England - Scotland 2005, part II

Today started with a trip to Palm Sunday services at the church Helen and I will be getting married at in September. I’d say it was about 15% full, and they say the English have lost their faith. Anyway it was bearable but the meet and greet with all the throngs of parishioners was almost too much. Younger English are taking better care of their teeth. These people weren’t young, unless that is your frame of reference was dirt.

After ducking out it was off to Edinburgh and my first visit to Scotland. Today on the road I was greeted with odd ball American vehicles. I spied a white mid 90’s Lincoln Town Car, a late 80’s Ford Mustang 5.0 replete with JC Whitney bolt on crap, a newer Chevy Astro (yes, Astro!) conversion van and a Harley-Davidson edition Ford F-150 crew cab.

As for the drive it was pleasant. Cruised along the M6 at 95 mph for a good clip. The 407 did ride smooth at speed but you needed to bring a lunch to get there. The last 30 miles of the trip was on the twisty 2 lane A702 which included many 5th-3rd shifts just to keep the Peugeot moving.

Me, driving along the A702 in Scotland... slowly.
Once in town we got a room and headed towards the castle. By the time we walked up to the top it was almost closing time. We checked out a “kilt store” directly in front of the castle’s entrance that was such a cheese ball tourist trap it’d make a huckster from Pigeon Forge TN blush. After the laugh we stopped into Maggie Dickson’s for a pint. The pub is in the heart of the action on Grassmarket.

Maggie Dickson’s was named after a poor women who had been hanged (apparently for having a child out of wedlock, ouch!) but had somehow managed to survive the hanging, was then pardoned and lived for many years in Edinburgh afterwards. The Grassmarket area seems to have been the center for public executions in Edinburgh, an area that now hosts the nightly execution of many brain cells based on the high number of pubs. You say these streets were covered in the blood, urine and feces of the dammed? Make that two pints of bitters.