Edinburgh

We made it to Auld Reekie.

Edinburgh's nickname doesn't come from the smell of the American tourists wearin the same pants for days. It actually means old smokey, an original smoggy city from coal fires used to heat buildings. It blackened the sandstone that built the 7-9 story midevil sky scrapers.

If we didn't read the news, we might have thought that Edinburgh's nickname is Yes because there are yes signs everywhere. I got the impression that Scottish independence supporters were more vocal but not more numerous. A rally in the center seemed to be sparsely attended, but included a communist party booth. Not sure if appeals to the mainstream voter. 

The referendum takes place September 18. I have no opinion either way but I really can't figure it out. The few things I remember from this week is that Scotland's king united the crowns and Elizabeth, Harry and Will are his decendants. 

Moving right along.... You may think we came to Edinburgh to pay homage to the original free markets thinker (and critic), Adam Smith. And here we are at the grave of Tom Riddell.

The real Tom Riddle is better known as Voldermort, but his non-wizard name was chosen right here in Greyfriars Kirkyard. It is in the shadow of a private school with students divided amongst four houses, each with their own tower. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, nothing to see here. 

While Smith isn't buried in Greyfriars a really cute dog is. He slept at his owners grave from age 2 to 16. The city loved Bobby the Dog so much they made an exception to the discriminatory "no dogs" rule at Greyfriars.

We learned about Bobby on our walking tour. We also learned that there wasn't much of a prison population problem here since people were sentenced to death for most crimes, including concealing pregnancy. Yeah a lady was hanged for that, but she woke up in her coffin after being pronounced dead and having therefore satisfied her legal punishment. It didn't work that way for most.

While there weren't many prisoners around, the lack of modern sewage ensured a surplus of butt clusters, which families kept in a bucket until they were tossed out the window. After what I'm sure was a fierce debate, the city council brought Edinburgh into the moden era by requiring all crap clusters to be tossed at either 7AM or 10 PM accompanied by a shout of "guardiloo". For unknown reasons, this system was replaced in the mid 1800s. 

And there's more. Allegedly, the pubs would close around 10 PM and the best sloppiest pedestrians would instinctively look up upon hearing the shouts of "guardiloo". Apparently we all must take some time out of our day to thank the Scottish for the phrase "shit-faced drunk".

There are other appetizing things in Scotland. We all know haggis, which has all the meat that nobody would eat in any form other than hot dog. The Edinburgh Larder where we ate breakfast only had veggie haggis despite being a larder in Edinburgh. Worked for me.

We went to St. Giles which was a beautiful and historic place for me to sit down.

Lots of history there and the castle, which was never taken by force. The castle has a gun that fires once a day at one o'clock. The whole world sets there clocks at noon but not the Scottish. Why not? Because that would cost twelve times as much. I may only have a little Scot in my blood, but it runs strong. 

For the full Scottish experience though, you've got to rent a car and head to the countryside. And if you really want to rub elbows with the local, there's no better way than blowing a tire and going to a Kwik Fix. There's nothing like the temporary local experience. 

Despite our pit stop, we still made it to Anstruther for the best fish and chips. (Period.)

York

York is a popular tourist destination because it is between Oxford, where some of Harry Potter was filmed and Edinburgh, where the story was written. York's other historical significance includes being sacked by Mel Gibson in 1995. We also saw the gate where William Wallace would have entered York, if he had ever attacked the city. He did not. 

But York does have the old butchers street known as the shambles where Saint Margaret Clitherow lived. Buildings jut out over the street because land was scarce and ground space coverage was highly taxed. 

They also have a really big church.

We found a really good free city tour around the old city. Our guide took us through the university, along the city walls, and up the old towers. 

In York, there is Indian food, which we eat everywhere, but you probably already knew that. We also ate at our nice little bed and breakfast, Best Western York Pavilion which was about ten minutes by bus from the center. It felt very authentic with its creaky uneven floors. 

I learned that they have tea in York.

Wrong photo. Here's wifey's set up at the Hairy Fig.

 

Nothing can balance the class of a proper tea like some cartoons I found in a bathroom.

Oxford

For a day trip from London to a college town, it's either Cambridge or Oxford. most people recommend Cambridge because it is smaller, more pedestrian friendly, and/or prettier. I thought we were going there. I did not figure in the importance of a few good imaginary-wand-wielding photos. 

Several beautiful buildings in Oxford were used in the Harry Potter movies. The cathedral was built in the 1600s specifically for the films. The cardinal who built it was executed by Henry viii, a Voldemort fan.

We stumbled on Turf Tavern, a place where Bill Clinton did not inhale...

London

Hello there.

In many ways London was the center of the world for centuries. During that time Britains have created and amassed many of the greatest treasures of civilization. So with all of the British national museums being free, first thing being first, time to get us some culture:

Only Ali made it through. And yes we went to Kings Cross Station and waited 45 minutes for the opportunity to buy a £9 photo of this SUPER cool moment. We aren't just on a Harry Potter tour though. We also wanted to see the historical sites... especially the Tower of London which coincidently is connected to a lot history that may have inspired George R. R. Martin.

I blinked. We did go to the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone, Sutton Hoo, Parthenon walls and mummies.

We saw the Westminsters. I saw an organ concert in Westminster Abbey while Ali got a massage (she had already seen it while I snoozed on a bench by the Mandela statue.) 

We really wanted an authentic London theater experience, so we looked through all of the Andrew Loyd Webber classics before making a decision.

Truly a masterpiece, but not so London. But we made up for it by having a spot of manly afternoon tea before the show at Soho's Secret Tea Room.

Straighten that back Dave! 

Lift that pinky Ali! 

That was exhausting. We went to Lamb and Flag, a pub after the show, a little more my style.

 

We had already been to a few pubs including the Earl of Lonsdale in Notting Hill:

Smithfield Real Ale made the beers that I liked best. 

Ali's bangers and mash.

My mushroom, cranberry, and brie wellington.

The next pub was my favorite. They served Smithfield Real Ales hand pumped out of oak casks and fed me a farmers pie:

Dickens frequented Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese back in his day. We went on a Dickens and Shakespeare historic tour around the City of London (old town). Shakespeare owned several buildings and likely stowed Catholic Priests in this property during the rein of Bloody Mary.

I was a little apprehensive about staying in a neighborhood that may or may not have been chosen because of a certain rom com. Turns out I love Notting Hill (the neighborhood). I found a great artisan coffee place, Coffee Plant. The Earl of Londsdale pub was a few blocks from our studio. We had a pint and yummy Thai dinner in this old pub, Churchill Arms:

 We had a £7 three course gourmet meal in the back of a book store, Books for Cooks (served at noon everyday they are open). The store mascot looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy before he moved to America (thinner). 

WARNING: graphic food porn below.

The Portobello Market seemed like the best market in London in terms of seeing decent British goods. The market on Camden had more street food and the South Bank sounded like a better farmers market though (we didn't go to this one). I want to go back to London now more than I originally wanted to go for the first time, mainly because I liked the pubs, cafés, history, funny names, and our neighborhood so much. We also never made it to the British Library which has a copy of the Magna Carta among other treasures. Hopefully we will see it in November.