Still More Edinburgh



Monday we covered yet more of old Edinburgh, beginning with the Robert Louis Stevenson house on Heriot, the Real Mary King Close, more of Royal Mile toward Canongate, and then an ascent of Arthur's Seat, overlooking it all.

Vicki at (very) distant cousin Robert Louis

Stevenson's house on Heriot; the relationship

accounts perhaps for her literary and travel

interests

I was never in to individual philosophers; but if

I were, David Hume would be my favorite; alas,

this is not how he probably dressed

Ladystairs, now the Edinburgh Writers' Museum

A close, in Edinburgh, is one of the many alleys

that led from Royal Mile back down the hill to

the Forth (the open sewer of Edinburgh till it

was filled in in the 18th century); a close

would be lined in buildings/tenements, many

10-12 stories owing to the slope of the hill.

We toured one of the older ones, under the

present city hall, the Real Mary King Close,

which goes well back into the 15th century.

The tour was commercial and cheesy,

complete with ghost stories, gore, and very

bad jokes, but the environs were interesting.

Pictured is another, older close.

Home of John Knox, the Presbyterian firebrand and

Reformation leader; not a guy you'd want to have a

drink with

Home of "Invisible Hand" Adam Smith, patron

saint of free-market fundamentalists; just

purchased by Edinburgh U Grad School of

Business, to be turned in to a musem (seriously);

I can't believe they had not already done this

The very old toll-house near Canongate, with its

clock and tower, where lots of famous people

were jailed, tortured, disappeared

Vicki adds:

Edinburgh, Scotland September 1, 2009

Mark and I left Rebecca's for Tokyo one year ago today. We have packed so much into this year that it seems much longer. We are enjoying Edinburgh and the festival. August is definitely the best time to be here though everything is crowded. But it feels more exciting than overwhelming. I am sure Mark will post pictures of the Tatoo (which was wonderful) and the the Book Festival. Our commute to town takes 40 minutes each way plus walking 15 minutes to the bus stop. Cities are hard to tour from campgrounds. Edinburgh is putting in a new tram so the roads are torn up which makes bus travel very difficult. Also only the sightseeing busses are allowed to drive on the Royal Mile—if you ever come here one of those passes including the castles would definitely be worth it.