Edinburgh

Our evening out in Perth was a little longer than we had planned, but we had a fabulous time dancing the night away, so no need to worry about getting an early start to the day. We had discussed visiting Stirling Castle, one of Scotland's most well-known attractions, but we decided instead to spend a good part of our day in Edinburgh. I'm sure we missed out on a lovely castle, but then again, we have to leave something for our next adventure!

We had both spent a good deal of time in Edinburgh when we were here before. Both of us were here with family for their huge New Year's celebration and had been here a couple other times when friends came to visit. So, we had visited the major attractions in the city and were just looking forward to being in the city and enjoying the ambiance of the beautiful city.

I was a bit anxious about driving and parking in the city, so when we got closer to the center and began seeing signs for attractions, we pulled into the first parking garage we could find. Coming out of the garage, we had absolutely no clue as to where to go nor where we were. We looked around for familiar sites and finding none, we sought a cafe with wifi. Standing outside the cafe, I was able to use the GPS on the phone to show that we were not far away from the castle but that we had chosen our direction to travel poorly. After turning the corner and looking up, we were soon able to spot the castle atop the hill and use it as a guide. The closer we got, the more familiar things became, recognizing the square where so many people had been beheaded, the pubs where I had eaten with family and friends, and finally the staircase leading us up to the castle and the Royal Mile.

When I was here for New Years of 2013, I met William Wallace on the street, and after posting the photo, I received many comments that others who had visited the city had also met this same William Wallce. I was hoping to find him today, and sure enough, soon after passing the castle, there he was, putting on a show. He is a teacher and the money he raises goes to his favorite charity. He's easy to like and generous with his time with each and everyone of us that wanted our photo with him.

I love return visits to places. You're not rushed to see all the big attractions that tour books suggest, nor are you anxiously looking at maps deciding where to go, you can just wander and enjoy. It is an odd feeling of familiarity, comfort, and ease that invite you in. We must have done well looking at home there for three different people asked us for directions. 

The Royal Mile, the cobblestone road from Holyrood Palace (the royal residence) and the castle at the top of the hill, is a perfect pedestrian road full of street performers, intriguing people, restaurants and shops galore. We heard bagpipes, met an owl, saw an invisible man (yes, I realize the irony in that), saw a contortionist, watched people creating caricatures, purchased some Harry Potter necklaces, and enjoyed being amongst the tourists.

One of the big reasons we had chosen to spend our day here was for me to introduce Jessica to one of my favorite spots in town, a place I believe I visited five times over three visits here: the Elephant House. Jessica, a fellow teacher and Harry Potter fan had not yet been to this coffee shop. What has it to do with Harry Potter? Well, the brilliant author, J.K. Rowling, sat in this coffee shop writing much of the first novel. Although the cute coffee shop has not taken away any of its ambiance to become a Harry Potter attraction, there are signs of the beloved series everywhere. The sign outside boasts the claim to fame, as does the t-shirt, the photos and newspaper clippings hanging all around, but my favorite spot are the bathrooms. The walls in the bathrooms are so full of clever Harry Potter sayings and words of thanks for the author that you can barely see the white walls behind the writing. It's really lovely graffiti and it warms my heart to see so many people that have been so touched by a work of fiction. Our sandwiches of apple, mango and Brie with our shortbread cookies in the shape of an elephant, plus two trips to the bathroom were a perfect afternoon treat!

We wandered down to the park in between Princes' Street and the Royal Mile and found ourselves entranced just watching the people in the park enjoying the sunshine: a family kicking a ball around, a baby enjoying standing and bouncing, teenagers having a picnic and a young boy relentlessly chasing seagulls around. Everyone seemed to be taking advantage of the sunny day and we were thrilled to be amongst them. 

Getting out of Edinburgh was also an adventure. We knew the major road that we needed to find and we knew we needed to head south, but as far as getting that way from the city center, we knew very little. Out of our parking deck, there was one sign that pointed toward southern routes, but after that, for miles, there was no sign we were on the right track. Thankfully though, we had chosen wisely!

After a photo shoot at the country line, we were on to Durham where our next gracious host welcomed us. Natalie is a fellow Fulbrighter, one who found love here and chose to come back to this beautiful country. We are thrilled to see her and are thoroughly enjoying a proper catch-up with she and Paul.