Tuesday 24 April 2012
Okay getting up at 5AM from the Liverpool port wasn’t fun but at least we had our guide Phil’s CD of “When John Met Paul” to listen to as we drove north to Edinburgh. We passed Lockerbie, famous for its jet crash and ensuing terrorist law suit. When Dian used the roadside to "water some flowers" she inadvertently stepped in a green gelatinous mass that made a squishing sound. What it was she’ll never know but it and the two dead rabbits and crow hanging from the fence were creepy enough to have her running back to the van. Nicole saw a reindeer sign that had big antlers (unlike the more docile looking deer signs we’d seen) and someone had painted a red nose on it.
We entered the “Athens of Scotland” after a quick lunch of tuna and hard- boiled egg sandwiches plus hot chocolate. (It was great having the stove – especially in cold weather). The wee (little) parking problem got sorted (cleared up) and we managed to find street parking right below the Edinburgh Castle. This incredible site was once a volcano and so the rocky pedestal upon which the castle sat had a medieval menace about it. Charles took care of the menacing feeling by taking the whiskey “Experience Tour”- free as a journalist. The cars each person sat in had a hologram/animation that told about the distillery process and at the end was a nice taste and complimentary souvenir glass.
While he was enjoying that, Dian and Nicole hiked up to the castle grounds then down to the tartan wool factory where the workers were seen at looms turning out beautiful clan tartans. We read that the Andrews name fell under the Ross clan. The Camera Obscura shop was cool and Nicole couldn’t resist a flip book animation. Reuniting at the Edinburgh Festival Headquarters Hall we were able to shake out our umbrellas and get warmed up a bit. We heard on the radio it was the wettest drought they’d ever had and a month’s worth of rain was expected to fall or had already fallen in April. We couldn’t talk to anyone about the weather without them either apologizing or saying, “Too bad you weren’t here in March.”
Before leaving the grand city we went to the Writers Museum. The three honored authors were Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Let’s put it this way, Scottish people LOVE their native sons. Robbie Burns who wrote "Auld Lang Syne" among hundreds of other poems was a ploughman nearly up to his early demise at age 37. Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote "Treasure Island" and "Doctor Jeckle and Mr. Hyde" based the latter story on a real deacon who was hanged for immoral behaviour even though he was a pious church leader by day in Edinburgh. We saw the actual printing press that Sir Walter Scott used and couldn’t help but be amused by the mannequins with voice overs explaining how the press was used.
Driving out of town we passed Saint Nigel’s Cathedral among other landmarks and soon we were back "on the road again" heading towards northern Scotland. (We made it a practice to sing the opening strains of Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" everytime we started a new day of driving albeit in a minor key sometimes). We stopped after passing by the Glen Eagle PGA Golf Course and said a silent prayer that Donald Trump would keep his greedy hands off of Scotland’s property. (Many people we met complained that he had already bought up media arteries and wanted to make Scotland like America. NO THANKS!)
We entered the “Athens of Scotland” after a quick lunch of tuna and hard- boiled egg sandwiches plus hot chocolate. (It was great having the stove – especially in cold weather). The wee (little) parking problem got sorted (cleared up) and we managed to find street parking right below the Edinburgh Castle. This incredible site was once a volcano and so the rocky pedestal upon which the castle sat had a medieval menace about it. Charles took care of the menacing feeling by taking the whiskey “Experience Tour”- free as a journalist. The cars each person sat in had a hologram/animation that told about the distillery process and at the end was a nice taste and complimentary souvenir glass. |
| Wool worker |
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| Scotch Whiskey Experience |
Before leaving the grand city we went to the Writers Museum. The three honored authors were Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. Let’s put it this way, Scottish people LOVE their native sons. Robbie Burns who wrote "Auld Lang Syne" among hundreds of other poems was a ploughman nearly up to his early demise at age 37. Robert Louis Stevenson who wrote "Treasure Island" and "Doctor Jeckle and Mr. Hyde" based the latter story on a real deacon who was hanged for immoral behaviour even though he was a pious church leader by day in Edinburgh. We saw the actual printing press that Sir Walter Scott used and couldn’t help but be amused by the mannequins with voice overs explaining how the press was used. 
Driving out of town we passed Saint Nigel’s Cathedral among other landmarks and soon we were back "on the road again" heading towards northern Scotland. (We made it a practice to sing the opening strains of Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" everytime we started a new day of driving albeit in a minor key sometimes). We stopped after passing by the Glen Eagle PGA Golf Course and said a silent prayer that Donald Trump would keep his greedy hands off of Scotland’s property. (Many people we met complained that he had already bought up media arteries and wanted to make Scotland like America. NO THANKS!) |
| In the Writers' Museum |
We finally landed at a little gas station with a 24 hour truck stop into which we squeezed, had pasta with peas and fell asleep to the coming and going of four wheelers. Charles, God bless him, went into the cafe part of the gas station and sorted photos till the battery on the computer got low.
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