Art in Edinburgh....plus a whole lot more!

The weather turned cold and rainy today, so it was the perfect opportunity to head into Edinburgh and finally visit the Art Gallery.

So, I bundled up and headed to the train station.  Once again, Trevor remembered my name, and as he printed up my tickets, he asked how my visit to the Museum of Flight had been.  He began to tell me about his experience working on the Vulcan, which I had seen at the museum, and he promised to drop off a book and DVD that detailed the particular plane at my B&B later in the day.  He said that Howard could return it to him.

Really.......can you beat that?  And, sure enough, when Marty and I returned to the room late in the evening, there was a DVD/book combination detailing the Vulcan sitting on the desk.

The art museum is very close to Waverly station,  so I only had to step out into the rain for a brief walk through Princes' Street Gardens.   The umbrella did get soaked, however, and there's always that question of what to do with a sopping wet umbrella while touring a building.

But....no worries.....conveniently placed by the door was a stand loaded with hanging plastic bags and a sign asking to please put your wet brolly into one.  Couldn't beat that!

Edinburgh can be a great place to visit, especially since most of the museums are free to walk through.  They are all well maintained, and you never have to worry about finding a bathroom. The people on staff are extremely friendly and willing to direct you or answer any questions that you might have.

You do have to deal with crowds on the streets and lots of foreign tourists (I suppose I'd be one of those.....except, remember, I've moved up a rank to frequent traveler!) bumping into you.  The hustle-bustle can be intense.

So, it was by no surprise for me to find the art museum filled with people as I entered the doors.  But I had no problem reading the placards and admiring the art.

The walls featured many famous artists from El Greco to Raphael to Picasso.   One interesting fact about this museum is that each painting has a placard which lists the title, year of painting, artist (or presumed artist), a description of the scene, and how the Museum acquired that art.

Some were donated from family.  Some were purchased through funding, and some were on loan from other art museum.  Photos could not be taken of the borrowed paintings.

One such grouping, displayed in a small round room, were Poisson's set of The Seven Sacraments.  The paintings were relatively large, and each one was amazing detailed.

Regarding the overall Art Museum, I have a few favorites that I'd like to feature here.

The Honorable Mrs. Graham, painted in 1775 by Thomas Gainsborough.  I can't explain what drew me to this painting, but something about this woman captured my attention.  The painting is quite large, and in such a spot that you can't help but get drawn into the beauty of it. The photo does not really do it justice.

She was Mary Cathcart, the daughter of the 9th Earl and she married Thomas Graham. When she died, her husband couldn't bear to look at her painting, so it was packed away until it was discovered by one of her heirs.  Can you imagine such a beauty being squirreled away somewhere?
The painting was bequeathed to the gallery under the condition that it never leave Scotland.

The Hunter Blair Family painted in 1777 by David Allan, Scottish Painter

I don't know why, but I couldn't help but laugh at the expressions on the faces of this man's many children.

The bottom level of the museum is devoted to Scottish artists.

Do you remember those Cadzow Oak trees that I mentioned earlier in the week?  The 800 year old trees?  Well, there was a painting entitled "A Glade in Cadzow Forest", painted in 1863 by Alexander Fracer.

It appears that their beauty has been appreciated for centuries.

Then, there was "The Falls of Clyde painted by Jacob More sometime in the late 1700's.

They actually appear to be the Corra Linn Falls, but it could be that in that time period, all of the waterfalls were considered to be part of the Falls of Clyde, since they are part of the Clyde River.

Sir Henry Raeburn painted this one:

It is entitled "The Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch" in 1795.  When I gaze upon this piece of work, I can't help but smile and feel like I'm right out on the ice with him.

This next painting, another family scene by David Allan  just looked like fun:

James Erskine, Lord Alva and his family, painted in 1780. What a unique presentation!

It's probably quite obvious to you that I thoroughly enjoyed my jaunt through this art museum, and I am so glad that I put it on my list of things yet to do in Edinburgh. 

I would have thought by now, that I'd seen pretty much everything that there was to see in this city, but as I was walking up Market Street to make dinner reservations for Marty and me later in the evening, I passed a beautiful black wrought iron fence and noticed a sign, "Museum on the Mound:  free admission."

Free?  How could I refuse?  As I walked towards the building, a pleasant man opened the door for me, and directed me inside.   I had no idea what to expect in regards to the title of the museum.

