The three of us began our day with a 45 minute walk to the National Museum of Scotland. It is in the same neighborhood as our favorite dog Bobby in the Greyfriers Kirkyard Cemetery . Ann was not here when we had our city tour so we dropped by on the way to the museum, which was across the street and around the corner. National museums in the UK are free, which is a great thing. We met a few others from our group at the cafe at 11:15 AM. Ann is a great navigator; Beatrice and I followed along. We spent a few hours with the highlights
We started at the top floor terrace to get a slightly soggy view of the city.
Can’t forget Edinburgh Castle!
We left the museum and strolled down King George IV bridge ( which is actually a street!). On our left we saw Victoria Street which was the inspiration behind the shopping street where Harry Potter got his school supplies. It’s very busy there.
Our destination was St Giles Cathedral, an unusually warm and friendly edifice. Unlike most cathedrals, it seemed ancient and modern at the same time, with local artists showing their creativity and giving the viewer a strong sense of community.
The altar was in the center, but in the round, which helped emphasize the importance of the equality of the parishioners. It softened the hard angles.
Queen Elizabeth II stayed here en route to her final resting place. She passed away in Balmoral, her favorite residence. She had a great fondness for the Scots and enjoyed waking up to bagpipes in the morning.
Time for a late lunch/ early dinner before our fringe show. We had walked by Deacon Brodie’s Tavern and it looked appealing. The downstairs was very busy but the upstairs dining room was quiet and we were able to snag a table after a few minutes’ wait. The ladies had the specialty of the house , the traditional British steak and Nicholsom’s pale ale pies, which won the Gold Award at the British Pie Awards and I had basil, pesto, cheese and spinach gnocci with bread crumbs. Everything was delicious and filling. Even with all that, did we have dessert? You betcha!
Beatrice had a special dessert: Cranachan, whipped cream, sweet honey, a dash of whiskey, raspberries and golden toadted oats! Wow!
Ann had the lemon tart with Lady Grey tea and i had the crumble with peppermint tea.
We made our way to the venue to see a comedian named Jason Byrne. He has been around a while and has been in several films, and was extremely popular with the audience, which was young. Many of his jokes hit a sour note with me. Beatrice enjoyed him but Ann and I were turned off by the language. Can’t win them all! The program ended early and some of us shared a taxi. I forget to take pictures of the venue. I will try to do better.
Today was Ann’s last day and it was also a free day. Before the trip, she had the idea of going to see the Royal Yacht Brittania and gotour tickets. . It took most of the day. What a way to endher visit! More tomorrow.
Time is winding down. We get on our own ship on Monday.