I woke about 5:00 and heard Barbara coming in from a smoke. Learned later that she'd been sick much of the night. She blames it on the salmon. It was light pink, probably farmed atlantic salmon. Demand wild pacific salmon!
After some tea I decided to mail my postcards and see what we needed to do about the train to london - our tickets are only to Oxford. I'd planned to take a bus but didn't have change and couldn't think of anything to buy to get change. Besides I was listening to Robert Earl Keen, Emmylou Harris and Modest Mouse (everyday turns out to be just a little bit more like Bukowski, but god who wants to be such an asshole). The teabag last night completely healed my blister. I may begin marketing homeopathic used teabags.
I felt foolish going to the counter for help with our train tickets, with all the self-serve machines and booklets and schedules all over the place. However, it took him over half an hour to find an acceptable route and rate. He had to completely research a route before finding out if it was available. The first one he tried was a four hour trip leaving at 9:30. The best one he could find with seats available was a seven hour trip leaving at 6:30 (yes, a.m.). On the positive side, we have reserved seats, the change only cost £10 each, and we'll see different scenery than our trip up.
I wanted to find an internet cafe (I didn't) so I walked all the way back (and discovered that Barbara was sick). A man came to the door warning us that someone wanted to look at the place about 11:00. I spent an hour or so cleaning up and packing up before I found out they wouldn't be coming after all. Someone is considering buying the hotel, bar and apartment but they don't seem concerned about the apartment.
So I didn't have to wait around anymore and Barbara didn't feel like going. I started off by stopping off at the three used bookstores up the block looking for the RLS book. I found it at the shop directly across the street from No. 8 Howard Street, birthplace of RLS.
I restarted by following the Water of Leith Walkway the last three miles to Leith harbor. Near the harbor the path passed through an area with lots of delicious looking restaurants. Unfortunately, I'd eaten too much pita bread and greek yoghurt so I just admired the menus. The path continued to a somewhat industrial area with a few old port buildings and a few modern cranes, etc. A sign said that this was the second busiest port in the UK, but I didn't see a single boat move and didn't see any freighters.
To get a good look at the Firth of Forth you continue to the end of the road and enter...the mall. You're forced to weave through several department stores and restaurants to get a half a view of the HMS Brittania. (Or pay admission and I just wasn't that interested.) I fled the mall and hopped a bus for City Centre.
I intended to hop another bus for Hollyrood Park but was craving soup, which is readily available along the Royal Mile. Everyone has a soup of the day and today everyone's was toe-mah-toe, which I didn't want. I finally found carrot coriander which sounded good to me. Then I saw cream tea on the menu which turned out to be a pot of tea and a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Clotted cream is a precious commodity made only in one place in Scotland. It tastes like cream cheese. Nevertheless it was delicous. (Barbara got cream tea in London and the clotted cream was butter.)
Again, I intended to hop a bus but I ran into the Scottish Poety Museum. I didn't tour the museum, just perused the gift shelves and found a booklet of poems inspired by the new Parliament Building.
 | I gave up on the bus and walked on to Hollyrood Park to climb the hill to Arthur's Seat. I almost made it when I saw a regiment of Scottish soldiers, pipes and drums - and tubas. I couldn't believe my luck and positioned myself to film a movie of the eventual procession. After they passed by I realized I didn't have any stills and ran to get back in front and snap away. Then they paraded into the Hollyrood Palace gates and I joined the crowd watching them through the fence and listening to them play. A cop told me that they were practicing for a visit by the queen next week. (Regiment movie 1.) (Regiment movie 2.) |
I tore myself away and finally began my climb. It was so beautiful. The craggy hill is beautiful, the city views are beautiful. Even the distant pipes and drums playing America the Beautiful was beautiful. I was confused about that last bit until Barbara told me that it is also God Save the Queen. I snapped another picture of the castle every turn in the path - or every climb of the hill. The camera was an excellent excuse for catching my breath. The path led all the way up and around the hill, then the real climbing started.
     | The peak was an excellent reward for the exertion, and quite a few people were collecting that reward. Words certainly can't express the vastness of the view, the natural beauty, the fascinating structure and architecture of over a millenia of city building. I hope the pictures give some clue. I soaked it up until I couldn't justify it any longer. Time to get back and see if Barbara was ready to tour the Botanic Gardens. I followed other paths down, some slippery, some scary, some overlooking a hidden lake, another exposing St Andrews Chapel. I hadn't descended far when I was amazed to see a man climbing in sandals. Then I realized that his grinning grizzled face was about 90 years old. He made some sort of unintelligible greeting and gave no response to my attempt at a reply. The skirted soldiers were still practicing but the onlookers had tired and moved on. I got to the bus stop seconds after the bus left. Another was due in 15 minutes so I got a bottle of water and waited. I could have walked to the city centre and caught the bus home in 15 minutes, but my feet didn't care for the idea. Besides I'd sprung for a day pass and wanted to use it. A classic bit of Scotland (I originally wrote Sotland, which might be more appropriate) sat on a bench across the street. He was grumbling to himself, sometimes loudly. He moved over to my side to wait for the bus (a very long wait it turned out). I had enough time to begin to understand him. When a couple of young girls walked by he growled, "Girls! I love yah!" A group walked by the other side (among many, many other groups walking by) and he hollered, "I mean it! Enjoy your stay in Ednbrrrruh!". I was standing at the edge of a close (alley). He walked by me into the alley and a couple standing nearby quickly left. I looked around to see him relieving himself. He came back out explaining to the large crowd now waiting for the bus, "I had to go! I had to go to the toilet!" The bus came by after about 30 minutes. He managed to climb to the upper deck and continued to entertain us. The only thing I could interpret was "Yer a Liar! Yer a bloody Lying Cow! Bugger Off!" We grew bored when he got off. It was hot in the greenhouse effect of all the glass and we were stuck in a traffic jam. With all the time to study the bus map I discovered an error in my analysis and jumped off to find a bus going the right way. I walked quite a while to find one, then jumped off too soon and walked another long way to the bus to take me home. I could have walked less and been home much earlier if I'd walked to the right bus to begin with. |
Barbara was eager to go and had been for a couple of hours. She was feeling better but made good use of her time studying Richard III in order to impress her classmates.
 | We walked briefly through the Royal Botanic Gardens (and saw the flower cow - click on the picture for a slide show of cows). What a shame that we lived right by the gardens and only used them as a thoroughfare a couple of times. Our goal was the restaurant where we'd had risoto balls the day before. Their pizza looked delicious. I was pretty sure I could find it and knew most of the streets and paths we were taking. But the shiny object method took over and we tried some new routes. For once, they were interesting and direct! |
We shared a delicious caeser salad, with whole anchovies, and a pizza with aubergine, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and fresh basil. We should have gotten a salad and pizza apiece. Who would have expected so little food for so much money. I supplemented with duomo di something or other, an italian pudding (the americans at the next table informed their local waiter that in britain pudding meant dessert) with fresh blueberries, blackberries & mascarpone. It put back on some of the calories I'd burned.
We followed our previous day's route along the Water of Lieth Walkway to a store to stock up on a few items for our 7 hour train ride. I tried to take the bus home but it was too late for regular service.
We packed up and cleaned up and I soaked my poor feet in the bath at about midnite, thinking I might as well stay up the rest of the night. That didn't work out and I woke to the 4:30 alarm.
Mileage - just shy of 22, and don't forget the elevation gain!