Much to my surprise, this place featured the history of Scotland's Banking Industry.  I walked into Gallery 1 where there is a huge wall display of the metal plates that had been used for printing money over the years.

As early as 1696, Scotland was the first in issuing paper money. printed in 1716 still survives.

Here is an example of one of the printing plates.  Most of the museum had the articles preserved behind glass, so it was difficult to capture a good image.

That is a Five Pound note.  The plate is a mirror image of what the note will look like.

The genealogy of the Royal Bank of Scotland was featured on the wall.

I never really thought of a bank having a family tree, but I suppose, when you consider yourself first among the ranks....you know where to begin!

I particularly liked this banking emblem:  Safe and Sound.

And this one with the boar and the ram was rather interesting

Of course, you need something in which to keep all of that money safe and sound, and this trunk and key with a lock was purchased in January of 1701.  

It is the original trunk.  Two keys were made up, and two different people were responsible for holding onto them.

Here you see the first night watchman chair from 1806:

It was designed to prevent drafts while the guard was sitting in it. 

The museum went on to feature many firsts: An original document of  the first mortgage granted in May 1953.

The first mechanical calculator, and Arithometer, from 1820.

There was a story from 1755, featuring mathematician, James Dodso, who had applied to the Amicable Bank for Life Insurance, only to be told that at the age of 44, he was too old.  Not being satisfied with that answer, Dodso produced scientific tables showing the likelihood of people dying at certain stages of life.  His work was the basis for Actuarial Science as we know it today.  

Yet another Scottish pioneer!

I found many of the pamphlets on display to be quite amusing.  Banks were attempting to convince people to save their money in accounts, or to take out mortgages.

Even his WIFE agrees that they should invest in the security of Halifax!  Imagine that!  I wonder if she really did?

Children were encouraged to save as well:

My favorite line from this pamphlet is "No need to ask husband for extra cash for unexpected needs when it is always there ready for emergencies."  

Hmmm.......can't say that I think that is the best advice to advertise.

So you like the sight of money?  

Well, here you can see what £1,000,000 (one million pounds) looks like:

That converts to approximately $1,610,000.  That's a LOT of cash on display.

But, no worries.......every bill has been discontinued, so, in reality, it is worth zero.

If you walk out of the building to The Royal Mile and turn your ahead around, you can see the dome to the Royal Building of Scotland which is above the museum.

Now, I hear that the ceiling in that place is amazing. In fact, Howard, my B&B proprietor, suggested that I walk inside and take a peek.

I tried.....and was not permitted entry.  The guard was pleasant enough as he firmly held the door to prevent me from coming into the building.  Oh well.  At least he was nice about it.

One last item on the list for the day was to  head to the Scottish Museum.  I had read that there was a "Mary, Queen of Scots,  Exhibit" in the museum, and I was interested in viewing it.

I was a bit surprised to see that there was an admittance charge of £9 to get in, but considering all that I had done and seen for free, and also keeping in mind how far I had walked to get there, and that I had hours before Marty would meet me for dinner, I decided to spend the money.

It was worth every penny.  I wish that I could share some of the interior of the exhibit with you, but absolutely no photos were permitted inside.

I was awed by the collection of original items on display.  As the exhibit detailed the history of this infamous woman, one walked along a time line with cases featuring certain items from her life.

The original Lindsay Armorial from 1542 was on display.  This was Scotland's earliest Register of Arms that depicted the Arms of Scotland and its nobility.  It was on loan from the Library of Scotland.

There was a Book of Accounts from 1548 which showed an entry for 22 shillings to dispatch a royal messenger to Fife in order to recruit sailors for the gallows of the ship to carry the child queen, Mary, to France, in order to keep her safe from harm.

After she arrived safely, Mary sent a letter to her mother, in 1580, telling her of the safe arrival and how well treated she had been on the journey.

Written in 1558 was a letter from the Daughin Francois to his future mother-in-law, describing the jubilation of his impending marriage to Mary. 

I couldn't not believe that these original letters had been so well preserved for so many years!

A few personal religious items that had once belonged to the queen were also on display:

A crucifix which contained a relic of the true cross.  It had once been Mary's and she bequeathed it to the last Abbot at Westminster.  I was surprised to read that this item was the personal property of the Duke of Norfolk. 

