dulemba: May 2023

Day 12: Last few minutes in Scotland

Day 12: My last few minutes in Edinburgh - I decided to leave one last Parting Stone at the St Vincent pub - where Stan and I made and met so many friends.

Will it be there forever? Probably not; but neither was Stan and neither will I be.

And last glimpses of the magic land of Scotland until we meet again... One last view of the rapeseed blooming...

and the bridges over the Firth of Forth. Somewhere down there, Johnny is waving at my plane. I will miss you, Scotland. I hope to return soon!

To read about my entire trip, go to:
Day 1: I'm back!
Day 2: HIGH Tea with friends (and a secret)
Day 3: in Glasgow!
Day 4: Dear Friends and a Proper Memorial
Day 5: Farmer's Markets and Tapestries
Day 6: The Vinnie, The Star Bar, Parting Stones, Tears, and Friends
Day 7: with Maureen in Glasgow
Day 8: Porty Beach and an emotional day
Day 9: Fruit de Mer and Seagulls!
Day 10: Food, Museums, and a Friend
Day 11: Last full day in Edinburgh
Day 12: Last few minutes in Scotland

Day 11: Last full day in Edinburgh

Day 11: Last full day in Edinburgh - so bittersweet. Lunch at Chez Jules, my favorite French restaurant in Edinburgh, always good for an inexpensive yet excellent meal; Peter Howson at the City Art Centre (where I once had art shown), this was the poster that made me want to see the show; bimbling about; the thistles outside the City Art Centre; Princes Street Garden to the left and to the right where the National Gallery sits; my man, Sir Walter Scott; the view from the bridge over Dean Village (beware roads that look like they intersect on Google Maps in Edinburgh, they might be very far apart indeed!; drinks with Kevin and Connie, then dinner at Dulce with amazing Ceviche Scallops!

Chez Jules - Lunch specials were 1, 2, or 3 course; although everything begins with a small salad, olives, salami, and French bread. I ordered the modules frites - YUM!

Most museums are free, but I really wanted to see an exhibit at the City Art Centre. (My "I'm With Her" protest poster was in a Zeitgeist show there several years ago.) The thistle is the national flower of Scotland.

The poster that made me want to see the show!

Princes Street Garden to the left.

Princes Street Garden to the right with the National Gallery (also known as the museum on the mound). The weather was SO GORGEOUS this trip!

My man, Sir Walter Scott at his monument.

View from the bridge over Dean Village.

Kevin and Connie - two of my favorite people! xxoo

I treated Connie and Kevin to dinner at Dulce as a thank you for staying at her Airbnb. The oysters were the most delicious I've ever tasted!

Ceviche scallops...they were simply amazing!

Day 10 in Scotland: Food, Museums, and a Friend

Day 10: Taking photos of some of my favorite places to eat in Edinburgh (I can't eat in ALL of them in one trip!); lunch with Hyab in the National Museum of Scotland; a fashion exhibit and Pict history; and a venison dinner at The Whisky Rooms.
Mum's is a great place to get the traditional haggis, neeps, and tatties. Being near the uni, it's also a favorite student hangout.

We used to jokingly call this The Red Lobster; although the comparison ended with the red lobster over the door. Cafe Royal is a Very Upscale place to order a Fruit de Mer (steamed seafood platter).

Maybe I'll have lunch at Chez Jules today - it's a French Bistro, as authentic as they come. LOVE it!

I was thrilled to see my all time fave crepe stand is still there - set up in an old police box!

Hyab and I met for lunch at the café in the National Museum. We were office mates during our PhD studies - we've all remained friends. Hyab is now doing amazing things, advocating all over the world about the treatment and experience of refugees. He's amazing. Together again!

I decided to spend a day in the National Museum of Scotland - one of my favorite museums in the world. Inside is a history of mankind and all the things we get into from the dawn of the planet to modern day. I could spend months here discovering new things! And being Scotland, it's FREE to visit whenever you like!

Fun stuff to look at is EVERYWHERE! Here's Dolly the first cloned sheep!

I took this one for Stan. He loved to watch Formula One.

The famous Lewis Chess Pieces with their wee goggly eyes. I love them!

This horse head dress would have been used for ceremonial purposes. Loki inspiration much?

There is so much to see, this trip, I decided to concentrate on Pictish History. They had no written language, but they did leave carvings, like this magnificent boar. Most of what we know about these people was told by their vanquishers, the Romans.

A WOMAN represented hunting on a Pictish Stone carving. SOME believe that the Picts were matrilineal or matrifocal (if not a full on matriarchy).

