Tuesday, July 5: Goodbye York, Hello Edinburgh!

Today we are sad to leave York but excited to arrive in Edinburgh.  We do feel, though, that we spent enough time in York to see everything we wanted to see with the exception of the Cathedral undercroft, which was closed.  I think this first part of our trip was a huge success.  We had a wonderful time and saw many beautiful and interesting things, but just as important was the fact that we really verified that David is well enough to keep up with and enjoy a trip like this.   Yippee!

Here's one last picture of a pretty spot in York that we passed on the way to the train station:

 We've read that a scene in the first Harry Potter movie was filmed in the York railway station.  It was apparently a scene in which Harry and Hagrid crossed a bridge that was supposed to be in King's Cross Station, but they thought the bridge in the York station was prettier so they flow the actors and crew up there for the scene.  I guess that's what you do when you have millions of dollars to make a movie.  Anyway, we looked for a pretty bridge and all we found was this

Fairly ordinary looking, so we're a little mystified.  We'll have to check the movie when we get home.  (Yes, we own a copy; we have three kids that were the perfect age for those movies.  And we kind of like them too!)
The trip to Edinburgh was pleasant and uneventful.  The scenery was very pretty and I enjoyed knitting and watching it go by.  There were two friendly ladies across the aisle from us and when they realized we were interested in the scenery they pointed out things to notice, such as Durham Cathedral and the Scottish border.  It seemed to me like things got more hilly and wild once we crossed the border.  And we almost immediately saw the sea.  There were some beautiful islands and we got a few glimpses of the famous Queensferry bridge as we approched Edinburgh.  I really like riding trains.  It seems like such a civilized and comfortable way to travel, especially in the UK.

From the Edinburgh station we caught a cab to the guest house where we are staying and it's wonderful.  It's on a fairly major street where it's easy to catch a bus to the Royal Mile (a mile-long street that is the center of things as far as tourists are concerned).  The property is owned by a family who has a nice big house on the street.  Behind the house they've got a pretty yard and at the back of the yard is a little house they call the Pavillion which they rent to guests like us.  The main house is attached to its neighbors on either side, so we enter through their garage and go out the back into their yard (minding that we don't let their kitty get out!) and let ourselves into our own cute little house.  Here is David at the front door of the Pavillion. 

It feels like we have the perfect combination of a convenient location and seclusion. We'll have to take some interior pictures later.  It's quite nice, with a big living room (including a small kitchen on one side) and a big bedroom and bathroom – including a washing machine, which is a great convenience while traveling.  One of the charming things about it to me is that the ceiling of the main room is high and domed, with a large skylight on top.  We hardly have to turn on the lights except in the evening.

We arrived in the mid-afternoon and had time to settle in and take a walk to a nearby little grocery store.   The neighborhood feels very old and picturesque to us.  Here are some samples of what we saw on our walk:

We can't wait to explore some more tomorrow!