Offal and oatmeal boiled in sheep's stomach is grand, but the Irn Bru is foul.

I might have been a bit late getting ready on day 2 of our trip to Edinburgh, partly because I spent a lot of time taking my shower, walking up and down in what seemed like dreamy spaciousness after the tiny shower of the flat in Islington.  Eventually I pulled myself together though and we went for brunch at Jenner's.  I have a fondness for cafes in British department stores. 
http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk/jenners_edinburgh.htm
There is almost always the possibility of cake, and in this case, inexpensive lunch and a fabulous view.

This fortified us for a walk to the Royal Mile, that runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top to Holyrood Palace at the bottom.  I will say at the outset that we only walked about half of the Royal Mile itself.  Downhill.  The Royal Mile is mostly a pedestrian-only area, probably a national scheme so that the tourists are not killed before they buy their tacky souvenirs.  It's a strange mix of truly beautiful old buildings and cobbled streets, interesting shops, tiny museums, interspersed with shops that will sell you a snow globe with Highland cattle inside and a sporran with something rude printed on it.  Here's where we went:

We ended up at the bottom of the street, where Holyrood Palace stands across from the Scottish parliament.  You can see where Mary Queen of Scots lived, and where the French royal family fled in exile after the revolution, but we did not do any of these things.  We went and had cake and tea in the cafe.  I'm rather letting you down in the matter of pictures of wodges of cake, because I usually have eaten most of it before I remember I'm supposed to take a picture.  And a picture of cake crumbs is even more weird than a picture of a wodge of cake. 

After a brief stop at the tiny Edinburgh Museum we went back to the hotel to meet my friend Patty and her partner Natalie.  Patty has a dream job working with a university exchange program in Dalkeith.  She lives in a castle. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalkeith_Palace
She says it is not as grand as you would think, to live there, but I have my doubts. 

Patty and Natalie took us here:
http://www.hanams.com/
which was fabulous and cosy.  We ordered about half the things on the menu, and the waiter brought us extra things as well, when he thought that JY and I had not selected his favorites.  After a leisurely dinner full of chat, the ladies very kindly took us on a little driving tour of Edinburgh and environs, despite their own jetlag, so we got to see Leith (though not the Sunshine on Leith), and more of the city than we otherwise would have.   Thanks Patty for the Irn Bru (ehm...would you say this is an acquired taste?) and the chocs.