Today I decided to do a circular walk of Edinburgh, hoping it would be the same walk that I had done several years ago; it wasn't. But it was pretty decent all the same except for the part with the locked gate that required a detour. Stockbridge is about a mile from "Old Town" the main tourist center of the city where the walk officially started—not that it matters where you begin a circular walk. Getting there was a most pleasant, uphill jaunt. The air here, at least this morning, was like a magic potion. No huffing and puffing up those hills! It felt great!
The route took in some fine views, such as the castle up yonder on the hill:
On that same hill, that being Calton Hill, is this modeled-after-the-Parthenon-structure, a monument to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars, but the city ran out of money, so the monument was never finished.
Tour busses stop here, so there were lots of people running around taking photos:
More of themselves than of the scenery!
I think that hill yonder is King Arthur's Seat, which is a must-go-there, apparently, and I was planning on climbing it tomorrow, but I may have a different plan.
After returning from the city walk and having a little lunch, It was time to visit the Botanic Gardens. These were among the best botanic gardens I have ever experienced. They are beautifully laid out and huge—I have no idea how much of the garden I walked through what with being so useless with a map that I didn't even use one, but I enjoyed the meandering tremendously!
Windflowers! Pretty in pink:
On the way back from the gardens, I stopped in at a sweet little shop that had a colorful display of fabrics from India:
Adam Smith seems to be on the shit-list:
But David Hume with his famous big toe (at least in the rendering) is OK:
This elephant, with flowers engraved all over it, lives in the Princess Street Gardens:
It was exciting to see another thistle-like flower with a bee on it!
Or under it, as the case may be. This flower's name is Cirsium Purpuratum and it is from Japan.
You can see a bunch of them:
The gardens are a mix of an arboretum, plants, and flowers, creating a lush and varied environment:
Very tall tree:
Lily of the Nile, reminiscent of Belvedere CA, oh so many years ago:
There was a spectacular rock garden that had a water fall running through it
The needle work was so fine and it was especially nice that you could get up really close to inspect it!
If you saw the movie, "The Wedding Planner," you will remember the fabulous hot colors: yellows, and safron, and orange. Well, these fabrics were not quite like that, but they were colorful and a delight to the eye.
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