SUNDAY   
EDINBURGH

Out of the castle and back on the Royal Mile. This is a statue of Scottish philosopher David Hume. Or possibly Fox News commentator Brit Hume. I can't really tell because there is no first name on this thing.
Now here's a guy with both names on his pedestal. Good ol' Adam Smith, father of economics and author of "The Wealth of Nations".
There are many little alleyways off of the Mile that run between buildings connecting streets. The name of this one just makes me wonder about what went on here. I'm thinking whores.
The Mile narrows a bit at the Canongate end where you approach...
...Holyrood Palace. It is Liz's official residence in Scotland although it has been the residence of Scottish kings and queens since the 16th century.
Amid all the old buildings in Old Town is the Scottish Parliament. There is a vote coming up later this year on Scottish independence. I understand a little why they would want more say in their own affairs but I don't think leaving the UK is necessarily a good thing. I mean, heck, they'd have to take the blue out of the Union Jack.
Two words: pig head.
I want to reach out and touch the flame where the street has my name. That makes more sense when you imagine Bono singing it.
And across the railroad tracks is New Town. Not new like in America where we knock old buildings down and put up ugly new ones, but new compared to the ancient stuff in Old Town.
There is a nice little park that runs along Princes Street called cleverly enough Princes Street Gardens.
There is a law in Scotland that says that all statues much have birds perched atop their heads.
The pedestrian Rose Street has lots of shops and restaurants.
We decided to stop into a pub for dinner and we chose The Kenilworth. The pub opened in 1904, although the building dates back to 1789.
Dinner was a steak and kidney pudding with potatoes and veggies. Oh, and of course a pint of cider, my first of the trip but certainly would not be my last.
On our way back to Adria House we walked through St. Andrew Square. There was some sort of art thing going on as you can see by all these bulb things. By day they don't look like much, but we'll come back later.
I always enjoy seeing stores in other countries that feature American things. This is AMERIkandy. It is stocked with all sorts of sugary crap like sodas, cereals, cakes and candies. I guess they pretty have our number on that.
The view out of the back of the Adria House shows lots of little terraced gardens.
The Balmoral Hotel started out as a railway hotel at the turn of the 20th century. Now it is a luxury hotel. J.K. Rowling finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows here. The room where she stayed goes for about £1000 per night. For that kind of money the author herself should read you to sleep at night.
The bulbs in St. Andrew Square change colors, or as they would write, colours.
I don't know much about art but I know what I like. I kind of liked this.
If you ever need to fool a Dalek into thinking you are going to blow everything up with a self-destruct button, use a Jammie Dodger. It worked for the Eleventh Doctor. They can't tell the difference.

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