castle rock

I know, it's been a while. Nearly six months since my last post. I did take a couple of short trips, including one to British Columbia. But it's been a busy spring, and only now, after a fabulous family reunion at a dude ranch in the Catskills, do I have the chance to wander.

I landed in Edinburgh yesterday, my second time in Scotland if you count the day trip I took from the Lake District right after college, a million years ago. I gawked at the castle, bought a turquoise mohair throw, and gazed in shop windows, longingly.

Since then I've been to Dunedin, the most Scottish city in New Zealand, and to Nova Scotia, where unhappy Scots emigrated.

Edinburgh today is bustling. There are so many tourists and languages all around me. Also, it's sunny. This never happens.

I'm pretty wiped out from flying east, but I have walked and walked and walked and walked. Taking in architecture and cultures and a lot of tasty treats.

Yesterday I climbed a nearby hill above the city. Today, I had a delicious breakfast of bircher muesli prepared by my hostess Joi and heard from the people next door, who are from Monterey. (He plans to ask her to marry him, he confessed.)

The houses in this area of town, on the edge of Leith, look modest, but they are enormous inside, with high ceilings and staircases.

Isn't this a splendid tree?

I've had no time to breathe the past few months, so I didn't want to overprogram this trip. I'm here because a few years ago, Benjy posted a photo of Skye and I knew I had to go there. And I happened to have enough frequent flier miles to get here and back. And it's the right time of year.

(What? You didn't think I was here for the haggis, did you?) This is the National Museum of Scotland. It also looks modest, but each doorway leads to another exhibit hall. It was toasty inside today.

The museum has a rooftop terrace, with views in every direction.

Why yes, those are Andy Goldsworthy sculptures too. Even if they look like ashtrays.

Back inside, I learned some Scottish revisionism. Apparently Scots were first in flight. Scots identified red–green color blindness. And Scots invented the kaleidoscope!

The museum is excellent, with exhibits of sewing machines and musical instruments and narwhals from around the world.

This is not a teapot. It's for alcohol.

 After lunch, I hopped the bus across town to the Botanical Garden, because Janet said I had to.

They were pretty special. Also huge. I walked till my feet hurt, and my phone started to run out of juice.

 Of course there were lots of flowers. I saw a fluffy fuzzy duckling too.

 Everything is in bloom, with the sun shining from 5 am to 10 pm.

Poppies!

Something about this bench made me happy. When I die, I hope someone dedicates a bench in a lovely spot in my honor.

If you walk far enough, a treat awaits. Foxglove is everywhere.

 This section was dedicated to the Queen Mum: a Scot!

Roses as big as your head.

 The flowers in the Queen Mum's section are all blooming. inside is a house made out of shells.

Don't forget to look up.

This seems like as good a stopping place as any. Central Edinburgh has nearly as many cranes as Toronto.

Tomorrow: the Kelpies! Plus a drive north to Inverness and Cromarty. And now, to bed.

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