Thursday June 15th, we got cleaned up, extended our stay for a few more nights, and went over to the Elephant Cafe for coffees and something to eat. The Elephant Cafe is where J.K. Rowling was inspired to begin writing the Harry Potter stories. Also, according to the brochure that we received, it has consistently been voted the number one coffee shop in Ediburgh. We think that Vee sat in the seat that gave her the same view to the castle that Ms.Rowling must have had when she began writing her billion dollar books. We shared a massive croissant and a tuna sandwich, and coffees while I pecked away on the computer, and Vee caught up with the news. We took our time and enjoyed ourselves, then went to the Internet cafe where we made reservations for our first night's stay in dublin, and bought tickets on AerLingus to fly from Glasgow to Dublin. We tried to make reservations for our Megabus trip from Edinburgh to Glasgow, but my credit card was giving me a fit, and we decided, since there were so many scheduled departures, to just buy our ticket upon boarding on Monday morning. Once finished with the computer, we walked down the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Museum, and toured it's entire exhibit from prehistoric times to last century. From there, we walked up the hill to the observatory and adjoining monuments for some really nice views of the city. Then, we crossed the city, walking over to Princes and Rose street to the FOPP store and bought the Braveheart DVD on sale, then to the grocery store for a little salmon and cucumber on wheat sandwich that we ate sitting outside in the gardens near the visitors center. Since it was still fairly early, and we felt that we had pretty much seen all that we could that was still open, we walked Princes Street all the way down into the residential areas, and then back up the entire length of Rose Street. Along the way, we popped into a pub and caught the end of the England vs Trinidad Tobago match which England won 2-0. The behavior of the cheering English fans in the pub put Vee in a foul mood, but that eventually dissipated by the time we stopped in the grocery store again to collect a light dinner of smoked salmon, cheese, and bread. Back at the hostel, we discovered the fully stocked kitchen facility which made our dinner scraps easier to eat, and we fully enjoyed our little meal before settling in for a night of Braveheart.
Friday June 16th, we had to pack up and check out, because they were moving us again into another room. Once cleaned up and out, we got Vee set up at the Internet cafe, and I came back to do the laundry and finish reading a little book I picked up called "1914: Why the World Went to War". Two nights ago, upon learning that Robert Louis Stevenson was from Edinburgh, I read his tale of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, which although I found the vocabulary and dated figures of speach a bit difficult for me, I did enjoy. Anyway, with clean laundry folded and packed, I collected Vee at the Internet cafe, and we walked over to another location of the Elephant Cafe where we enjoyed capps, stuffed bagels and a muffin. From there, we stopped into the office for the company that runs the tour we would be taking this weekend up to Inverness and learned that they cancelled the trip. So, they put together a custom trip for us, patching together a half-leg of their Saturday trip, an overnight in a cheaper B&B, and a half-leg of their Sunday trip, and a free boat ride on the Loch Ness, so it seems as if it will all work out fine anyway. Just kinda bummed about not getting up to Inverness, but maybe we'll find a way yet. From there, we descended upon the Visitors Center, and confirmed our information about how to get to Rosslyn Chapel via public bus, and then caught the 15A bus for the ride. It dropped us off pretty much at the entrance of the Chapel grounds, and we found quite a crowd already there, in addition to the large group that travelled on the bus with us. There was the usual hefty entrance fee to pay first, and then we got to catch most of the guide's explanation before we turned ourselves loose on the place. This is the now infamous destination for Da Vinci Code fans. It is a Knights Templar chapel founded by William St.Clair in the 15th century, and is said to contain an as yet unopened underground vault containing possibly the holy grail, the mummified head of J.C., and/or some other treasure. At the least, it is a wonderfully beautiful place, covered completely in ornate carvings, and is in the process of a long restoration. We walked the scaffolding above for nice views of the hills, and the chapel below. The bus ride back to the city was fun, and brief. We stopped in the Rose Street Brewery for a delicious pub meal (Vee=grilled salmon, Me=rarebit chicken) and then back to check into our new room at the hostel. Then, lastly, a short walk up to the quickie mart for our nightly refreshments and back to our room for the night.
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