


EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
January 17th – January 20th, January 24th
We stored most of our luggage in our Dublin hotel, packed one bag and took a 40 minute flight to this beautiful city, where we spent 5 days. Except for the modern stores and conveniences, this place is old. Most structures are either castles or castle-like. We asked two women on the street what a particular “castle” was and she said it was a bank.
We wished we had done some research before we came here so we could describe the buildings as something “esque” from the something “lithic” age but you’ll have to do that yourself. As for the sights, we really enjoyed the Edinburgh Castle where the royal crown of Scotland is kept and where Mary, Queen of Scots took refuge, lived and ruled, we think. Not only is the castle historically interesting and aesthetic but there are fantastic views of the city and countryside from here as the castle is perched on a rock which overlooks all of Edinburgh.
January 17th – January 20th, January 24th
We stored most of our luggage in our Dublin hotel, packed one bag and took a 40 minute flight to this beautiful city, where we spent 5 days. Except for the modern stores and conveniences, this place is old. Most structures are either castles or castle-like. We asked two women on the street what a particular “castle” was and she said it was a bank.

We wished we had done some research before we came here so we could describe the buildings as something “esque” from the something “lithic” age but you’ll have to do that yourself. As for the sights, we really enjoyed the Edinburgh Castle where the royal crown of Scotland is kept and where Mary, Queen of Scots took refuge, lived and ruled, we think. Not only is the castle historically interesting and aesthetic but there are fantastic views of the city and countryside from here as the castle is perched on a rock which overlooks all of Edinburgh.

The Royal Mile extends from the Castle down to the Palace which is the residence of the current Queen when she is in Edinburgh. We also enjoyed the Writer’s Museum, off a little side street from the Royal Mile, which is a small ancient house, with sections dedicated to Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. All of these fellows have statues and huge monuments liberally scattered throughout the city. Also along the Royal Mile was St. Giles’ church which we visited and enjoyed. Here we bought Maren the scarf she had requested. We picked one out that was a recently designed plaid in memory of Princess Di. The pale blue will go with Maren’s blue eyes. Otherwise these tartan plaids have been around for centuries, I even found one belonging to our godson, Braxton Craighill. Sorry, Brax, didn’t get one for you!
The Botanical Gardens we saw on a drizzly day. They were beautifully laid out but of course few plants were in bloom…waiting to bloom though were thousands of rhododendrons.
The Botanical Gardens we saw on a drizzly day. They were beautifully laid out but of course few plants were in bloom…waiting to bloom though were thousands of rhododendrons.

