The Terror Tour
It’s after midnight and I just got back to the hotel after a one and a half walking tour, underground! Edinburgh was originally the land spanning out from the castle for about half a mile. Around it were six other hills. As the old town grew, and they ran short on space, five bridges were […]
Robby Burns Resting Place and more…
My climb up Jacob’s Ladder landed me at a monument to Robert Burns. These two characters were hanging out in the shade of a sycamore. I walked around the monument to see if I could get a shot with more light and stumbled into a small garden and then down to a cemetery. This is […]
New and Old Friends
Five years ago I had the pleasure to meet Gus at my friends Sam and Kelli Peacock’s BBQ. Gus was visiting from Edinburgh and we had a great chat out on the deck. I had the pleasure of his and his girlfriend’s company while I was in Edinburgh one night. We met at Joseph Pearce […]
Up Close and Down Wynd
The Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is known as the Royal Mile or High Street. Small alleyways and courtyards connect the surrounding streets. Allies are after memorable occupants or a trade of one the residents. A gated Alley was called a Close, derived from ˈkloʊs/, a Scots term for alleyway. Closes tend to be narrow with tall buildings on either side which […]
Jaccob’s Ladder
I had restless night with the heat. Like hotels in San Fran, in Edinburgh they don’t worry too much about air conditioning. My room is on the west side of the building and the paultry air conditioner can’t compete with the long setting sun. So after the red-eye flight, and a fretful first night, my second morning […]
Arrival Fit for a Queen
The flight to Heathrow was my first on a two-story plane. I napped on the long flight to Heathrow. Outside the airport windows it looked dreary but not a surprise since everyone warned me as much. The airport looked like a shopping mal l and I perched myself at a seafood bar and feasted on […]
Curiosity Pays Off
I was so excited to get off the tram, that I left my sweater. The porter heard me bang on the door and retrieved my abandoned sweater before the tram left the station. I walked a few blocks to my hotel to stash my bag and “get out in it” as my friend Jan likes […]
Botanical Gardens
On this sunny morning the Royal Botanical Gardens were full of children running and parents chasing. The last of the blooms were on the azaleas and rhododendrons. Surprisingly the Gardens are free. Originally founded for medicinal plants in 1670, the gardens now exceeds 3 million preserved species. I opted to pay for the Glasshouse tour. […]