Edinburgh and Onward to Aberdeen

We - of course - had way, way more on our Edinburgh itinerary than we could possibly make happen in the two days left us before heading up to Aberdeen and the Maryculter House Hotel.

Very high on the list was a visit to the National Museum of Scotland and we were not disappointed! They had a supremely well-organized and comprehensive exhibit that covered the history of Scotland from the earliest signs of human habitation to present day. We spent the greater part of the day there and had a great time. A few highlights:

A 2000-year-old horse bit - not all that much has changed!

Curling stones - also around 2000 years old.

Peter loved the radiators in the grand main hall of the museum - really fun design.

We tired ourselves out just in the National Museum but decided to soldier on - and also visited The People's Story Museum, which was a reality check on the life of those way less fortunate throughout the city's history. Pretty grim but also interesting.  None of us understand quite how well off we all really are in today's life. We also fit in a quick spin through the Museum of Edinburgh (city museum) and then ran out of gas!

So here are some random views of the streetscape:

Facade of the John Knox house - very medieval!

The view at the top of "our street" Cockburn - the flat was halfway down this block.

Peter has also done some sketches of the views out our flat window:

And a watercolor sketch of some architectural details:

After a marvelous Indian meal we pretty much collapsed and tried to prepare for our last full day in Edinburgh...

Thursday presented some challenges as Peter awoke to a serious back spasm. I collected up some analgesic patches and creams, fed him Aleve and by early afternoon he was OK enough to walk down to the new (2004) Scottish Parliament building - an incredible architectural contrast to the Old Town we were inhabiting.  The Parliament is in recess until late August but here's what the chambers looks like:

We really enjoyed talking to one of the security guys at the chambers about the architecture and the design choices. Fact: the building went 10x over budget at $414 million dollars! It is just so full of complex and unique details little wonder the budget was destroyed. But we did enjoy seeing it and contemplating what history may be made if the September 19th referendum vote is "yes" for secession from Great Britain. Looks like 50-50 odds right now!

We strolled through New Town to see the contrast in street width and architectural design, and then swung back to the flat. Peter decided we should revive our old tradition of taking my picture as I hang out the window of the various places we stay on our trips - so here you go!:

Close up:

We still had one more big event of the day, as I had pre-purchased tickets to the Edinburgh Jazz Festival concert by the group "Django a la Creole" - it was very good and the setting perfect. Two views:

Inside the concert tent - the bass player and the leader/clarinet

Outside the concert tent - a wonderful beer garden with food vendors. The weather has been perfect!

We finally had to say goodbye to Edinburgh and get ourselves packed and ready for our morning train to Aberdeen, so I said my final farewell to the lovely English Cocker Randolph:

(His owner is in the red slacks behind us wondering if I was going to make off with his dog)

Peter is surviving his back travail and hopes to be much better for biking when the tour begins Monday. I'm doing the heavy lifting and trying to keep him in check :)))

Friday - to Aberdeen and the Maryculter House Hotel! It will be a mostly travel and logistics day so next blog installment will be Sunday morning just before the bike tour fun begins! We do have a big day on Saturday with another adventure planned, so stay tuned....