Edinburgh

To celebrate the start of summer (wait a minute, we're still running the heat around here!) and my completion of a comprehensive exam, we stole a long weekend in Edinburgh, staying with two lovely and generous hosts, Ida and Andrew, who did not even know us before we arrived. They could not have been more welcoming, though. We packed in quite a number of sights which I will blog about in the coming days. In the meantime, some random pics in no particular order:

 We got quite a whiskey education in Edinburgh. Mordu can now explain the virtues of

the Campbeltown brews which are distinctively smooth and non-smokey or peaty (these are Springbank, Glen Gyle, and Glen Scotia).

 Street in downtown Edinburgh.

 Building on the corner of a street called "Cowgate."

 Mordu and David Hume.

 Mordu and Adam Smith.

 A typical passageway leading from the street to a courtyard behind the buildings on the street.

 Monument to Sir Walter Scott.

 National Gallery. Its most famous painting is of a parish minister ice skating. 

 View of Edinburgh castle from the distance.

 Downtown panorama at sunset. Those are the railway tracks front and center.

 Mordu and Bobby/Bobbie (everything has more than one spelling in Edinburgh, it seems), the most famous dog in Scotland. See legend here.

Mordu and our hosts, Andrew and Ida, in their conservatory, eating one of many delicious meals Ida prepared that weekend.

 The cats: Mani and Babette. (We have a number of shots of them curled up together in various locations. My favorite is the one below.)

How many cats can you find in this picture?

 Godzilla threatens Edinburgh.

 Panoramic view from the National Gallery.

 Olympic rings are in place, olympic torch expected through here this week.

 The two sides of the Deacon Brodie's Tavern. Deacon Brodie may be the historical figure that inspired Jekyll and Hide.

Typical pub menu.

The Rabbi Rabbie Burns Cafe. Robert Burns is a big deal in Edinburgh!

 We saw tartan EVERYTHING. Here's tartan formal-wear.

 Vegetarian haggis. Quite delicious, actually. There are several different brands and this stuff is generally made from grains, legumes, nuts, and vegetables. We were told that some large percentage of haggis sold in Scotland is in fact vegetarian.

Another brand of veggie haggis.

More to come in future posts, including castles, palaces, museums, and gardens. But that's all for now folks.