A relic that holds a torn from Jesus' crown, also once belonging to Mary, Queen of Scots.

And, finally, the Book of Hours that Mary held in her hands during her execution.

She really was a remarkable woman, praying up to the moment of her death.  She would not renounce her religion, and thereby, was executed at the orders of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth.

I find it amazing that so many of her personal items were saved for future generations to appreciate. And I'm grateful that people thought to do so.

The time flew by quickly, and before I knew it, the museum was closing, and it was time to leave.  

As so typical of Scottish weather, the rain was gone, and the sun was actually beginning to pop through.  It's much easier maneuvering the streets of this busy city without an open umbrella.  That's for certain!

Marty met me for dinner as planned. 

A beer and a bowl of Mussels.  Now...that's one happy man!

Anxiety Conquered......well....maybe.

I forgot to mention yesterday about my pleasant experience at the train station.  Howard, the B&B proprietor, had mentioned that the Aberdour Train Station manager, Trevor Francis, was a bit of a celebrity, having been a recipient of the 2012 Queen's Honors.  He was honored for his unpaid service keeping up the lovely gardens in his off-time, but he surely deserves the award for much more than that.  Let me explain why.

When I arrived yesterday, Trevor was busy helping a young man arrange a journey, going over every detail.  I was getting a bit nervous, as the scheduled time for my departure was coming up fast, but Trevor was pleasantly conversing with this patron as if he had all the time in the world.

When I got to the counter, I was surprised to see a man who immediately reminded me of the character who plays Santa Claus in the old version of "Miracle on 34th Street" with Maureen O'Hara.

He was extremely polite and warned me about the train schedule (not all trains stop at Aberdour), and when he handed me my ticket, he said, "I hope that you have a great trip, Barbara."  I have never had a train attendant notice my name when I've used the credit card in the past.  I couldn't help but smile at that.

So, today, I was in a quandary as to what to see, and when I mentioned the Museum of Flight as being of interest, Howard and his wife set about helping me plan my trip.

I had forgotten to mention that when we first showed up here and Howard greeted us at the door, he was very disappointed to hear that I had already seen most of the area on my own.  "Part of the fun of this business", he sadly said, "is to help plan out day trips for our patrons."  So, when he saw that I wasn't quite sure what to do today, Howard was more than willing to give me advice.

I set off for the train station, and was once again greeted by Trevor who surprised me with his "Hello, Barbara".  He obviously remembered my name, since I was not wearing a name tag, and had not yet even told him of my plans.

I gave him my destination, and he helped me find the best route.  He even printed up the schedule of train departures for me, AND gave me a really cool plastic sleeve to put my tickets in.

How nifty is that?  I generally purchase the off peak return trip ticket, so I am handed 3 cards of the same size and color:  one for out one for return, and the last one is a receipt.  I am always concerned that I'll lose the return ticket, so this bifold with the plastic shield was a pleasant surprise!

Once again, Trevor wished me a pleasant journey, and I was waiting at Platform 1, when I suddenly heard someone talking to me!  It was Trevor, excitedly telling me about the plane in the museum that was the last plane that he would have worked on, after the war, before being employed by the post office.

As he was talking, I really couldn't help but notice that same similarity to Santa Claus in the movie.  His glasses, nose, height, and even his teeth looked strikingly like the man in the movie.  During our brief conversation, I mentioned how I was a bit nervous about getting on the correct bus from the 2nd train station, and Trevor looked at me and said, "Remember...you are not a tourist....you are a traveler."

Wow!  That was a bit of a confidence builder. I should have remembered that when my anxiety level was creeping up later in the day.

The trip involved taking a train into Edinburgh and transferring to North Berwick.  (that's pronounced Bare - ik,  with a bit of a roll to the "r").  From there, I was to take a bus to the museum.

I headed down high street from the station, to the information center.  The woman told me where to pick up the bus.  The schedule was very limited with departure times set out 2 hours apart.  

To complicate matters, trains only leave North Berwick every hour.  So, I had to manage to go through the museum and return in time to catch the next train.  Or, in this case, wait well over an hour to get the train. Needless to say, most of my time was spent "in transit".

I walked through the town while waiting for the bus to the Museum, passing the Auld Hoose.

