Chapter 2: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Sunday, August 29
reporting by Janis

We've noticed a couple of interesting things. First, in women's shoe stores, all the shoes are black. Scottish women wear almost all black. There are exceptions to every rule, of course, but for the most part that's the only color they wear. Perhaps black shoes stay looking better longer due to the usually crummy weather … I don't know. Another thing we noticed is that people order food from shops or street vendors, and then eat it outside on the street. Maybe this is due to the crowds here for the festival and there just isn't enough room for everyone to eat at a table. We'll see next week when the masses are supposed to be gone and Edinburgh should start to get back to normal. Actually, the Festival goes on until September 4th , but most things will be over this weekend. The world-famous Tattoo finished the season last night. We attended and will tell you about it in a little bit.

The taxis here are great. They're all the classic London cab, with a huge space for passengers. When we arrived from the airport, we fit all our bags (five in all) and the two of us in the back with a bit of room left. No way could we have done that in Japan, or even in the States for that matter. The cabs are very boxy looking and make u-turns in the streets wherever they need to. Our driver was very friendly and helpful. He's used to Americans … his five sisters all worked in military exchanges after the war, all married American servicemen, and all now live in various places in the U.S. He will go to Denver soon to see one of them.

You can eat very cheaply here in Edinburgh. Salads are not what they are in the US but at least you can find them. We stopped on our way back to the room yesterday afternoon to buy some fruit and got 5 navel oranges, 4 ripe black plums, and five bananas for 1.13 pounds which is about $1.80. We were amazed. Restaurants don't serve ice with drinks, so we're having withdrawal pains. Unfortunately, it'll be the same in London. We've eaten a couple of times at a place called “Filthy McNasty's”, which is a small pub in the New Town with a lot of character. Food and drinks were very good and inexpensive. I love some of the names of the pubs and small restaurants. You can get any kind of food you want ….. at varying prices.

We bought a phone card and had quite the challenge in learning how to use it. The phone booth was a big red one just like in the movies. Payphones take change or cards and are much better maintained than in US …. Apparently vandalism isn't as bad here ….. that may not be true in all parts of Edinburgh, but the areas we have seen have little graffiti, and we have covered a good area.

Edinburgh is a bit like San Francisco: hills everywhere. I think we have walked up each one at least three times. The first full day was rough, but now we walk as long as we can until I can't get my butt up one more step. Then we take a break. There just has been so much to see. The Festival has brought people here from every corner of the globe. Skip met a guy from Prague who gave us his number and told us to call when we got there. He works for Czech radio. He just completed a 150-mile walk up the west coast of Scotland. Yes, he's quite a bit younger than we are. Seemed like a nice chap. For the most part the masses at the Festival have been young and the most of the women wear high heels despite walking on cobblestone streets. I don't know how they do it. I look at each on for telltale scars on the knees where they have fallen, but haven't seen any. Oh to be young and have sturdy knees again!

Street performers of all varieties are everywhere. We saw a guitarist named Tuphan who was phenomenal. Some street performers are so-so, some are promising, but all have crowds around them. People-watching is fantastic. There is a park just below the castle where you can sit and listen to live music from the stage while taking in the sights and sounds (and ice cream) and watching all the hordes of people, and then you can move on to something else. We have seen one woman (the Big Ugly Blonde) several times. She is about 50, with bleached blonde hair, thick makeup, tight leopard-skin outfits, and is hideously ugly. She's a big fan of the street bands and can usually be found in front of one doing something that might be called “dancing” if you're feeling really charitable.

We had ticket for the final Tattoo of the season, which took place last night. This was their 50th anniversary season and the show was great. There was a marching band from Barbados and another one from a Missouri college. We hadn't realized that Tattoo organizers invited other countries to participate. The event was held on a large parking lot just outside the castle gates but still on the grounds. Bleachers hold 8500 people and they were sold out for every performance this year. Performers put on two shows a night, every night, for three weeks. The show finished with a massive fireworks display. Nothing can compare to a fireworks display over the Edinburgh castle.

Yes, of course, we toured the castle. It was built over many centuries on a natural rock formation which provided natural defenses. It has been built and stormed and torn up and rebuilt many times. The highlight (for me, at least) was seeing the Scottish crown jewels.

Shopping is, of course, one of our prime activities. Okay, it's my prime activity as Skip is just not a shopper. Cashmere is everywhere. It's not cheap, mind you. It's cheaper than in the US, maybe, but not inexpensive by any means. I saw a sweater that I liked that was cashmere with silver threads here and there, but they wanted 220 pounds which is $400 or so. Needless to say, I didn't get it. We haven't bought anything yet like that. We would like one really neat thing from Scotland but don't know what it is yet. The kilts are very $$$$$$ and the fabric alone is rather expensive as well. Wool is everywhere but we don't need any more sweaters of any kind. We've been trying to find one for Skip, but you know him. He's happy with old sweatshirts. We've seen lots of silver and lots of pewter. We've visited several antique shops and have enjoyed looking but just haven't found that one special thing.

We're taking it easy today. We didn't get home from the Tattoo until well past 1 a.m. and by the time we got into bed it was after 2. We slept in late and missed breakfast here at the B&B, which is why we bought the fruit yesterday anticipating this might happen. We may go to a play tonight. It's being put on by some Nepalese who are staying here at our B&B. Our thinking is that it may not be too crowded since the play closes tomorrow. We'll see.

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