Also, Edinburgh has a beautiful National Art Gallery that has paintings by Titian, Reubens, Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Degas, et. al. There was a Goya exhibit while we were there that had what appeared to be pencil drawings by him on war, bull-fighting and proverbs, all pretty interesting. The interior design of the art museum was also eye-catching. Of course no photography is allowed and upon closer inspection of the walls we could see they were covered with felt. The combination of the beautifully colored walls, the highest of ceilings, dark antique seating for the public and art work makes a warm and lasting impression
Incidentally, the weather to date has not been a deterrent to us doing anything here in Scotland or in Ireland. There has been rain but nothing close to being torrential or storm like. If it’s sunny, it’s usually brisk (low 40s) or as the locals say “mild”. It’s mostly cloudy and about 45 degrees, perfect coat and scarf wearing weather. The advantage of this kind of weather is that no matter where we go, it is seldom crowded. At the Castle, on a Saturday, we had a 10 minute wait on line to buy tickets. No other waiting at any other place yet.
Food in Edinburgh has been okay. We did find a good restaurant – Mussel Inn. We’ve had mussels in both a bleu cheese sauce and a pesto sauce. They also had a good risotto and soup with a cream base and chunks of salmon. On the last night here, we had their shellfish pasta which was not good – over cooked spaghetti, a canned mild type tasting cream sauce and a bad mussel in the mix….
Gerard enjoyed their beer (MacEwens) but only had some good Scotch (Oman) once due to the exorbitant costs. It’s considerably less expensive at home.
The Scottish people were great, always pleasant and helpful. Of course, you have to be attentive for they use English words in a garbled accent. They probably say the same about us. A few anecdotes:
We pre-booked a B&B in Edinburgh. We had to take a bus from the center of town to get there and then walk up a hilly street to “Menties”. Menties had a very cute web site, accompanied by song. What the web site didn’t show was the rubble in the front yard due to windows being replaced, the upstairs construction, the parlour with sheets covering the furniture and the gruff nature of our host. Needless to say, we were not pleased.
Incidentally, the weather to date has not been a deterrent to us doing anything here in Scotland or in Ireland. There has been rain but nothing close to being torrential or storm like. If it’s sunny, it’s usually brisk (low 40s) or as the locals say “mild”. It’s mostly cloudy and about 45 degrees, perfect coat and scarf wearing weather. The advantage of this kind of weather is that no matter where we go, it is seldom crowded. At the Castle, on a Saturday, we had a 10 minute wait on line to buy tickets. No other waiting at any other place yet.
Food in Edinburgh has been okay. We did find a good restaurant – Mussel Inn. We’ve had mussels in both a bleu cheese sauce and a pesto sauce. They also had a good risotto and soup with a cream base and chunks of salmon. On the last night here, we had their shellfish pasta which was not good – over cooked spaghetti, a canned mild type tasting cream sauce and a bad mussel in the mix….
Gerard enjoyed their beer (MacEwens) but only had some good Scotch (Oman) once due to the exorbitant costs. It’s considerably less expensive at home.
The Scottish people were great, always pleasant and helpful. Of course, you have to be attentive for they use English words in a garbled accent. They probably say the same about us. A few anecdotes:
We pre-booked a B&B in Edinburgh. We had to take a bus from the center of town to get there and then walk up a hilly street to “Menties”. Menties had a very cute web site, accompanied by song. What the web site didn’t show was the rubble in the front yard due to windows being replaced, the upstairs construction, the parlour with sheets covering the furniture and the gruff nature of our host. Needless to say, we were not pleased.


We left our luggage and headed back to the center of town. Gerard had the perfect solution to our downtroddeness – a pub called Robertson’s we saw off Rose Street. We ordered drinks and Ann began telling the bartender about our disappointing B&B (make that a B since Menties didn’t serve Breakfast) The bartender said for us to wait a minute, enjoy our drinks and that he was going to check on the hotel next door for us. He returned with a smile and info that he had a room for us….thank God for hotels and for this darling room with a bay window (from which we did see snow softly falling – but it didn’t stick, as Gerard said) overlooking Rose street which is a street one back from the main drag in Edinburgh. A perfect location and in the brochure of the Hanover Hotel, they tout themselves as being the most centrally located hotel in Edinburgh, which they were.

