s same holiday weekend I took the dogs to Scotland. My plan was to walk for the weekend. We did do that, but it rained from the second I parked the car at the B&B. August is supposed to be a beautiful month in Scot
land, so this year when MT said she was coming in, I naturally figured we should go to Scotland!The month of August is basically one big festival in Edinburgh. It's called the Fringe Festival. For the entire month, there are about 2100 different venues running, including street performers, singers, bands, opera, plays, comedians ... lost of comedians ... and they come from all over the world, hoping to be discovered, I think. You can buy tickets to participate in some of the more popular acts, or you can just sort of wing it, like we did.
The performers spill out into the street and hand out post cards, or do short performances, or shout, to get your attention and to try to get you
to come to their shows. Some of the acts sponsor smaller, lesser known individuals and group them together. A known comedian, for example, might the third in a line-up of three and the first two just getting started.
to come to their shows. Some of the acts sponsor smaller, lesser known individuals and group them together. A known comedian, for example, might the third in a line-up of three and the first two just getting started.
Every venue possible is used. The churches were booked. Sidewalks. Alleys. Small rooms inside of bars. And larger bar had rooms set up for the performances.
We went to a couple of "free" comedian shows. They're free to get in, but they pass the bucket as you exit. But that only works if you can keep your crowd in the room. We saw two shows, three comedians each. #1 was bad. #2 was okay. #3 was actually funny. This show started about 730pm. The next one we saw [different bar] started at about 1130pm. The first guy was bad. #2 was worse. And #3 lost 1/2 of the group before he finished. I think they were hoping we would have had more to drink by Midnight and perhaps the comedians would appeal more. No
t so muc
h.
t so muc
h.The funniest line from the comedian that we actually thought was funny was a routine he did about meeting your friend's babies. He said isn't it amazing that when you friend has a beautiful baby you find yourself saying, "you're going to be a heart breaker, aren't you? You're going to break a lot of hearts!" And then when you have friend that have an ugly baby, what is it that you say ... ? "You're going to have your heart broken, aren't you?"
We also went to Edinburgh Castle. It was pretty cool. There is the sounding of the gun every day at 1:00, which we saw. The one o'clock gun at Edinburgh Castle is in exact synchronisation with the time ball in Calton Hill's Nelson Monument, which is across the valley, and Greenwich Mean Time. 
We took the
train to Edinburgh and back [The Flying Scotsman] for that weekend. It seemed like the 5.5 hours on the train was a better way to get there than the 10 hours it took me to drive last year! And besides that, you can nap, have a glass of wine ... or help a woman traveling with a sick baby. A young woman traveling by herself with a 9-month old joined us in York on our way back to London. We were about 1.5 hours into our trip home. She needed to go and deal with the buggy [stroller] that was blocking the isle, so she asked if someone would hold the [very large headed] baby. I volunteered MT. After the woman was out of site, the baby started to fret, so MT was cooing and talking sweet to him telling him his mommy was coming back, and then she said [you saw this coming right-?], "You're going to have your heart broken some day, aren't you?"
train to Edinburgh and back [The Flying Scotsman] for that weekend. It seemed like the 5.5 hours on the train was a better way to get there than the 10 hours it took me to drive last year! And besides that, you can nap, have a glass of wine ... or help a woman traveling with a sick baby. A young woman traveling by herself with a 9-month old joined us in York on our way back to London. We were about 1.5 hours into our trip home. She needed to go and deal with the buggy [stroller] that was blocking the isle, so she asked if someone would hold the [very large headed] baby. I volunteered MT. After the woman was out of site, the baby started to fret, so MT was cooing and talking sweet to him telling him his mommy was coming back, and then she said [you saw this coming right-?], "You're going to have your heart broken some day, aren't you?"I was hysterically laughing in the corner.
Back in London
, we spent the day doing touristy things. MT had never seen the changing of the guard, so we went to Buckingham Palace. I had never tried to watch the guards at the gate
before, so we pressed ourselves up against the fence right behind a French family and got a great view of the changing. Unfortunately, the big stately doors of the Palace are under repair, so I have great pictures of the guards, with a tacky back drop of plywood. Oh well.
, we spent the day doing touristy things. MT had never seen the changing of the guard, so we went to Buckingham Palace. I had never tried to watch the guards at the gate
before, so we pressed ourselves up against the fence right behind a French family and got a great view of the changing. Unfortunately, the big stately doors of the Palace are under repair, so I have great pictures of the guards, with a tacky back drop of plywood. Oh well. We also had to pay a quick visit to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club, which surprisingly, is under construction and repairs. MT is a huge tennis fan and player. Unfortunately, with all of the work that is being done, you can't walk the grounds, so it's tough to get a view of how big the place really is. I think there are 19 courts. We could have done the museum and maybe that would offer some additional insights, but MT didn't want to do that. Next time maybe.
All-in-all, it was a great visit, and sadly, it was nearly two months ago!