I just liked the name :-)

And a statue of Ben Sayer which I found equally amusing.  

He is apparently a big name in Golf, but not someone I am familiar with.  

I really can't complain because the "wait" time between transports was spent admiring the beauty of this coastal time.

Finally the Prentice Coach came, and I asked for a return ticket only to be told that I could only purchase a one way.  So, I did that, and asked the man if I would have to ring the buzzer to get off at the right space, and he assured me that he would remember to stop.

Which is a good thing, because I noticed that if no one is standing at the station, the bus just zooms by.  So, one really needs to be aware of where the stops are.   How was I supposed to know that?  My bus anxiety started to creep back in.

When I finally arrived at the museum, I knew that I only had an hour and 10 minutes to try to cram everything in, because the next bus was the only one that would work with the return train schedule.

I was amazed to walk into the first Hangar and see an original Concord standing in the room.

I was equally surprised to see that I could even walk through plane to see the interior:

even the cockpit, which, as you can see had an abundance of controls which I knew absolutely nothing about.

But I'm relatively certain that my friend Ernest does.

Here are a few interesting facts that I learned in relation to the Concord.

The speed of sound varies at different heights and temperatures:  at sea level it is 760 mph, whereas at 20,000 feet it is 660 mph.

A man named Justin Cornell from Portsmouth spent £800 on biscuits as part of a special supermarket promotion so that he could accumulate enough loyalty card points to convert them to Air Miles to book a flight on the Concord.  He apparently consumed so many biscuits that he was concerned that he wouldn't fit in his seat.  Luckily, there was no problem.

The Concord was mainly used by celebrities and businessmen, although the Queen did fly on it a couple of times.

The most amusing story that I read involved Rod Stewart, who apparently paid for his hair dresser to fly from New York on the Concord when he was victim of a poor haircut.   

Do you really think that anyone would have noticed anyway?

When I realized that I had spent half an hour walking through the Concord hangar, I immediately headed out the door and made a B-line for the military hangar, which had been my original reason for going.

Outside the hangar stood an original Vulcan bomber.

This was a British Nuclear Bomber built in 1963.

And there was a Comet built in 1961 for the Royal Air Force:

Inside the hangar were various planes from different eras.

There was a Ferranti Phoenix, built in 1980 in Edinburgh for battlefield reconnaissance.

It was probably the first stages of the present day "Droid".

The Buccaneer was designed to fly under the radar.

It apparently made a horrid squealing sound which was quite annoying to the people who lived in the Highlands near the training flight areas.

Here you see the MiG-15, a Soviet Union fighter jet that suddenly appeared in 1950 during the Korean War.

It was designed to take on the high range U.S. bombers that piston-engine fighters could not reach.

There was also a Nazi rocket fighter

It had been designed to foil the American bombers during World War II, but design flaws prevented it from being successful.

Here were a few surprising facts that I learned in the military hangar:

In 1916, German airships dropped bombs intended to hit Rosyth naval base off the Firth of Forth, but they missed and ended up landing on the city of Edinburgh.

The East Fortune airfield, where the museum is located, was set up as a naval air station to protect the Firth of Forth from German attack during World War I.  The field is located near the mouth of the Firth.

In 1918, the British had the world's first aircraft carrier with a full-length deck located in the firth.  It was called the HMS "Argus".

During World War II, this same airfield was expanded and used for air force flight training.

There was so much to see, but so little time.

I knew that the bus would be arriving soon, so I jaunted across the field for a quick peek at the parachute training hangar.

Here you could try your hand at folding a full size parachute so that it could fit into the necessary bag.

And, just look at that sewing equipment.

Pretty remarkable, isn't it?

There was still much to see, but my time was at an end.  I was just popping my head into the repair hangar

when I spotted the bus barreling down the road in the distance.  I made a dash for the bus stop, because I knew that if I wasn't standing there.....he wasn't stopping.

I made it by a few seconds, purchased my ticket, and took a seat on the bus. 

After a few minutes, I asked the woman sitting next to me if she would let me know when we were near the train station.  She was kind enough to help me out, and she told me when to get up as she pushed the buzzer for the driver to stop.

I thanked her, disembarked from the bus, and headed to the train station.....only to see the train departing.  But, no worries, as I had expected to have to wait another hour anyway according to my original schedule.

