the cemetery. Spooky!

'Bloody' George Mackenzie's Tomb

One of the places JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter in. Inside there's a great view of the castle that is said to have been some inspiration to her.

Deacon Brodie was an upstanding Edinburgh citizen and cabinet maker. During the day he would build cabinets and install or repair their locks. At night he was a burglar and thief. He would either make copies of the keys on the locks he would repair or he would just use his knowledge to get into people's homes and steal their valuables. In 1788 he was hung on the gallows he designed a year before. As Alanis Morisette would say, isn't it ironic?

Erin, Shelly and I posing on the Royal Mile. The street is known as the Royal Mile because at one end you'll find Edinburgh Castle and at the other end you'll find the Palace of Holyroodhouse, one of the homes of the Queen of England.

We're pointing at the Royal Mile sign above Deacon Brodie's Tavern

Thilly gurl

Edinburgh Castle which has been standing on volcanic rock for thousands of years

View of the city from the castle

That little black round thing is a canon ball that was shot into the side of a house from the castle

St. Giles High Kirk

Heart of Midlothian - a tolbooth use to stand at this site where executions took place. As tradition, when locals pass by the heart they spit on it. Sometimes silly foreigners who don't know the history will get down on one knee and propose to their sweetheart here. So silly! Nowadays people spit on it for good luck too. It's said that if you spit on the heart you will one day find yourself in Edinburgh again. I spit on it twice for good measure :)