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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 17:01:46 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 18:25:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 18:55:16 GMT
Ah, Leith. Home of the Hendersons!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 19:48:27 GMT
It's one of those names that you can't figure out how to pronounce if you have never heard anybody say it out loud. But I saw a bar called Water of Leith, and that clinched it for me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 19:55:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 20:17:29 GMT
Cupholder? Place to put the tv remote? A wee sporran?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 20:38:24 GMT
A cup would not fit in it, besides it being a totally stupid place to put a cup.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 20:46:27 GMT
Ask the front desk.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 20:54:24 GMT
That's just what they're hoping.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 21:00:04 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Jan 10, 2017 21:59:27 GMT
Beautiful report!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 22:40:06 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 23:00:33 GMT
Get some marmelade before you leave.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2017 23:17:54 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 11, 2017 0:35:51 GMT
Interesting report and so many good pictures, especially considering the limited amount of light & the weather. So far, the report has corroborated my sense of Edinburgh being a masculine place, despite the cutesy tourist shops. Maybe that's because I think of Scotland as a masculine country -- Robert the Bruce and all that.
The short hours of daylight must be frustrating, although your report seems quite cheery. I love the shrouded Christmas animals and also that lion outside the castle. Lovely views of the port, as well.
In #16, the second panorama view shows what appear to be white vertical stripes on the left side of the picture. They can also be seen in photos of #17. Is that the highway?
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Post by fumobici on Jan 11, 2017 2:13:38 GMT
Loving this. It's almost making me wish I were in Scotland in January, which must be bordering on the miraculous. I hope there will be more.
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Post by fumobici on Jan 11, 2017 2:25:27 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Jan 11, 2017 6:10:07 GMT
The photos on your stroll around this beautiful city really make me want to go back! Very excited to see your report on the Botanic Gardens, we did not have time on our holiday, when we drove by on the hop-on-hop-off bus, I remember standing to see if I could peek at something! You have also shown me a tower I missed having my husband climb, so we will surely have to go back at some point.
Interesting that the room rate keeps going up and up! Are they coming up to a Bank holiday or some kind of special weekend or festival?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 6:13:21 GMT
In #16, the second panorama view shows what appear to be white vertical stripes on the left side of the picture. They can also be seen in photos of #17. Is that the highway? It must be, because I saw lights on those strips at night, but they seemed much too wide to me considering the distance.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 6:15:55 GMT
Interesting that the room rate keeps going up and up! Are they coming up to a Bank holiday or some kind of special weekend or festival? I would have thought the opposite since all of the festivities have ended. It probably just means that it is a very business oriented hotel and it is now back to businesspeople as usual, the ones who are not actually paying out of their own pockets.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 6:28:53 GMT
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Post by bjd on Jan 11, 2017 6:36:20 GMT
Thank you very much for this report. This is all very interesting for me. I can more easily imagine the streets my son cycles through on his way to work, and the parks where they go, before I go to see for myself. From the top of Arthur's Seat, you can see where they live, in Portobello.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 7:04:32 GMT
My legs were dead and my lungs were blowing in and out of my mouth like bubble gum. But nooooooo! There was more. On a nice day, perhaps... but I have not mentioned that gale force winds were blowing and it was icy up there. Portobello beach is on the horizon. And thus I allowed Arthur's Seat to conquer me rather than the reverse. I would go no further. It was actually still early in the day. I had not been dawdling. All hail the conquerors of Arthur's Seat, the vast majority of whom were at least 30 years younger than I. A lot of them had stripped down to tshirts while I steamed in my protective wear. To my credit, I was pretty high up. I had already understood that it is actually more difficult to go down than to go up, if you don't want to break bones or die.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 11, 2017 7:45:08 GMT
Well I am impressed with your morning hike! I could not attempt that but enjoyed seeing the results from your effort. Fabulous photos, it is quite high!
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Post by bjd on Jan 11, 2017 8:52:08 GMT
I just looked it up. The altitude is 251m, which doesn't sound all that high but certainly looks it from your photos. Now that I know what the view looks like, I may not have to do it myself.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2017 8:52:28 GMT
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Post by chexbres on Jan 11, 2017 10:19:32 GMT
When I successfully reached the pinnacle of Arthur's Seat - admittedly, some 40 years ago - there were no stepping stones anywhere, just one muddy trail. I only passed one old man with a dog, who told me that I didn't have the right shoes for hiking. He was absolutely correct, and I ended up sliding down most of Arthur's left flank on my rear end.
I can't believe how cosmopolitain Edinburgh has become. When I was there last in 1988, it was completely Scottish.
Next time you go, it should be in October. It's beautiful, then - not too cold, a little foggy, and all the fall color you can handle.
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Post by breeze on Jan 11, 2017 13:26:10 GMT
One year at the Smithsonian Folk Festival, Scotland was the foreign country featured. It was super hot in DC in July, and the Scots were kind enough to hand out paper fans with a little quiz printed on them. One side asked the question, What languages are spoken in Scotland. I thought I knew the right answers, but when I turned the fan over, Urdu was the first language I saw. I forget now how many languages were listed, but it convinced me that Scotland nowadays is a much more cosmopolitan country than when we visited long ago.
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Post by bjd on Jan 11, 2017 15:01:42 GMT
I just bought plane tickets to Edinburgh for the end of March-beginning of April. I'm looking forward to buying some good Polish sausage and German herb tea.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 11, 2017 15:47:43 GMT
Your ascent up Death Mountain is hugely impressive and certainly rendered some gorgeous pictures. You did not need to go any higher, in my opinion, especially since you had already covered what seems to the be prettiest part. The descent must have been hell on the knees.
I'm intrigued by Chexbres' suggestion of visiting Edinburgh in October, which seems like a particularly Scottish month.
Just out of curiosity, how did you choose Edinburgh over Glasgow for your first visit to Scotland?
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