Tuesday September 3

We learned a bit about washer/dryers yesterday, thanks to Sue's willingness to give it a try. Unless you know what you're doing, laundry can take 3 hours to complete its several cycles, and it is not kind to those who forget to remove a tube of lipstick from a pocket. The rest of us benefited by learning from Sue, and we will leave Edinburgh tomorrow with clean clothes.

We did quite a bit of walking today, heading back up to the Castle and taking an hour-long historical tour of underground Edinburgh, parts of which date back to the 18th century. Including a ghost story or two, the tour was entertaining and interesting. We learned more about the plague than I had known before and more about emptying waste buckets than I needed to know.

Anchor Close

There are often tiny passageways between buildings that are called "closes" in this city. Many of them have good stories behind them. One in particular, Anchor Close, marks the location of the printer who produced the works of Robert Burns and the first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Until 1771, the parents of Sir Walter Scott resided there.

We went to Piemaker for a bite to eat and were not disappointed. This is a tiny walk-in-and-order-but-don't-plan-to-stay-long type of vendor, so we did all of that. Tart-sized individual steak and ale pie and shepherd's pie were just excellent.

Then we walked the remainder of the Royal Mile and across to the site of the National Monument, a sharp left to begin the return trip, choosing to walk through the very pretty Princes Street Gardens rather than fighting foot traffic along the street above.

Bagpiper

Because we hadn't walked enough, we then climbed the 87 steps back up in the direction of Edinburgh Castle for more shopping, and then finally back to the apartment.

Because we still hadn't walked enough, we returned to Princes Street to find a recommended restaurant, Cafe Royal, in New Town. It too was a fine choice.

By now we had walked enough, so we took a taxi, Terry and I riding in jump seats facing the rear, and got back to the apartment yet again, this time to stay put until we leave tomorrow.

13,408 steps today, 6+ miles.