Dean Village

This morning we left Glasgow behind and took the easy and cheap CityLink bus to Edinburgh. Our hotels at each end were chosen to be near the bus stations, so getting to our Edinburgh hotel was handy. We arrived much too early to check in, but we checked our bags and headed out to re-explore a city we've visited several times in the past.

First stop was the National Gallery, just a few blocks from our hotel. It's free to visit, and we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the opportunity. 

Every exhibit room was crowded. But we still managed to see every painting noted in the "highlights" booklet.

The Royal Mile, Edinburgh's center, is largely unchanged from our previous visits. If anything, there are more tourists and the street is more touristy. One wonders how so many bagpipe buskers can support themselves in so small a space. We were going to pay our respects at St. Giles Cathedral, but they now charge admission to enter and there was a queue. There was little else we needed to see.

We set out for Dean Village, an area on the West End of Edinburgh that seems to have been recently discovered by tourists. Unfortunately, my poor sense of direction and atrophied map-reading skills set us walking in the wrong direction, adding steps we didn't need. But we did get to see the University campus, including a 1970s-style student protest against budget cuts at the school.

We resorted to using a city bus to cut out some of our walking. It was easy and convenient. There are at least four (maybe more) bus companies operating in this city, and probably more buses than cars on the streets. People in Britain used to rely on trains, but everyone says the trains are now unreliable. Bus service is ubiquitous.

At first, Dean Village, which is not a separate village but just a neighborhood of Edinburgh, looks a lot like every other quaint little Scottish town or hamlet that we have visited in the past week -- just a lot of old, stone buildings refurbished and still in use. 

However, there is a stream running through this area called, "The Water of Lieth." It was a mill stream in previous centuries, making Dean Village the place where Edinburgh's bakers (or baxters, in Scottish Gaelic) sourced their flour.

The mills are long gone, but the stream remains an oasis of nature in the midst of the city. Walking the path along the Water of Lieth, one could imagine being in a nature preserve miles away. It's a beautiful spot, so far unspoiled by coffee shops and souvenir stands.

After so much walking, a little refreshment was in order. Glasgow has its bars and clubs, but Edinburgh has many, many more traditional pubs. We found one and sat to enjoy people-watching as the busy city went by (mostly by bus).

Our hotel here was the most expensive of the trip, due to the excellent location. But the room was one of the tiniest we've ever experienced. We even had bigger hotel rooms than this in Japan! One person might be comfortable in it, but two of us can barely move in the room. And the bathroom is even more cramped. Fortunately, we're here for only one night.

Indian food got the nod once again for dinner -- not because we crave Indian cuisine, but because British food now basically comes in three flavors: Indian, American burgers, or fish & chips. We could have gone for the haggis, but we've been there and done that and don't need to do it again.