Travel day 2015 and arrival in Scotland

Unlike the last time I launched an international trip from Dulles Airport, I didn’t take my pre-flight meal at Vino Volo. You see, my departure gate and that establishment reside at opposite ends of Terminal C and I willingly used the combination of my age (a mediocre but convenient excuse) and my insistence on traveling with just a carry-on bag as justification not to traverse that expanse. Rather, I had my lunch at Chef Geoff’s (black bean burger with sweet potato fries and a Blue Moon Belgian Wheat). I needed the early drink because I’d committed my initial faux pas of the trip – albeit a minor one likely frustrating only myself.

Riding the new rail transit (I kind of miss those “Star Wars” people movers) between the main terminal and the departure terminals, I noticed two tall women in USA warm-up garb toting bags emblazoned with the Mizuno logo. Of course, I asked if they played volleyball and learned that one was an outside hitter and another a middle blocker on their way to Canada to play in the Pan-Am games.

The mistake was the two questions I didn’t ask – their names and why they were departing from Dulles since the team trains in Colorado Springs and no one on the squad is from the DC area nor did they attend college there. Dope slap earned and accepted.

Other than having the flight delayed and the plane flying well north of Newark on its approach, which gave me a splendid view of Manhattan’s skyline and the new World Trade Center, the flights were uneventful.

Although the flight from Newark to Edinburgh was also a bit delayed, I cleared customs and immigration and arrived at my hotel before 10:00.

As expected, the room wasn’t quite ready so I got my first sense of the city by walking the mile or so to Waverly Station to purchase the GolfLink transit tickets for Thursday’s journey to St. Andrews and day one of The Open Championship. I became quite familiar with that particular route before day’s end. I returned to the hotel and was able to check into my room a bit early. I thought I’d try to have a bit of a nap before my lunch date. That plan failed. Minutes after I stretched out on the bed, I morphed into Danny Zuko at the end of Grease. (“I got chills, they’re multiplying”) and lay shivering for nearly an hour.

Sleep was no option but the clock rolled on and approached 14:30 so I returned to the lobby to meet Bob Johnson, his wife Carol and sister-in-law Gillian. Bob is one of the public address announcers heard at various Maryland athletic events. Carol is Scottish by birth and Gillian still lives in Edinburgh. The Johnsons were visiting and Bob was planning to attend the Open on Thursday as well but they were gracious enough to meet me for lunch on my first day in the city. (I secretly hoped Gillian would have been named Alice so we could have been Bob & Carol & Todd & Alice – linked for any young folks who might read this.)

We retraced the route I’d walked to Waverly Station and stopped for lunch at a pub called Greyfriars Bobby. Outside the pub is a bronze statue of a Skye Terrier named Bobby who, according to legend, guarded the grave of his master for 11 years in Greyfriars Kirkyard (just behind the site of the pub) before dying himself. The dog also has a stone and marker in the churchyard. More likely, he was simply a cemetery or graveyard dog. These were typically strays that were fed by visitors and caretakers that returned regularly recognizing the value of a free meal. Nevertheless, it’s unusual to walk by the statue at any time during the day and not see someone having their photo taken.

After lunch, we walked back toward the High Street (also called Castlehill and Lawnmarket) – a stretch of road also known as The Royal Mile. Edinburgh Castle sits at one end of the street and the Holyrood House a mile east at the other. The Royals would often traverse the road between the two, hence the name Royal Mile. (In truth, W.M. Gilbert was apparently the first to use the term in his 1901 book Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century.)

I suffered a moment of indecision before starting down the hill toward Holyrood. After a few minutes, that included stopping to watch and listen to several of the numerous buskers and street performers that populate this stretch, I decided to turn around and make some effort to see the castle. It was about 16:30 when I got there and it closes at 18:00 so, thinking an hour and a half was too short a short time and with the realization that I’d yet to arrange a Highlands tour for Wednesday, I opted to make that arrangement instead.

With my trip safely booked, I again retraced my steps this time with the intent of visiting the Camera Obscura and World of Illusions. This proved to be a delightful way to spend some time before dinner.

You climb six floors to the Camera Obscura itself. The device functions like a cross between a periscope and a pinhole camera. Light from any object passes through a series of lenses and is reproduced at scale onto a white painted wooden table about six meters across. It’s correctly oriented to the views below and provides a rather curious visual tour of the city.

You can also walk out and take your own photos:

Or have one taken (thanks Marta):

But there’s much more to this attraction than the camera obscura itself and the views of the city from the tower. On the way down, you can stop on each floor for displays called “The World of Illusions,” “The Magic Gallery,” or “The Light Fantastic.” All of these are entertaining for adults but the delighted squeals and peals of laughter from the children enliven the experience further.

Afterward, I had dinner of grilled salmon with mussels on a bed of spinach served in cream sauce with radish and chives accompanied by a bottle of Thirsty Cross cider. The food was a bit under seasoned for my palate (and perhaps that was the tradition Scottish element) but I chose this spot for the restaurant’s name – one which will be familiar to long time Washingtonians:

And with that for the third time in the day, I followed the same route back to the hotel and collapsed into sleep.

You can look at all my photos from the day here.