Chapter 15 - Edinburgh Part III

Chapter 15 – Edinburgh Part III

Sunday, October 16, 2022

We’ve started our last week in Edinburgh in a very lazy fashion. We still have a few things on our to do list but are also just enjoying being here. We went out to Honeycomb for breakfast. Sarah had a breakfast roll with poached eggs and bacon. Bruce had the mushroom and cheese toast.

We read and rested the rest of the morning. Sarah walked a bit during the afternoon, and we went to McLaren’s for dinner. Sarah had lamb curry. Bruce had a parsnip and coconut soup followed by two sides – macaroni and cheese and slaw.

We’ve taken hundreds of pictures and shared a relatively small number with you. Here’s a few others that you might enjoy. First, some lovely fading hydrangeas that we pass on our walk out of our neighborhood in Edinburgh every day (Photo 15 – 1). The next one is of the gardens of Holyroodhouse where you can see the imprint of some of the rooms of the old Abbey (Photo 15 – 2). The third one is Holyroodhouse in the foreground with Calton Hill in the background taken from Arthur’s Seat (Photo 15 – 3). You can

see the unfinished National Monument, inspired by the Parthenon in Athens, and the Nelson Monument. The Nelson monument commemorates the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The City Observatory is also located on Calton Hill. The fourth one is a view of Arthur’s Seat taken by Bruce from one of his walks (Photo 15 – 4). The next one is a lovely home in the Sciennes neighborhood (Photo 15 – 5).

Monday, October 17, 2022

Sarah ate breakfast in the apartment, and we went out for

lunch at Montpelier’s. Sarah had fish tacos and Bruce had a hamburger. We then caught the bus and headed to the Scottish National Gallery which is located on The Mound that separates Princes Street Gardens. These two public parks are in the center of Edinburgh between Old Town and New Town. This area was once Nor Loch, a lake that was drained in the 1820s to create the gardens. We walked back through the west garden and up to Princes Street to get a bus back home.

We got a good view of Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street (Photo 15 – 6) and of Old Town (Photo 15 – 7). There are several statues on Princes Street, and you can see the statues on George Street if you look down the perpendicular streets. This is the Royal Scots Greys Monument on in the garden (Photo 15 – 8). It depicts a Royal Scots Dragoon Guard in uniform with bearskin hat, sword, and rifle. In the park is a sweet statue of a baby elephant (Photo 15 – 9). This is the “forget-me-not elephant” unveiled in 2019 as a memorial to the babies who died at birth or shortly after.

We had dinner at Saffron. We shared chips and queso (made from a cheese

probably not ever seen in Mexico), salad, and shrimp fajitas.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Sarah ate breakfast at home and worked on getting the pictures for Chapter 14 ready. Bruce went out to McLaren’s. Sarah walked about four miles in the afternoon. In the Meadows, she got a picture of one of the lion sculptures in the Born Free Forever exhibit (Photo 15 – 10). You might remember an old movie (1966) titled “Born Free” about an orphaned lion cub, Elsa, and efforts to raise and protect her. The Born Free Forever exhibit is made up of 25 life-size bronze lions and highlights the conservation work that developed out of the true-life story of Elsa. She also got another good view of Arthur’s Seat from the Meadows (Photo

15 – 11).

We fixed dinner in our apartment.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

We had a lazy morning, finished the blog for Chapter 14 and got it out. We then went to McLarens for breakfast. Sarah walked for about an hour just around the neighborhoods surrounding our apartment.

We took a bus to Princes Street later in the day and walked to Chaophraya, a Thai restaurant, for Sarah's birthday. We were on the fifth floor in a glass enclosed terrace with amazing views of the Castle lit up for the evening. We shared a sample of starters. Bruce then had shrimp and pineapple fried rice. Sarah had chicken and vegetable stir fry with jasmine rice. Here’s a view of the castle at night (Photo 15 – 12).

Thursday, October 20, 2022

We awoke to a very rainy day and walked to Honeycomb for breakfast. Sarah had a ciabatta roll with poached eggs. Bruce had a decadent French toast with a tart berry compote and chocolate mousse and garnishes. We brought the chocolate brownies that were included home for dessert tonight.

After breakfast, we took the bus to Princes Street. We stopped in the Apple Store because, well, we just did. You

understand if you know Bruce. We then walked up Waterloo Place to Calton Hill. It was not the best day to walk to the top of Calton Hill, but we did it anyway. We got some great views of Edinburgh from the top (Photo 15 – 13 and Photo 15 - 14). You can see what a hazy, gray day it was. Bruce got a picture of me standing on one of the precipices taking a picture of the Firth of Forth in the distance (Photo 15 – 15).

We then walked down Georges Street where we were able to get a picture of the statue of King George IV (Photo 15 – 16). It was a short walk to the bus stop where we caught the bus home. We were both looking a bit bedraggled by the rain

which had been constant.

We ate dinner in the apartment.

Friday, October 21, 2022

We had breakfast at McLaren’s. Sarah had pancakes. Bruce had poached eggs, hashbrowns, and toast. Sarah then caught the bus at Holy Corner to Princes Street for a Thai massage – nice! After her massage, she walked down Rose Street, a street that runs parallel to Princes Street that is lined with shops, restaurants, and pubs. She tried to visit Charlotte Square at the west end of George Street but learned it was private. It mirrors St. Andrew Square on the eastern end of George Street. A statue of Prince Albert stands in the center of Charlotte Square (Photo 15 – 17).

Charlotte Square is lined with a row of beautiful town homes built in the early 1800s. Number 6 Charlotte Square, Bute House, is the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland. The First Minister of Scotland is the leader of the Scottish government. The current First Minister is Nicola Sturgeon, a woman.

Just next to Bute House is Number 7 Charlotte Square, a restored Georgian house. The home depicts life in the 1800s for a wealthy family residing in Edinburgh. Sarah took a tour of the home. She then just walked around New Town for a while before taking the bus home. The flowers and the fall colors are beautiful (Photo 15 – 18 and Photo 15 – 19).

Bruce had read and worked on schoolwork while Sarah was out exploring. We shared two delicious pizzas at Tempo Perso for dinner. We are going to miss this little casual neighborhood Italian restaurant.

Saturday, October 22, 2022

We had breakfast at Montpelier’s. Sarah had porridge, and Bruce had Croque Monsieur, a hot sandwich made with ham and cheese, with a small salad. We stopped into Bross Bagels and bought a couple of bagels to have for our breakfast tomorrow morning before we head to Waverly Station and London.

Sarah washed clothes and worked on the travel diary. She snacked on leftover pizza for lunch and started to pack. Bruce went out to Honeycomb at about 2:30 and tried their afternoon tea - carrot cake and scones with butter and berry compote.

We had our last dinner in Edinburgh (and Scotland!) at McLarens. Sarah had tomato and red pepper soup and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. It was delicious! Bruce had sliders - burger, fish, and chicken.