So, I walked around town for a bit, and took a seat on the train as soon as it arrived.

It departed on time, and arrived in Edinburgh, when, again, I had expected a 45 minute wait.  I walked down to the usual departure platform, only to find that today, the platform was in a part of the building where I had just gotten off of the train.  So, I headed back up to platform 1, only to find that I had missed an earlier train by a few minutes.  Oh well!

What really counts is that I made it back to my B&B safe and sound.

I would have loved to have had more time to explore the Museum of Flight, but you have to work with what you've got, and enjoy what you can.

And, I'm so glad that I've upgraded from "tourist" to "traveler"!

Peebles to Innerleithen

Blue skies......white puffy clouds.....sun shining......get out and walk!

It just so happens that today was already a scheduled walking day (rain or shine) with my friend, Isobel, whom I met last year on a trip with Marty.  We stayed at her B&B for a few days, and we've kept in touch since.

When I visited in June with Marty, (and I was relaying my stories of getting very lost along the Coastal Trail), Isobel suggested that I let her know when I would be in the area and she'd be happy to take a day and go walking with me.

Well, I took her up on that suggestion, and she invited me to come along with a "Strollers" group that she is part of.  They would be walking from Peebles to Innerleithen, did I want to come along?

You betcha!

I had anticipated the strollers being a bit more relaxed on their walk, but such was not the case.  They started off at a pretty quick pace and I had to work at keeping up with them because I kept stopping to take photos.

The day was SO picture-perfect.....how could I resist?

We were following a macadam path that had once been the site of the rails of a steam engine in days past.   This is in the part of Scotland called the Borders, because it "borders" along England.

The trail took us through spectacular countryside offering breathtaking views. 

At one point, we were walking alongside a golf course.

Notice those men in the distance?  It just after this point around the corner and a bit down the trail, when I heard a WHISH right by my ear, then a KERPLUNK right next to my left foot.  

Can you guess what that was?  An extremely errant golf ball, which narrowly missed my head!  Don't know if you'd be reading a blog right now had it landed there!

We crossed a bridge over the River Tweed.

where we saw some beautiful horses along the side of the trail.

Further along, I couldn't resist capturing this photo with the horses in the field along the river, and a mama duck with her ducklings in tow, in the background, hurriedly swimming up the river.

Just a bit further, I spotted this man fly fishing, but didn't see him actually catch any fish.

Actually, he'd have to be on speed catching, because there was no stopping that group of strollers!

We ended up in the quaint town of Innerleithen.

A very nice fella on the walk with us offered to take us back to the car park in Peebles. We could have ridden the bus, but we decided to take advantage of the free ride.  By then, my tootsies were burning!

Here is the view of Peebles from the car park.

Quite lovely, don't you think?

Isobel then drove us back to Inverkeithing, where I hopped the train back to this quiet little town of Aberdour.  I took this photo from the sitting room in our B&B.

When Marty arrived back from work, we walked up to the Aberdour Hotel for dinner, which was a bit complicated for my order since peppers seemed to be in nearly everything that I found interesting.

I settled on the Fish & Chips simply because we are on the coast, and I was told that the fish was fresh caught.  It was quite tasty.

After the 7 mile walk, I thought I'd go ahead and try some dessert.  The description was a Turkish Pana Cotta with some sort of embellishments involving pistachios and chocolate.

Here's what I got

If you're drooling....don't bother.  Marty appropriately described the flavor as tasting like soap.  The little pink squares were like gelatin and tasted like rose hip perfume.  And I find it hard to believe that those shortbread cookies were "home made".  If they were,  they weren't baked in the last few days, that's for certain!

Lesson learned:  No more Turkish Pana Cota.

After dinner, we walked down to the harbor.  It was once again a beautiful clear night. There is a set of benches along the beach, and we sat and enjoyed the stillness and beauty.  I wish that I could capture the moment and share it with you. 

Darkness, but the city of Edinburgh reflecting off the water.  Bright stars glimmering above.

The quiet whish of the waves lapping up over the rocks.

Not a sound to be heard around us.

And then, we heard the echoing wail of a seal, obviously quite close to shore, with a response from the other side of the forth.  It certainly was entertaining, waiting to hear them having a conversation from afar.

Marty commented that if he wasn't working....he'd have thought that he was on Holiday!