Day 2, Good News and Great Weather!

Day two brought good news. D's bag had been "found" and was in Edinburgh. Something told us that the nonsense about Salt Lake City was BS. The bag probably never left DC!

I think this was another Castle/House near the ruins of an Abbey. I'll look it up.

We were off to meet a friend of K's from her time at University here, but first a quick bite to eat. We hemmed and hawed before stopping at a take-away called Wee Bite. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of it but I had a egg and cheese roll with brown sauce and of course, tea. If you've never had brown sauce, you should give it a try. It's kind of like brown ketchup with a sweeter taste to it. Not bad at all. While we were there, D got the call that the bag was on its way to our flat, so he headed back to meet the courier and K and I headed down to Prince's Street to meet up with her friend.

On the way down the hill, we ran across one of the posters advertising a show for the Fringe Festival. I wish we had time to take in a show or two, but I've certainly put it on the list for next time I visit. Check out the website for more details of this amazing festival. http://www.edfringe.com/

"Man's answer to the Vagina Monologues"? Could be funny.

We met J and his wife M along with their two year old I. They live in Stirling which is about 45 minutes north of Edinburgh and had come in to town to meet several friends. D met us there and was smiling ear to ear with his bag having been delivered safe and sound minus a minor spray deodorant can explosion in the bag. We talked for a while in the park there, had a hot chocolate and then said our goodbyes. The three of us ascended the hill once again (I decided the theme of this trip was stairs, lots of stairs and hills!).

Flowers in the park along Prince's Street.

The train shed over Waverley Station. That's Prince's Street to the right.

The first of many Rovers I photographed.

We were off to see Edinburgh University where K studied and then Arthur's Seat. But first, we had to see Greyfriar's Bobby. Now, there's no way a cat would stick around for 14 years for anything!

Good dog.

After Greyfriar's Bobby, we walked through the grounds of Edinburgh University, around the mall (large grassy park), and then on a main road towards Arthur's Seat, the name for a rocky hill at the foot of the Royal Mile.

I found it funny that there was a business for rental concrete blocks. They were being used as anchors for temporary structures set up for the International and Fringe Festivals.

A dorm on the grounds of EU.

Quite nice and quiet although we were only able to see the lobby.

A back alley with garages near the mall.

This reminded me of Hopper's Nighthawks.

Scottish National Ambulance Service. Not the last I would see of these vehicles.

The beer case at Peckham's, the deli we stopped in.

Broccoli and cheese quiche with an Irn Bru and chocolate chip shortbread cookies.

The case at a sweet shop we stopped in. The turtle I bought sustained me for the hike up Arthur's Seat.

We were trying to locate a sandwich shop that was a favorite of K's while at University, but we were unsuccessful. We did run across Peckham's, a nice deli on the corner. We all picked up something good to eat and rested for a bit. Something that we ran across here and at other places was a different price for take-away or for sit in, aka to go or dine in. Anyway, it was a good meal.

We doubled back to stop in to a chocolate shop where we picked up some various goodies for the hike. I picked up a chocolate turtle that had coconut in it (unbeknownst to me) as well as a brick of Belgian Chocolate Turtle fudge. No coconut in that last one, instead it was like fudge on top of a half inch of shortbread. Fantastic stuff that shortbread!

Suitably refueled we walked past some dorms and in to Holyrood Park at the base of Arthur's Seat. We took the shorter but steep route to the top and were rewarded with panoramic views of Edinburgh, Leith, the Firth of Forth and beyond.

Arthur's Seat from the Edinburgh Pool.

Arthur's Seat on the right.

D surveying the route ahead.

Lots of doggies on this trip. This old girl was waiting for her owners at the foot of the trail.

C'mon guys, I'm waiting!

D and K on Arthur's Seat.

This good puppy was cooling off in muddy puddles waiting for his owners to finishing sightseeing.

Owners and their dogs look alike? Yep.

Caught a fly in the heather.

The heather with Leith (the port suburb of Edinburgh) beyond.

Descending back towards Edinburgh.

Holyrood Park is a great urban park, one that I wish were available to all cities. It was about a 5 minute walk from our flat, just perfect. After looking around a bit on the top of Arthur's Seat, we dropped down in to the saddle and then D and I traversed the top of Salisbury Crags, while K took the lower route.

The Crags were just as scenic as Arthur's Seat and many people were taking advantage of the nice weather. As we were walking along though, I noticed a Land Rover Defender 110 in Mountain Rescue livery on the street below.

Holyrood Park is very popular with dog walkers.

The Salisbury Crags. One trail runs along the lip of the Crags. That's the one we took.

Edinburgh beyond.

Looking back at the Castle with the temporary stadium put up for the Tattoo.

Looking back over the Royal Mile. The top is the Castle and our flat is at the lower right.

What do I spy with my little eye?

A Hi Lux and a box truck showed up next. Hmm, what's going on?

Nice that they parked next to the ice cream truck.

I guessed correctly that there was a UTV in the back.

Apparently someone had "cracked" there ankle back up on the Crags somewhere. We didn't see anyone on our way down, but we offered our assistance. It was declined.

Yep, there was a Kubota in there.

After meeting up with the medic on the side of the hill, we didn't hear anything else. I tried to take a close up of the hood of the Defender with the Scottish National Ambulance crest above the Defender logo, but the driver would have nothing of it. Oh well.

We took our leave and walked by Holyrood House, the Queen's official residence in Scotland and the Scottish Parliament.

Holyrood House from the Salisbury Crags.

The Scottish Parliament.

A rugby squad was warming up down on the green next to Holyrood House. At left you can just see the one dark green shirt with the bagpipes. He was playing all during the warm up.

The gate to Holyrood House.

The Scottish Parliament building.

I haven't decided how I feel about this quote.

After tackling Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags we decided to reward ourselves with a pint. We popped in to the World's End pub on the Royal Mile. So named because it sat on the location of the original city wall back in the day where the world ended for city dwellers. A pint of Belhaven did wonders.

Just rewards after a good day of hiking.

Well refreshed, we headed back to the flat to get cleaned up before our dinner. K had known of this restaurant, The Witchery from her University days. Located near the Castle at the top of the Royal Mile, I highly recommend it.

We started with this nice Chilean wine.

Uh, how awesome is mineral water from the same source as Speyside distillery for the Glenlivet!

My first course was a seafood bisque. It was fantastic!

Then I had the pork loin with potatoes and peas.

Dessert was a chocolate tart with orange ice cream.

The rich interior of The Witchery.

Eagle statue at the entrance.

 

Nice entryway to the garden seating area.

It was nice that it was downhill to our flat because I was so full I could have rolled all the way down. This day was jam packed with activity and we covered a lot of ground with the nice weather. The next day promised more adventure, but with more typical weather for Scotland. Stay tuned to see how it turned out!