Edinburgh: Day Two

Finally, my dream breakfast wish has been granted. I had authentic Scottish porridge this morning...and...it was....DELICIOUS! The day started off cool, gray and with a threat of rain, but soon cleared up to blue skies, warm but windy. Michiko and her husband won't be arriving till this evening, so Brad and I had the day to ourselves. We started out at The Museum of Scotland. A wonderful museum recounting the history of Scotland from the beginning of time to the present day. Such a comprehensive collection. We could easily have spent all day there, but we allowed it to fill our morning. Then we went to Clarinda's Tea Room for lunch. We had been there before on our last trip to Edinburgh about 8 years ago. It was as good as ever. After lunch we strolled over to Arthur's Seat, the extinct volcano that looms over Edinburgh near Holyrood Palace. We walked part way up...to the Salisbury Crags and got magnificent views of the city. Then we strolled up the Royal Mile watching the Fringe street performers along the way. We also popped into the Museum of Childhood. They have a marvelous collection of dolls, toys, games, you name it, anything to do with being a kid. The museum has so many items in its collection that it has a somewhat claustrophobic effect. And it is looking a bit worn and threadbare. I'm really tired now...didn't sleep well last night. We will rest up a bit before heading out again later this evening.

Back in Edinburgh

We took the train up to Edinburgh this morning. We'll be staying here for a few days. We've come at the very end of the Fringe Festival, but missed the Military Tatoo. We didn't come up for either of those reasons though. Turns out that Michiko and her husband are spending their holiday in Scotland this year. We came up to meet them during their stay in Edinburgh. They are both somewhere in northern Scotland right now but will be arriving in Edinburgh tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing Michiko again....and to meeting her husband.

Our train left at 10:08 out of York and by 1 p.m. we pulled into Waverly Station in Edinburgh. Our hotel is very close to the station and to the castle. We spent the afternoon walking up and down the Royal Mile, then made our way over to Jenners on Princes Street. It began to rain almost as soon as we had hit the streets. The rain lasted as long as it took us to find a place to eat (no mean feat when everyone else in town was taking shelter in nearby cafes and pubs). The weather kept alternating between beautiful sunny skies to gray clouds spitting rain at us. No matter whether the sun was out or not, it was always windy. The mood in Edinburgh is a bit crazed right now...all along the Royal Mile are street performers or hawkers trying to entice you to attend some of the live performances going on for the Festival. We may try to catch one or two of them before we leave. By pure happenstance we noticed that the Cecil Beaton Portrait show is on exhibit at the City Art Centre. I had missed its run at the National Portrait Gallery in London, so was happy we had a chance to check it out. What a fabulous show. Luscious black and white photos, insightful portraits of celebrities from the 20s to the late 70s.

Dinner tonight was at the Bombay Bicycle Club. Delicious Indian food!

A Drive Through the Dales

Today I passed another milestone in my efforts to take on the roads of North Yorkshire. I took a visitor on a drive through some little towns and villages in Wharfedale. I was driving on one of those "B" roads, the kind that are so narrow there is not enough room for a white line in the middle of the road. There seems barely enough room for two cars to fit side by side. I drove from Harrogate over to Bolton Abbey, where we walked among the ruins of a 12th-century abbey in a beautiful setting along the River Wharfe. Then I drove north through some very pretty little villages: Kilnsey, Burnsall, Kettlewell, Starbotton. At Buckden we stopped and had lunch at The Buck Inn. It had been rated as an excellent pub but I thought it was just okay. After lunch we headed over to Grassington for a stroll and a bit of shopping. Grassington is the quintessential picturesque Dales village with its cobblestoned market square and quaint shops and tea rooms.

I'm so thrilled at my accomplishment. I think I'm ready to take on more dales in Yorkshire. Look out Wensleydale, Swaledale, Malhamdale, here I come. All my friends and family, if you are reading this, come on over. I'm ready to take you for a drive through the dales!

Commercial-free Olympics

What a relief it is to watch the Olympics without being bombarded by nauseatingly obnoxious commercials. You see, in the UK the Olympics is being covered by the BBC. And since the BBC is publically funded, there are no commercials. Suddenly I don't mind so much having to pay the mandatory annual TV License fee of £121.

The Deluge

The UK has been lashed by torrential rain during the last couple of days. The rain has been accompanied by sticky humid weather. Some areas have been harder hit than others. Tuesday was a bad day for parts of Yorkshire. I heard that in some areas south of us they got a month's worth of rain in one day. Several rivers have flooded. Yesterday southern Scotland was inundated -- the A9 motorway between Pitlochry and Inverness was closed due to fallen trees, landslips and flooding. As for Harrogate, a few residents have had problems with flooding and while taking my morning walk across the Stray I noticed several ponds had formed on low grassy stretches where the water had accumulated. Yesterday we woke to the densest fog I have encountered since moving here. In the afternoon, however, the sun broke out and we had a beautiful afternoon. Even so, when Brad got home last night he said it smelled like a wet dog outside. yeechhh. This morning we were pelted by more heavy rain from steel gray skies. All the locals say this is highly unusual weather for the UK.

The Amazing Disappearing Cat

A couple weeks ago, I had an appointment to take my cat Ginger to the vet. I began the preparations for his visit the night before by bringing his carrier out of the garage and into the front hall of the house. The sight of the carrier always sends him into hiding under the bed or some such nook or crevice. If the carrier sits in the house overnight, Ginger isn't usually so jumpy.

The next morning after showering, breakfasting and checking email I checked in on Ginger. I found him sacked out on the footstool in the living room. He looked ready to camp out there all day long. Good, I would scoop him up into his carrier in a few minutes and then head off for our morning appointment.

But a few minutes later I entered the living room to find no sign of Ginger anywhere. I searched all his usual hiding places. No Ginger. I began a systematic room-by-room search, looking under every piece of furniture, behind every curtain, inside every closet. He was not to be found anywhere. At all. I began to get worried. Where in the world could he be? There was no way he could've gotten outside. All the windows were shut. The door had not been opened since I had seen him on the footstool. I tried luring Ginger out with treats. I even opened up a can of tuna. Ginger always comes running at the sound of the can opener in hopes of a treat of tuna juice. No dice.

I was at my wit's end. I had to call the vet and reschedule the appointment for the afternoon. I figured after a few hours, Ginger would surely relax and come out of hiding. By mid-afternoon, there was still no sign of Ginger. Worried, frustrated, even a little bit angry, I revisited all the likely hiding spots I had examined before. This time when I looked under the easy chair in the living room I noticed something I hadn't paid attention to before. The lining under the chair was drooping. I had initially thought nothing of it. This time I felt the bottom of the lining. It was warm. And soft. There was a rip in the lining and Ginger had crawled into the space between the bottom of the chair cushion and the lining, making himself completely hidden from view.

I tipped the chair forward and the goofy kitty came tumbling out. Aha! I had not been outwitted by the cat after all. It only took me about five hours to find his secret hiding place.

p.s. Ginger's diagnosis was colitis. We are treating him with antibiotics and he is improving day by day.