Photos from my March Scotland adventure with my visiting parents continue:
After leaving Edinburgh Castle, we ducked into what looked like a little storefront selling tartan blankets and scarves and turned out to be a massive showroom with fun little weaving exhibits set up throughout.
Weaving tartan (plaid) fabric at the Scottish Tartans Museum on the Royal Mile next to the Edinburgh Castle gates.
The place is a maze and you have to walk through huge rooms and shopping areas to get out (they obviously want you to buy) but I was very happy to buy a lovely thick, tartan wool blanket that was woven right in Edinburgh. I've wanted one for ages, both for picnicking and as an extra bed blanket (they're soft and warm over a duvet on cold winter's nights) and I was glad to get an authentic one at a good price.
We then walked down a hill that was alive with spring flowers and grabbed some lunch, which we ate hillside looking over the Old Town.
After lunch we headed back to the National Galleries of Scotland (at the bottom of the hill we'd descended from the Royal Mile), which had a rather fabulous art collection with many famous pieces, such as the Skating Minister. My mother is an artist and going to art museums together is a favorite hobby, so we spent several hours in the place (taking a nice break for tea and cake in the gallery tea shop) until they shooed us out of the galleries for closing. We then spent a long time in the gallery shop until they shooed us out of there, too. "You could've made a lot more money if you'd let her stay longer," I muttered to the shopkeeper, as my art-dazed mother hurriedly brought a few more things to the till.
We strolled about the city's old town a bit more, watching sunset over the hills and ancient streets, before enjoying a great Italian meal. After this we walked up to the castle one more time, just to see the Royal Mile and city below with its nighttime light display.
Finally we caught a bus back to our charming little B&B a few miles away for a well-deserved rest before getting up the next morning for a hot breakfast and sojourn to Stirling.
The Skating Minister mouse pad adorns my art room and reminds me of the great collection in the National Gallery of Scotland, and those hasty store shop employees that did not understand my need to purchase more cool stuff for all my 650 art students.