In Edinburgh, 2021, Briefly

We had unfinished business in Edinburgh. We had stored our European camper there in August of 2019, then sold it in August of 2020, with our various personal possessions still in it. So part of the unfinished business was to retrieve those items and to make sure the camper was still ship shape and Bristol fashion for the new owners. This took the better part of two days, including traveling to and from our hotel in Newington, in Edinburgh. Only the third day did we get into old Edinburgh to attend to more unfinished business.

Going through things in the camper...you can't take everything with
you...there were several trips to the nearby charity shops...old clothes
mostly...but also a few painful partings...none more so than my
Eiger Pivetta heavy duty Italian mountaineering boots...as 
recommended in Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker...one-piece
leather construction...heavy Vibram soles...purchased in 1972...
took me to the top of the Grand Teton and many other mountains...
re-soled at least twice, the new soles trimmed and affixed 
with proper brass screws...I took them to one of the nicer shops
and carefully explained all this to the manager in the hope they
would not simply be trashed...OK, I hadn't worn them since the
90s, and then only on heavy snow days in Montana...and, Vicki
points out, they weighed five pounds each...

More unfinished business was a visit to Cadenhead's for 
another few wee drams

Miscellaneous Royal Mile sights

Small business

Opportunities available across the UK

Father of economics

'Twas the Invisible Hand did this...

More unfinished business...replacing a lost
cashmere McKay scarf...alas! out of stock! but
we found another one upstairs (McCoy is a
derivative of McKay)

Edinburgh Castle sans Tattoo, something we don't usually see

Walking toward New Town

Amuse bouche at our favorite Edinburgh bistro, Chez Jules; hey,
if you're eating Thai in York, why not French in Edinburgh?

Her onion soup

My pate

Her steak frites

My mussels frites; oops, forgot to picture the panacotta desserts

Site of literary inspiration, for Harry Potter (now disputed, I
understand); walking back up and down the hills to Newington

Ginned Up

I swear it was not going on when we were in the UK last, in 2016. Friends who were then big-time wine aficionados now are into the flavored gin thing. It has spread even to Scotland, whose interests you'd think would have discouraged gin. But no. I started documenting all this while we were still in the south. I wonder whether anyone has looked into the conjecture that this may have something to do with Brexit?

Click to enlarge and you'll see the cathedral is offering a gin festival

Bonus recipe: store your bottle of Bombay Sapphire in the freezer. When thirsty, pour into a large chilled martini glass, gently swirling (not stirring nor shaking) anti-clockwise. Be careful not to spill. Add one large olive, patted dry. Be amused at the now frozen olive. Enjoy! Responsibly...

Scottish Out-Takes

And so on August 13th our Edinburgh stay came to an end, as did our 2019 European campaign--which ranged from Rome to Edinburgh--and we flew back to Middle California, Le Sport, and Rebecca's driveway. It remains to post some of the usual out-takes, divided between Scotland and England. And gin.

My favorite dark beer, available mostly/only in Scotland

Seen everywhere in Edinburgh; the Scots voted overwhelmingly to Remain; this,
of course, was before the Prime Rogue did the prorogation 

Still trying to figure out how I got this shot

Definitely one for my forthcoming Rubbish Bins of the World coffee-table book

Of course Trump is yugely popular here too

At Swish, where we definitely stimulated the local economy

Grilling outdoors in Scotland...we were very lucky with the
weather, both in England and Scotland.

Edinburgh Royal Botanical Garden

The Royal Edinburgh Botanical Garden probably will not come up when you search for "best botanical gardens." A lot of things that are not botanical--that is, scientific--gardens probably will. So be it. If you're interested in real botanical gardens, grown from discovery and science, and continuing that adventure, Edinburgh's Royal Botanical Garden is a good bet. We've seen some of the world's great botanical gardens, and hope to see a few more, but Edinburgh's was especially interesting and satisfying, particularly at its way-up-there latitude. I won't attempt any sort of narrative, just some favorite plants and pix. It was just a couple blocks from our flat, and we visited twice, first for the forest and park lands, then for the ten glass houses. Another must-see if you're in Edinburgh.

Our little one bedroom apartment, there in the middle, ground floor; nice enough

The Water Leith; just beyond our building

Entering the botanical garden

Big place

Water feature in the park lands

Vicki walking right by a grove of my favorite specimen, the
Monkey Puzzle tree

Nearly everything you ever wanted to know about the Monkey
Puzzle tree

Female

Wait, no...female; OK so I am not Mapplethorpe

Also, good thing I am not a Monkey Puzzle tree

Entry to the many glass houses...tropical, sub-tropical, semi-tropical, montane,
what have you...

Offices in Dallas used to be covered in bromeliads...

In the carnivore house...

Snack time

Huge border and giant laser-trimmed hedge

Incredible place