Scotland... A City Of Closes

After a few days of discovery in Amsterdam, I flew to Edinburgh to meet up with Steve now that his conference is over. We were hosted by his older brother, who greeted us at the train station in a Golden State Warriors T shirt not knowing the relativity of it, in a small seaside town, about 30 minutes outside of the city called Kinghorn. 

Edinburgh is small and not nearly as colorful as the city I had just spent a few days in but it packs a punch in history! It's charm is in its centuries old monuments, the castle on the hill, the way they refer to an alley way as a "close" and how even their "new town" looks much like an "old town." And, of course the bagpipes! We spent our days roaming around the main downtown area marveling at this aged architecture wondering how many tales and stories must these lanes and closes have. One of my favorites was a tall clock tower with the label, "toll booth." I suppose they used to be the entry to town having payed some form of currency. One of the most popular attractions in Edinburgh is a hilltop called Arthur's Seat which gives you 360 degree views of the city, however when in a city, my photog eye prefers to see the details of the forest! If you're in the New Town area, an eatery named The Pantry serves a tasty turmeric latte..must try!

 While Edinburgh is lively with the Queen's Mile packed with live acts and history, I'd be missing out on the sights of inviting Scottish villages had Steve's brother not live a short train ride away. Every train journey into and out of the city gives sight to their Forth Bridge, one that resembles exactly the Bay Bridge of back home, as well as, the Gypsy Carnival grounds in Burntisland. Burntisland is a neighboring seaside village to Kinghorn with a beautiful and large open seaside green space. Apparently, every year and for many months during the summer, this green space is occupied by this random carnival that just shows up. According to land laws, the field is public so no laws are broken although if I was an owner of a seaside home in this town, I'd have other thoughts! 

Warm and dry months or even days and weeks don't come often in Scotland. I was fortunate enough to have brought the sunshine from Amsterdam with me! Next stop: my first experience of England!