Back online from Edinburgh

We're in Scotland now, having arrived Sunday afternoon. It took a while to sort out our Internet connections, so that's why we were offline for a bit. For a very fancy hotel, the connections here aren't very good (and are very expensive).

But that's minor stuff. We've had quite a bit of fun the first 24 hours or so in Edinburgh.

First we checked in, unpacked and then went downstairs for an old-fashioned "afternoon tea" in one of the lounges of the hotel. There was so much food (breads, sandwiches, little tarts, scones, etc.) that we had plenty to box up for later -- actually a couple days of "laters," I think. Very civilized.

To work that off, we walked over to the "Royal Mile," which is pretty much what the name would suggest: A cobblestone street lined with restaurants and both fancy and touristy stores that stretches from Edinburgh Castle down to Holyrood Castle (now the Queen's official residence here) with various interesting things to see in between.

We first walked up toward Edinburgh Castle, then down to the bottom. Since we started at the halfway point, I guess we ended up doing two miles on it.

In the middle, or so, we caught the end of the British Open from a table at a pub -- Brodie's Tavern, named after one of the family members of Deacon Brodie (who was the inspiration, supposedly, for Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde).

Today, we wanted to take a train up to see St. Andrew's, but they're doing work on the lines and the alternative -- going by bus -- would have taken at least two hours each way. So instead, we toured around here again. We went back to Edinburgh Castle and probably spent two hours there, doing the audio guide thing and everything. They've got the Scottish Crown jewels on display, lots of history about battles with the English and excellent views.

After that, we did the rather modern and a bit hokey "Scottish Whisky Experience," which includes a taste and a complimentary whisky glass. Then a walk down to see the statue of Greyfriar's Bobby (see photo), who supposedly watched over his master's grave for 14 years. We revived ourselves in the pub named for him that you see in the background.

Then it was back to the Royal Mile for a look in the Writer's Museum, where they have artifacts from Walter Scott, Robert Burns and Stevenson (including his fishing rod).

Dinner was pasta outside on the Mile at a tratorria. Then we walked back to the hotel, where C has now finished "the book" and is wrapping up preparations for her Wed. interview.

If you're interested in seeing what the office did with the audio and photos I sent from London Friday night/Saturday morning, the package is here. Five of the photos are mine. The audio is all from what I collected.