We wandered around Edinburgh on some days and explored some of the sights in this wonderful old city. One day we took the bus to the west side of the city and explored Donaldson’s School. Charlie had spied this ornate old building from the trolley and wondered what it was. After some research we discovered that it is the former Donaldson’s School for the Deaf, built in 1851. The school building was closed in 2003 and the school was moved to a newer building. The old building was put up for sale and it is now being renovated into luxury condominiums, ranging from a studio apartment option for £250,000 to a 3 bedroom apartment for £1,695,000. A new adjacent section has also been built, incorporating the crescent style that is common in Edinburgh’s established neighborhoods. These new condos range from £950,000 - £1,925,000. We went on a Sunday afternoon when the realtors were holding an open house, so we were able to get a glimpse of the new condos. (Click on the links in the paragraph to view the stunning model home interiors!)
On another day we walked around Princes Street Gardens, the site of the old lake below the castle and for the past two centuries repurposed as an urban public park. The main Edinburgh shopping district is adjacent on Princes Street, and it includes the famous old Jenners Department Store, established in 1838. Nearby we toured the Georgian House in Edinburgh’s New Town, an area that was developed beginning in the mid-18th century as a new residential neighborhood for the city’s wealthy. One of the finest old Georgian homes has been preserved and maintained in the style of that period. It was interesting to see the grandeur of the period and to learn about the strict protocols that governed social interactions among the wealthy. Everything from the style of dress to the food served at dinner parties had to live up to the exacting standards of the wealthy class.
On one nice spring day we visited the Royal Botanic Garden. Edinburgh has maintained this green urban park in its current location since 1820, moving at that time from a location near Holyrood Palace that had been in place since 1670. The garden hosts an impressive array of plant species, many of which were beginning to bloom for the springtime. We also saw a special exhibit of tapestries in one of the garden’s buildings.
