Day 37, Thursday, October 23 "Princess Street Gardens"

Hi to all who are following our big adventure. Today, David is off to the university early and I stay at the flat to work a bit and blog a bit. Around 1:00 pm I headed up to the bus stop and to the Princess Street Gardens. We have posted this lovely place a few other times but now will show more details.

I packed my lunch, my IPod and a book. It was a nice day; sunny when I first got there but cloudy later on. This is the lovely site you see when you first head down that long stairs, I have spoken about in earlier posts. My destination was a long row of benches that are set on three different levels. They overlook this side of the garden and people come and eat, read, visit and take in the view. My sister Donna, reminded us yesterday that there is an entire other side of this garden that we have yet to visit.

I found a bench with a great view and pulled out my lunch. What a great place to enjoy a turkey and cheese sandwich and some fruit. (by the way, I have become addicted to something called "mature Scottish cheese". It is an organic cheese made with Scottish milk and aged until it is very strong-almost like a blue cheese taste. It is a white cheese. And in fact, they label yellow cheese here as 'colored' cheese'. I guess they want you to know that this is not the color of cheese in its natural form) 

Just to help you get your bearings, this building to the right of my bench and up the hill, is the National Gallery where we went yesterday to see the great paintings. I just sat and enjoyed watching all the people, kids, animals, and amazing views while I ate.

I listened to a bagpiper until he left and then I enjoyed some 'Robbie Seay Band" on my IPod. See the scaffolding at the very top of the middle building? That is New College where David is. The city is constantly having to repair all the spires, gargoyles and other ornamentation on the tops of these ancient buildings. Otherwise they come crashing down on all the tourist and natives walking the streets.  It is quite expensive to put up the scaffolding. In fact it may cost more to put up the scaffolding (around 100,000 pounds or $160,000) than to do the repairs. 

Beside me there was a grandmother and her grandchildren, also enjoying some lunch. I think they had been to the museum, from their conversation. As kids are likely to do, they began trying to share their lunch with the animals around. Quickly this cute little one joined us for some bread crusts, thrown out by the kids.

Just as I was about to leave, another larger group of older students came by with their teachers. They also couldn't resist feeding the animals but this time it was a large group of pigeons and sea gulls. The gulls were a mixture of the typical white ones and some with thin brown lines all over. I've never seen this type of gull before.

Down on the lawn there was a group of older students who were filming a movie. They had three actors who were performing. Two were dressed normally and one had a black cape and terrible mask on. There seemed to be some chase going on. It was fun to watch them and they were having a blast. You can see them crowded around the camera on a tripod.

After about an hour or so, I got up to do a bit of walking. It had become colder and I was ready to move around for some warmth. I walked up to the next level of benches and toward a monument I wanted to see.

 This is the monument to Walter Scott, a famous Scottish novelist and poet. As you can see, it is large and is an easy-to-spot landmark. I have passed it many times on the bus but never gone to see it. It stands just at the top of the Garden.

You can see  how ornate it is and you can also see another example of what I was describing yesterday about the discoloration of the stone.Imagine how hard it would be to clean all these details when having to use specialized methods. I decided not to climb up since I was on my way to meet David for the rest of the afternoon, which would involve a lot of walking.

I met David late in the afternoon for a bit of shopping.  Here are some of the shopes near the castle. It's a funny mixture of very old and very touristy.

 

Many of the streets here are paved with granite or basalt cobble stones.  Here is a paved area often walked on but seldom driven on.  We love the moss growing among the stones.

We ended the day attending a lecture in the Playfair Library, Old College.  One of the most famous lecture series in Britain (and the world) are the Gifford Lectures, named for Lord Gifford the donor.  The first Gifford lectures were given by William James in Edinburgh at David Hume Hall at the turn of the century (19th to 20th). This year, Dr.Michael Gazzaniga from Univ of California at Santa Barbara, was the lecturer.  He did a series of lectures (over two weeks) on brain physiology, evolutionary psychology and social responsibility.  It was interesting, but he let his PowerPoint get in the way of his presentation.  We both learned a good lesson!  Playfair Library is a reference library in Old College off of Chambers Street.  It has a wonderful, classic feel. Here is the interior:

Donna, maybe I will get over to the other section of the Garden in the next day or so to see that Flower Clock. I saw a photo of it last night and it looks amazing. Thanks to those of you who are sending us emails and comments about the post. We really appreciate those who have taken their time to contact us and to give us a little taste of home. Have a wonderful day!