We're NOT in Texas, thank goodness.....Oct 13, 2019

After breakfast by Ray, he looked up the weather to find there would be no rain but that it would be really hot today in Edinburgh.  I hated that.  It’s supposed to be cool here!  So I changed into a cooler outfit and we were just about to head out when Ray looked outside and saw a tour group all dressed in winter coats and mittens and caps.  Hmmmm………..turns out that there is another Edinburgh….IN TEXAS!  Oh thank goodness!  So back to change again.

First we headed down to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard to try to find the tombstone of an Archibald Scott and his family.  Quick pic of Greyfriar's Bobby.

No luck on finding that particular Archibald Scott but found lots of other Scotts.  Will have to return later.   Graves from the 1600s:

Part of the Flodden Wall:

Covenanter's Prison:

Sir George Mackenzie's tomb--poltergeist here often:

Ray visiting with Sir George:

Mortsafe, which was put over graves to prevent graverobbers:

someone who died at Culloden:

We did find where Sir Walter Scott’s father and his sister and brother were buried, among the wildflowers.

Walked past the Museum and down to South Bridge stopping in at the World of Wizardry store the back up to the Royal Mile to walk towards Holyrood. 

Found all my Outlander filming sites--

Carruber’s Close:

Trunk’s Close:

Tweeddale Court where there were printing and publishing houses and an old sedan chair store.  Part of Jamie’s A. Malcolm’s Print Shop scenes were filmed here:

Bakehouse Close—more of the Print Shop and the Brothel Warehouse:

Old Sugarhouse Close:

We also found J. K. Rowling and Ina Rankin’s handprints outside City Chambers:

Checked out the 2 Christmas Shoppes for Bagpiper Nutcrackers but wasn’t willing to pay the price. Amazingly, the store named The Nutcrackers Shoppe had not one nurcracker at all!

Checked out another of the shoppes--a typical Scottish souvenirs store--and I can't help but remember the SNL skit with Mike Meyers as the owner of one of these stores called All Things Scottish whose motto is:  "If it's not Scottish, it's crap!"

Our flat is down Lady stair’s Close which also has the Lady stairs house which is now the Writer’s Museum.  This features Sir Walter Scott, who died at age 61 of his childhood illness, Robert Burns who died at 36 of a rheumatic heart, and Robert Louis Stevenson who died at 46 of weak lungs.

After dinner tonight, Ray headed to the grocery store and I went on back to the flat.  I did the code on the outside of the building then began climbing.  I got to the door and put in my key and it didn't work.  I tried and tried, pushing on the door, etc.  I finally noticed that I was at the Gladstone Flat that we'd rented before and had climbed an extra 2 flights of stairs to get to it!  Back down to ours.  

our flat with its spiral staircase:

Finished our walk at Mimi’s Bakery where I bought my favorite—Oreo Cupcake—which was heavenly.

Later we’ll be going out for dinner.  We have already organized the luggage for Ray’s trip home to get his shot this weekend and for me to head to Coventry on the train to be picked up by Colin & Margaret.  All the washing is done.  Time to relax.  So glad to be done with the rental car for a while. 

And yay that we are in Edinburgh—SCOTLAND & NOT Texas!!!!!

Other pics:

The Boy Wizard shoppe:

Calton Hill:

Interesting art display:

White Horse Tavern:

Tolbooth:

Chessel Court:

Behind White Horse Tavern:

World's End Pub:

Bella Italia, where we had dinner:

St. Giles Cathedral:

Rainy walk back to the flat--St. Giles again--the golden tree beside it was almost glowing in the rain:

Advocate's Close:

Up the Royal MIle:

Lady Stairs' Close leading to our flat:

Writer's Museum:

From our spiral staircase windows, the carvings on the Writer's Museum--S and R:

Rooftops:

Probably on tours gathering underneath our windows tonight because of the showers:

People in the pub far below us but next door just spontaneously erupted into a rendition of "Singing in the Rain."