Tea without the Queen, Museums, and Overboard

Saturday, July 14, 2007
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
This morning began at Clarinda's, after a bit of sleeping in (aka we left at 9 a.m.). It was "charming" and "functional" all at the same time. Good eats.

From there it was off to the Palace at Holyroodhouse, the Queen's home away from home for the one week in July when she comes to Scotland . Each time she comes, the people of Edinburgh present her with the key to the city and pledge their loyalty to their Queen. I bet they love it, and she feels about like a school Superintendent at graduation. "I know each and every one of you kids," she says and smiles. Hahaha. The palace looked very much like what we had seen at Versailles on our last trip. The English seemed to take a lot of traditions from the French. The difference is that this place still gets used, for at least one week a year.

After the palace, we saw the even more uglier side of the Scottish Parliament. For people who really, really want their own identity, this place looks like it was dropped from space. Oh well.

Next came the whiskey shop, called "Cadenhead."  The proprietor explained the finer points of single malt scotch whiskey, and also claimed that it is a new drink being brewed in America. We aren't so sure about that. Single means that the drink is produced in one place, and the malt refers to the way they produce the whiskey . (None of that "blended" stuff.) We purchased a couple of small samples that are yet to be sampled. Ironically, in the land of Scotch, we have visited several pubs and seen only Jack Daniels on the bar. What's up with that?

Departing from the whiskey shop, we learned the lesson that we expected to learn on our first day here. It rains in Scotland. We had just dropped off our coats, raincoats, etc. at the hotel because upon leaving the whiskey shop it was so warm and sunny, but within minutes of leaving the hotel the skies let loose of a little North Atlantic humidity. Rich's umbrella tried to reject it by flipping upside down, but the rain won in the end.

The National Museum of Scotland was "really something."  It had a great deal of information, great exhibits, but was terribly unorganized. Emily, they need your help!! We walked from floor to floor, 1 - 3 - 5 - 7, only dreaming about the mysteries that might be found on 2 - 4 - 6- and/or 8 . It was "eclectic" and hardly chronological. Rick Steves, you are wrong. We vote only one diamond.

Upon leaving the museum, whe had the choice of going back to the hotel and resting before dinner, or having some beverages. The best choice was beverages AND dinner, all at once. So, we imbibed and dined. And imbibed and dined. And imbibed. We love Scotland.

Back from the hotel after dinner, we saw lots of chicks and hens. This has to be at least the fifth hen party we've encountered. (Google it for info... it's beyond explanation.) It seems like everyone from Wales chooses Edinburgh for their bachelorette parties. We got to observe several, right in our own hotel's lobby, including one that involved a male stripper dressed in an American Navy outfit, accompanied to the "Top Gun" theme.

It was also... really something. Errgh.

Tomorrow we are off to York and hope that our connections work out much better than our plane flights. We are sad to say goodbye to Scotland, which has treated us very well, but also optimistic about new adventures to come.

Until the next time we find (or steal) an internet connection, thanks for reading.
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