There was also an interesting fashion exhibit in the museum. These were SHOES if you can believe it!

I don't know how anyone was supposed to walk in these - especially the copper ones on the upper right. Yup - those are shoes too!

Sadly, I have yet to see the Bute Mazer in person - it was away for some scientific reason. I love it because of the lion in the bottom - how the artist rendered a creature they'd obviously never seen, but only been told about. So much creative practice can be inspired by this idea!

Afterwards, I wandered down to The Meadows, Edinburgh's version of Central Park. Students were laying out in the sun.

I ended up in The Whiski Rooms for some Ardbeg 10 and venison. (You can't get venison in restaurants in the US typically, which is a

To read about my entire trip, go to:
Day 1: I'm back!
Day 2: HIGH Tea with friends (and a secret)
Day 3: in Glasgow!
Day 4: Dear Friends and a Proper Memorial
Day 5: Farmer's Markets and Tapestries
Day 6: The Vinnie, The Star Bar, Parting Stones, Tears, and Friends
Day 7: with Maureen in Glasgow
Day 8: Porty Beach and an emotional day
Day 9: Fruit de Mer and Seagulls!
Day 10: Food, Museums, and a Friend
Day 11: Last full day in Edinburgh
Day 12: Last few minutes in Scotland
) I didn't get a photo of my meal - PAH!

Day 9: Fruit de Mer and Seagulls!

Day 9: I found it ironic that I awoke to a reminder from Facebook of my life on May 27, 2015. SO much changed since that hopeful day.

Back in real time, I had lunch with Penelope at my all time favorite Fisher's - a Fruit de Mer! You can't even see Penelope for all the steam! OMG!

The Fruit de Mer had lobster, langoustines, scallop, Dungeoness Crab claws, clams, mussels, oysters, and razor clams. OMG YUM!!!! Although, we had to ask the waiter to bust into the claw for us - it was tough as a rock! LOL!

While wandering afterwards, I came upon this funny van on Thistle Street!

And then chilling out in St Andrews Square - I took a wee nap with friends.

I've no idea why they wanted to hang out with ME! LOL!

(Click the image below for a short video.)

On the way home, I walked down pretty little Circus Lane!

What a lovely day!

To read about my entire trip, go to:
Day 1: I'm back!
Day 2: HIGH Tea with friends (and a secret)
Day 3: in Glasgow!
Day 4: Dear Friends and a Proper Memorial
Day 5: Farmer's Markets and Tapestries
Day 6: The Vinnie, The Star Bar, Parting Stones, Tears, and Friends
Day 7: with Maureen in Glasgow
Day 8: Porty Beach and an emotional day
Day 9: Fruit de Mer and Seagulls!
Day 10: Food, Museums, and a Friend
Day 11: Last full day in Edinburgh
Day 12: Last few minutes in Scotland

Day 8 in Scotland: Party Beach and an emotional day

Day 8 in Scotland: Porty Beach, The Espy, a bookstore, and dinner with Chris at The Ox (dangit, I didn't get a photo again!).

One of my goals while in Edinburgh was to leave some of Stan's Parting Stones in places I know he loved—places the we loved. One of the best was Portobello Beach. Just a 20-minute bus-ride east of the city is a whole other level of paradise... I took the #26 bus to Porty (Portobello Beach). I sat on the top at the front, with a big window view, just like Stan and I used to do.

The ride is beautiful. That's Arthur's Seat in the background - blooming with yellow Gorse.

With random cathedrals. As lovely as the ride was, I was there for the water... wait for it... there it is! My first glimpse of water!

Porty Beach sits on the Firth of Forth.

Tide was out.

I had made reservations at The Espy - the table by the window - the best seat in the house. The people watching is great!

Afterwards, I walked down to the water to throw in Stan's Parting Stone. Maureen said "chucked" wasn't quite a good verb, that maybe "fling" was better. At any rate, I did a slightly better job FLINGING Stan into the water this time. And as the tide came in, he ended up farther and farther out to sea. It was an emotional day.

From the water, the town looked so far away. Of course, this is with the tide out.

There are different textures to the sand, depending on how close to the water you are. It is always a bit windy, so sand gets Everywhere. I am still scrubbing it off!

It's so peaceful there. Stan and I decided that if reincarnation is a thing, we both want to come back as dogs on Porty Beach. You've never seen such JOY!

I went to Porty to throw out one of Stan's Parting Stones and thought it was appropriate that it all be set to music. Click here for a short video... It was an emotional trip.