We had a lovely view of the Firth of Forth, and then a van came:
Monument to Sir Walter Scott. I guess if you are Scott you get a Monument but not a Night, and if you are Robert Burns you have a Night but not a Monument.
We went to Tiles for lunch:
Proof for a Certain Reader - haggis, tatties and neeps!
Thus fortified, we proceeded to the National Gallery of Scotland, primarily for two shows, one tiny one of early paintings by Vermeer, and another of Turner watercolors, that are only shown in January, by specific direction in the bequest.
We did see most of the permanent collection also, which includes, obviously, a beautiful selection of work by Scottish artists, including a four-piece, life-size, series of embroidered panels, which you can see here:
It was my very favorite. I may have gasped audibly when I rounded the corner and saw them, and I may also have involuntarily made an exclamation along the lines of "good googly moogly!" I strongly suggest you enlarge the picture and then put your nose quite close to your computer screen. Life size. Panels. Four of them. And everything you see is embroidered - not an inch of plain fabric, no cheating, no nothing. All the shading, all the patterns in the gold...embroidered. That Phoebe Anna, she had some stick-to-itiveness.
Naturally, after a shock to the system like that, I needed some cake. Dundee cake this time, in the cafe downstairs.
We took a bus to the Grassmarket area, which is quite near the University of Edinburgh.
http://www.namastektm.co.uk/gallery
The quite young server was advising us on Nepalese food. We ordered some dumplings as a starter and asked him if he would recommend them steamed or fried. "Steamed!" he said immediately. "They will be, um, soft and very delicious." And they were.
Next door to Sandy Bell's Tavern for whiskey and folk music. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/pubguide/sandybells.html It was a close call, because we had to leave to make our train, and people didn't start wandering in with instruments until after 9, but I did officially get to hear some fiddle and flute, and a steel bouzouki, although no squeezebox.
Our taxi driver on the way to the train station told us it was a pity we were missing Burns Night, and also The Rugby: "It's always plenty busy when the rugby's on."
Back to Islington overnight on the Caledonian Sleeper: http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html
I can't say that we were entirely refreshed, since we boarded at 11 p.m. and were at Euston Station by 6:43 a.m., but it is a fun experience. This was the entirety of our interaction with our sleeping car attendant:
Porter: Tickets? Coffee or tea in the morning, sir? Coffee or tea in the morning, madam?
JY: "Tea."
TY: "Coffee."
Porter: Right!
Approximately 6.25 hours later, following a tap on the door:
Porter: Here's your coffee! Here's your tea!
We were already in the station by this time (I had to get up and go out in the corridor to look - there is no anouncement) and you get a little brown paper sack with handles, inside of which is a cup of hot water, a tea bag or an instant coffee sachet, sugar, cream, and a little piece of Walker's shortbread. The instructions in your berth specifically state that you will get some shortbread, and that if "you feel a bit more peckish," you can order a larger breakfast for a fee.
Final assessment of Scottish achievements:
1) Ride to Scotland on the train - Check!
2) Eat haggis - Check!
3) Drink whiskey - Check!
4) Listen to folk music in a pub - Check!
5) Buy a knitted tam - a sad failure, owing to prevalence of snow globe shops. I intend to skulk into the Scottish Shop across the street from the British Museum and cheat.
No comments:
Post a Comment