Valentine's Day in Leith

Days are getting noticeably longer here in Edinburgh and the weather is improving as well. So, for Valentine's Day, Stan and I decided to do something we haven't been able to for a while - we took a lovely walk to Leith.
      Train tracks have been turned into meandering walking paths all over the city and the one nearest our flat is a beautiful way to get to get there. The closer you get to the port city, the more water you see, until finally, you are walking directly alongside the Water of Leith. It's so peaceful and filled with swans and interesting ducks like this one.      Leith is filled with good restaurants - mostly seafood places - including two Michelin starred restaurants, The Kitchin and Martin Wishart. But we were in the mood for something a little more casual. Luckily, we got there right as restaurants were opening (12:30). Any later and we wouldn't have gotten in without a reservation. Happily, we ended up in The Shore. We were actually pointed that way by a man festively dressed in an entirely red suit for Valentine's Day - hat included. You can see him in this photo behind happy Stan. The bar was extremely cozy and we couldn't help but fall into conversation with the folks at the table next to us. Turns out Dave is an artist as well. They were all so nice, we're already emailing and hope to meet up again soon. So many of our friendships here begin with, "Well, we were in a pub..." :)
     There was also a great jazz duet - just a standup bass and piano. They were excellent.     Doggies were constantly around our feet, which makes us silly happy.      We stayed for hours enjoying wonderful food (way beyond our pub food expectations), good wine, new friends, and great music. Although, I must admit we were a bit too tired to make the walk home (and it had grown colder), so we caught a warm bus and held hands all the way home. Not a bad way to celebrate Valentine's Day! Cheers!