Gerard stayed in the pub as I checked out the room and continued with what he thought was a casual conversation with Alan.
(Gerard)
Alan was from Glasgow but often came to Edinburgh and hung out in this pub. His face was extremely pockmarked. After he would say about five indecipherable words, he would cough. I thought he would be a good Dick Tracy character. From out of the blue, Alan told me the following: His sister was murdered three years ago. The perpetrator only got eighteen months. When he got out of prison, within 10 days, he was shot between the eyes. His sister’s husband committed suicide, leaving behind two small children and Alan’s wife has a muscle disorder which renders her an invalid. I’m agape. Where’s my wife? Is this a vacation? Alan said he has to go but he’ll meet me back at the pub on Saturday. I’m thinking of that Dustin Hoffman movie where he is in the Scottish Highlands with his Scottish wife, constantly harassed, belittled and assaulted by a group of Scottish towns-people. The movie ends with Dustin laying a bear claw vise on the head of his principal attacker. I don’t think so, Alan. Ann returned, loved the room and we booked for 4 nights. We traipsed back to the Menties, gathered our luggage, took a photo of the rubble and bussed back to our relative Shangri-La, in the heart of Edinburgh.
Every night outside our new window, a street musician (I use the term lightly), with a limited repertoire, would sing bad versions of good songs ( stand by me, losing my religion, knockin’ on heaven’s door, et. al.). I’ve heard each of those songs at least 10 times over the course of the 4 nights. I called him Axl. (Ann – he wasn’t that bad, and the first 5 times he sounded ok!)
We went to a pub called The Standing Order. It used to be a bank. Unknowingly we entered through the back entrance on Rose Street and upon opening the doors into a cavernous room, we were met by over 400 people, having a “grand” time. Mostly youngish 20 somethings but with “our type” sprinkled in. There was no music or entertainment, just the large group drinking beer and having conversation. They had to pass Axl in order to get in the pub but only the inebriated dropped coins in his guitar case.
(Gerard)
Alan was from Glasgow but often came to Edinburgh and hung out in this pub. His face was extremely pockmarked. After he would say about five indecipherable words, he would cough. I thought he would be a good Dick Tracy character. From out of the blue, Alan told me the following: His sister was murdered three years ago. The perpetrator only got eighteen months. When he got out of prison, within 10 days, he was shot between the eyes. His sister’s husband committed suicide, leaving behind two small children and Alan’s wife has a muscle disorder which renders her an invalid. I’m agape. Where’s my wife? Is this a vacation? Alan said he has to go but he’ll meet me back at the pub on Saturday. I’m thinking of that Dustin Hoffman movie where he is in the Scottish Highlands with his Scottish wife, constantly harassed, belittled and assaulted by a group of Scottish towns-people. The movie ends with Dustin laying a bear claw vise on the head of his principal attacker. I don’t think so, Alan. Ann returned, loved the room and we booked for 4 nights. We traipsed back to the Menties, gathered our luggage, took a photo of the rubble and bussed back to our relative Shangri-La, in the heart of Edinburgh.
Every night outside our new window, a street musician (I use the term lightly), with a limited repertoire, would sing bad versions of good songs ( stand by me, losing my religion, knockin’ on heaven’s door, et. al.). I’ve heard each of those songs at least 10 times over the course of the 4 nights. I called him Axl. (Ann – he wasn’t that bad, and the first 5 times he sounded ok!)
We went to a pub called The Standing Order. It used to be a bank. Unknowingly we entered through the back entrance on Rose Street and upon opening the doors into a cavernous room, we were met by over 400 people, having a “grand” time. Mostly youngish 20 somethings but with “our type” sprinkled in. There was no music or entertainment, just the large group drinking beer and having conversation. They had to pass Axl in order to get in the pub but only the inebriated dropped coins in his guitar case.
Scotland prides herself on indispensable things she has given the world, from televisions to penicillin, but her greatest gift to the world, as they say, was Robert Burns. You may remember the phrase, “the best laid schemes o’mice and men” and
O my Luve’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune
O my Luve’s like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my Luve’s like the melodie,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune

Burns Supper Day, January 25th (also my brother Denis birthday) – a day the poet was born and died, was also the day we were due to leave. This day is celebrated with a “Burns Supper”, reservations which were being taken all over town. This dinner has a set menu, with intermittent recitals of his poetry, periods where guests spoke of their love of his poetry, etc. Gerard wants to have one when we return…The main novelty for us in this dinner was haggis. Haggis is organ meat, liberally mixed with an oat mixture. This became popular because hunters, who would not come home for days, would exist on this organ meat mixture because the organs were the first to spoil and of course they needed to eat. While shopping in Jenners, touted as the first and oldest fine department store (akin to our Saks) I noticed there was to be a Haggis and Scotch tasting…this would have to do . Up we went, getting lost many times in this ornate and multi leveled store. There were up to 4 levels, or more on one floor. Gerard finally had his taste of haggis, two type now, original and vegetarian…I opted for the vegetarian, which tasted to me like the oat mixture it was and Gerard enjoyed both versions…we both enjoyed the scotch.
We are on to the Lakes District in England on our literary tour, traveling via train this time. The train station is located right in the middle of town and we are packed and ready to go…..

and for you, Peter....dog beach in Edinburgh..

1 comment:
Y'all look quite continental to my eye!
I'm glad to see that you're maintaining your artist's integrity Derms - even if may come down hard on the Axl's of the world. You were always a bit more generous in your artistic appraisals Ann.
Sounds like a fun run so far with plenty of adventures finding you.
I am glad you decided to forego re-enacting the ending to that Dustin Hoffman movie (Straw Dogs?)
Keep the reports coming. They're fun to read.
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