Mice, men, bears, and flowers

According to plan, today would have found us awakening at Blackfriars in Inverness for a day tour of Loch Ness.  But as Burns himself said:

The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men

          Gang aft agley,

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,

          For promis’d joy!

And so it was we woke in Edinburgh looking for something to while away the time.  G is still recovering, and finds himself fairly footsore as well as not quite back to normal equilibrium.  The city is a beautiful place to walk, but is hilly and the perambulator-to-be should plan for stairs and inclines.  My motto for much of this trip has been "In Edinburgh,  every day is leg day".

We hadn't been to the Princes Street Gardens yet, having seen them on our bus tour of the city, so we decided to hike to them and explore, taking care to rest frequently.

Usher theatre, which hosted a variety of Fringe Festival plays.

One of the nice things about not being too structured with time on vacation is that it allows you to follow a discovery.  Today it was an arts and crafts fair on the grounds of St. John's Scottish Episcopal Church.  This bordered the gardens that we wanted to explore.

The view of Castle Hill from this point was breathtaking.

The Church of St. Cuthbert was right next to St. John's.  Its kirkyard was beautiful and haunting, reminding me a lot of Greyfriars.

Just beyond the kirkyard were the Princes Street Gardens.  This statue is of Bum the Dog, a gift from the city of San Diego.

I probably took entirely too many pictures of Castle Hill.  This sweep made a wonderful panoramic image.

The Gardens are in a dell formed by two hills, and have a path that winds around the midpoint, descending to the flattened low point in places.

The groundskeeper's hut.

The Gardens are full of memorials, most from wartime.

The Floral Clock.  This is a yearly tradition started in 1903.  This year the clock was planted to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.  Every component save the electric motor that turns the hands is comprised of flowers.

A memorial of Wojtek the Bear.  G knew the bear's story and told it to me as we sought out the feature.  It is a remarkable tale, and I encourage the Reader to look it up!

The nave of St. Cuthbert's.

We made our way back to our starting point and entered the fair.

Hairy coos.

A light luncheon before heading back.

After a rest, we sought out dinner.  Many of the restaurants in our immediate vicinity were not to G's palate, so we found ourselves back at Piccolino.  It did not disappoint.