Continuing with the Royal Mile ramble...

One of the last things we visited in the Royal Mile was John Knox's old house, which has an exhibit in it as well as a café and a small bookstore. John Knox, by the way, is probably the best known Reformation figure of Scotland, so he's a very important figure. My friend's church is also nearby in the Royal Mile. The streets are cobblestone, actually I heard someone at the Castle refer to it as cobblebrick. There are nice sidewalks with stairs, which helps a lot to walk on. Anyway, we walked back and forth a bit, and suddenly (I don't know how, I guess I wasn't paying attention) we were in New Town. That is the more modern part of the city, which reminds me of how Atlanta looks in many places, with what we consider historic buildings (stone buildings dating to the late 1800s/early 1900s). Those stone buildings are considered modern here, while Gothic and Victorian styles are historic. The buildings in New Town are much lower too, at least the ones I saw. Not more than a dozen floors. As a consequence, the sun will hit you right between the eyes, which is painful, but it does give the city more of an open feel.

My friend pointed out the Scott Monument, which is a Gothic spire containing 287 steps that go up and up in a circle and get narrower the farther you go. It's supposedly quite difficult to climb up, and you get a certificate if you actually make it to the top. The monument is for Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish author of the 1800s. We also saw other angles of Edinburgh Castle, the outside of the Scottish National Gallery (two buildings), and a few other things I just can't remember the name of. Looking back at my photos and videos (which yes, I need to get some posted), we encountered a small trio playing in the plaza outside the National Gallery, something that seems to be fairly common. This group was a bagpiper, an electric guitarist, and a drummer all playing a peppy version of a song I recognized, but can't remember the name of. I'll have to ask my Edinburgh friend. I thought she had said something like "The Bonny Pipes are Calling" but I can't find it on youtube.

Then, it was time to part. She went her way, and I...realized I wasn't quite sure where I was. Actually, I had a good idea, but because the buses run on the opposite side of the street from what I expect, I wasn't too sure how to get across the street or which number bus I should take. So, I did the smartest thing a lost American can do: I went into McDonald's.

It was a pretty classy McDonald's, the menu is very similar to what I'm familiar with. The whole place was clean and tidy, it had two floors, and a greeter (maybe the manager). I chatted with him for a few minutes and found out that McDonald's has its own completely free wireless access, unlike many places. What I've found over here is that a place may have "free WiFi", but what it really has is a free WiFi hot spot. They'll let you use their wireless router, but you still need to have your own service provider, whether it's AT&T, Boingo, or one of many other providers, usually on a monthly subscription. But McD's...free. If I'm desperate for Internet, I know exactly where to go.

Funny thing, that guy at McDonald's thought I was British. He's from Hong Kong, but I don't actually remember what kind of accent he had. I think it was a blend of very slight Asian plus some Scottish. Well, from there I tried to follow the streets in a zigzag to catch the correct bus. I love my iPhone's real time map thing, I can just follow my own dot. Unfortunately, it doesn't do a good job of showing the scale of things. Streets are proportional between themselves, but I can't judge how far it is between them. So, I have a tendency to overshoot and have to backtrack. But, after a chilly and confusing walk around, I found the right buss to take me to...ugh, I forget. It's been a couple of days. Either it took me right to my hotel or to a familiar bus stop I could change to. I spent a quiet evening eating my Quarter Pounder and fries and being frustrated with the Internet connection in my room.