Edinburgh

We had a lovely day in the capitol city of Scotland. Edinburgh is located on the Firth of Forth (I love saying that!) and has been a political and cultural center since Roman times and has, like everywhere you travel in Brtiain, a long and sometimes bloody history. It is home to Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood (the Queens official residence in Scotland.). It is sometimes known as the Athens of the north because of it's concentration of intellectuals, writers and inventers. Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson and William McGonagall ("The only truly memorable bad poet in our language"!) all spent time here. One of my favorite contemporary  fictional characters is Inspector Rebus, who prowls the city solving crimes and nipping into the Oxford Bar for a pint of Deuchers. Good writing continues to be an important feature of the city, with a fantastic Literature festival. Just now 'The Fringe Festival' is in full swing, with music, theatre and comedy performances in every nook and cranny of the city. The Edinburgh Tattoo is a huge assembly of bagpipers who perform each day during the festival. I'd love to hear/feel those pipes in all their glory one day! The tall tower is called the 'Gothic Rocket'. The pub called 'Finnegan's Wake' was irresistible, so are Jan, Pippa and Phoebe, enjoying a drink with the ghost of Rebus. Thanks for the great company, ladies!

Next: west to Dumfries and the studio/home of a world famous blogger...