Edinburgh, pronounced Eddinburra

We're in Edinburgh with our bus tour. We've been to Cambridge and York too, all in a whirlwind. We'll have to come back to some of these places. Cambridge is having a display of some kind on John Milton, Greg's main man, through July something. That may be worth a train trip up.

Edinburgh is a really cool city. Something like half a million people, but it's all pretty compact. It's a three-dimensional city, with alleyways ("closes") and stairways dodging off a street into hidden courtyards with unimagined little shops and museums. It's like a drawing by Escher with those stairways going to inverted stairways etc. Dizzying, but we're learning to get around.

History lies thick all through this town. They honor their writers as well as their kings and soldiers: the most conspicuous memorial in town is a towering Gothic spire housing a marble statue of Sir Walter Scott. There's a writer's museum devoted to Scott, Robbie Burns, and R. L. Stevenson. A local pub has quotes from Scottish poets on all the walls.

Last night we took a "Literary Pub Tour" led by two actors in the characters of "Mr. Clart" (meaning filthy) and "Ms. McBrain" arguing whether Edinburgh's poets dwelt in the airy world of refinement and intellect, or with the common people in the pubs, gutters, and worse. They came to a consensus that blended the two, which is probably about right. They were witty and friendly and full of information. We enjoyed it much more than we probably would have enjoyed the optional activity the tour had planned, but then we don't know, do we? We just have to enjoy whatever we find ourselves doing.

Tomorrow morning we're on to Grasmere (Wordsworth country -- we already walked through there) and on toward the south part of England. More as we get the chance. Maybe some pictures next time. We're making a list of the ones we want to upload and show you.

G&S