We Walked Into A Pub...part 1

    Did you hear the one about the tourist who walked into a pub.....

   Scots and Irish pubs are a world unto themselves

    They are a distinct and vibrant culture.

   Strolling through a foreign neighborhood, they are beacons where you know you will find a good story.

   Looking for a lunch of fish and chips we popped into Deacon Brodie's Tavern on the Royal Mile at Lawnmarket in Edinburgh...we dropped into history

   Robert Louis Stevenson is memorialized on the walls of Deacon Brodie's because in turn he memorialized the Deacon.

   William Brodie was a Deacon in a Guild of carpenters. He was an upstanding citizen, a member of the town council. But his nocturnal personality was something else. He was a drinker and gambler and had 5 children by two wives. He got into debt and resorted to burglary to pay off his gambling.
   He was eventually caught and tried. The case was notorious in that day and 40 thousand people turned out to watch him hung in October of 1788.  It is reported he was born and hung within sight of the tavern that now carries his name. 

   Robert Louis Stevenson was fascinated by the double life of Brodie. Stevenson's father owned furniture that had been made by Deacon Brodie.  Stevenson wrote a play with another writer  W.E. Henley, Deacon Brodie or The Double Life. It didn't do well. Stevenson remain fascinated and in 1866 published Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde inspired by the double life of Deacon Brodie.

       Slainte!

    There are more pubs ahead on this path.

    See you down the trail. 

Of Monsters

   We've learned "monster" is a relative term. There are monster homes...

   ...monster hunters....

...and monster golf courses, in this region of Scotland. 

   St. Andrews is a lovely village, with an important history

  Elements of the past remain, a Cathedral that played a major role,

   and a castle also steeped in legend.

   Then there is St. Andrews, the home of golf.

  The club house that is a kind of castle in its own right...

 and the old course that is dream of golfers around the world. As one of this foursome told me, when you get a chance to play St. Andrews, you play it, weather and all.

 Not far is a loch that has gained legendary status.

  It's 24 miles long, a mile wide and some 950 feet deep.

  They come from every nation on the globe to take a look and watch for Nessie.
   Locals don't call her a monster. Here she is a gentle creature who resides in imagination and legend amongst these mountains of Glen Mor.

  During our visit a team of researchers, looking for DNA samples were at work. They reported Loch Ness shows signs of eel life in some abundance. 

   Transiting the Scottish Highland one enjoys the villages
with their culinary and shopping offerings.

As you are never far from a pub, neither are you far from a castle.

   The approach revealed the "back yard"...

  and then we wound our way to the front door.

 Ballindalloch Castle has been in the McPherson-Grant families since 1546. Grants occupy it now and the old McPherson Coat of Arms is now a legacy. And you are correct, the motto does read Touch Not the Cat, Bot a Glove.

  I'm still not sure what that's all about. But I learned one of the doors leads to the enterprise that permits the present family to maintain this monster house.

  Their kitchen staff operates a tea room featuring fresh scones, with clotted cream and preserves, tea, coffee and other goodies.

   Revenue from the goodies, preserves and souvenir items offset the operating expenses of keeping up the old pile. 

   The family occupies private quarters, but most of the castle is open for tours. It's a favorite of Prince Charles who has visited here for years when he's in the neighborhood. The Royal's Scottish Highland retreat, Balmoral Castle, is not far. Photos of the royals visiting Ballindalloch fill hallways. 

   The gardens are extraordinary, especially the "rock garden."

   There is a sizable stand of historic trees, including a cousin of a redwood, a national pine.

      Great views from some of the turret rooms, but it gave me pause...

  Ballindalloch is a lovely place to visit, but not the home for me...

   I left lawn mowing behind when I moved to California from Indiana...Look at these expanses...

    and this is only front yard....speaking of monsters!

   More of the Highlands, and then the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Skye, Glasgow, then Dublin, Belfast, County Meath, Kerry, Dingle and more on the schedule. Lot to see and share of Scotland and Ireland. 

   See you down the trail.

A Grand and Textured City

   The fortress on Castle Rock towers over Edinburgh. Scholars says the rock has been occupied since the second century. A Royal Castle was built in the 12th Century.

   A vibrant city of about a half million the demographic skews young with many thousand students. It is the capitol city of Scotland, houses the parliament, national museum and gallery and has been an intellectual and artistic center for most of its history.
  I found it to be a shooter's paradise; texture, grandeur, and architectural diversity. Most of the city is built with Sandstone that provides its unique look. The darkening of the stone through the ages deepens the textural feel.

    In the industrial revolution coal smoke filled the air and darkened some of the stone. It was once known as "Auld Reekie" or Old Smokey. Today Scots are among some of the world's most environmentally and energy conscious. 

    The Royal mile begins at Edinburgh Castle and ends here at The Palace of Holyrioodhouse, the residence of the Queen when she is in Edinburgh.

   This post proves a glimpse of this grand old city of texture with a vibrance of modernity.

   Edinburgh hosts the largest international arts festival,

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as a large International Book Fair, Science Fair and International Film Festival.

   The restaurant below, the Elephant House is a kind of mecca for Harry Potter fans, it is where JK Rowling wrote the series. 

   The Parliament building is a stunning sight.

   The figures on the Parliament wall are representatives of individual voters. 

     

   Stay tuned, the journey continues.

  See you down the trail.