Edinburgh #3

This morning Anne wanted to check out some shops at the St James Centre and to go to an exhibition at the College of Surgeons, neither exactly my cup of tea, so I walked with her over that way, then headed off up Carlton Hill, then over through Holyrood Park, past the ruins of the Abbey - the spot where James 1 of Scotland while out hunting encountered a stag with a cross in its antlers and decided that this was the spot to found an Abbey - as you would. All I saw was a squirrel, which didn't really warrant founding anything.

 It was a very pretty spot though. After  a admiring the ruins of the Abbey I set off up the side of the Salisbury Crags.

 The path I chose didn't take me up to the top, which was disappointing. I went most of the way up, then most of the way back down. Getting to the top required going all the way back up again. I decided that I had the general idea, and headed back into town, which proved to be remarkably close - amazing to have such a rugged wild place so close to the city centre.

I went back to the museum and spent a few happy hours there. Scottish history is such a ripping good yarn, and seeing some of the objects makes it come to life. There is the very stool which Jenny Geddes threw at the pulpit in St Giles, in outrage at Charles 1's attempt to impose the book of Common Prayer. Her stool throwing sparked a riot and the beginning of the resistance and of the Covenanter's movement. There is the blizzard mask which was worn as a disguise by Alexander Peden, to hide his true identity while preaching during the "Killing Times".

And heaps besides of course. But you do get museumed out after a while, so I wandered home for a cuppa and a bit of down time, meeting Anne on the way.

I discovered while browsing on the net that there was a bike shop on the other side of town which sold Brompton folding bikes. They are way way cheaper here than in Australia, so I thought I would check them out to see if they had the model i wanted. After getting thoroughly lost and walking about double the distance, I found the store. They had a demonstration model for sale at a good price, and I had a good feeling about the place, so I am now the possessor of a Brompton M6R, an older model, but one which has not seen a lot of use. The shop really carefully boxed it up and let the tires down ready for the plane flight as well as doing all the paperwork for the VAT refund. All I have to do is schlep a rather awkward box round for the next few weeks.

Caught the bus back which was marginally quicker than walking - Edinburgh traffic seems to consist mostly of double decker buses, log jammed in stationary standoffs.

We went for dinner to a great little restaurant near here, with creative fresh cooking, nice service and a good vibe. Wildman near Potter Row gets our cheapest and nicest award.

After dinner we went for a stroll through the University of Edinburgh, down to The Meadow, a large open space with people running, cycling, playing tennis or just wandering about in the mild Twilight.

Tomorrow we leave Edinburgh, and Scotland. A complicated diverse and beautiful place, whose history is still very much in play. We would love to come back again.