Wednesday, December 28, 1988

A Windy Day in Edinburgh ...

I woke up at 9 a.m., ate breakfast, and, after a bit of confusion about what we should do, J.P. and I were able to catch a local train to Waverley Station to begin our day exploring Edinburgh.

We first walked to Calton Hill, where we got a majestic panoramic view of Edinburgh. It's also where The Proclaimers shot the cover to their album "Sunshine on Leith." I finished off my roll of black-and-white film here (so it's back to color photos!) (Picture #1 is me on Calton Hill.)

J.P. and I then climbed down the hill and walked along Princes Street, looking for a bank we could use. It took awhile, but we finally came across a Bank of Scotland with an automated teller. Next we ate lunch at McDonald's (that's Scottish, no?) bought some film at a Boots, then walked through Princes Street Gardens and up the trail that leads to Edinburgh Castle. Snapping a lot of photos along the way, we finally made it to the top of the hill in the gusting but warm winds (near gale, it felt like).

Paid £2 each admission to enter and tour the famous historic castle, but it was well worth it. We walked the insides of the castle for about 1 1/2 hours, taking more photos and braving the harsh winds. (Pictured right are shots from inside the castle. #2, the entrance; #3, an interesting location for a cemetery overlooking Edinburgh; #4, "Hey mate, the sign says 'Please keep off the rockery!'")

When we left, we walked down the Royal Mile, where I bought a very nice white heavy sweater for £15.95 ... £2 off.

We stumbled upon a library, where we went in to look at the phone books in the hopes of finding Big John's address in Blackburn, Lancashire. It turns out his last name, Whalley, is quite common in that area, so we left the library learning only about the commonness of the Whalley name in Blackburn, Lancashire.

Next we went to see Greyfriar's Bobby (picture #4), but J.P. didn't like it at all, because he just couldn't understand why a statue of a dog was famous. Then we walked to the Edinburgh Art Gallery and strolled around there for awhile.

Finally we caught a train at around 5.15 back to Kingsknowe, where the Grantham family lives. While there we watched Humphrey Bogart's classic "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" until dinnertime.

Afterward, quite exhaused, we plotted our route to Inverness, then watched a bit of "The Cotton Club." I then left to watch "Top Secret!" in another room until midnight. Read some more James Bond, then fell asleep at about 1 a.m.