So off we went.
Well, it wasn't quite like that. When I went to London in early December 2024, I knew there were a bunch of museums I wanted to see, and I wanted to see EVERYTHING in each one of them. And I wanted to walk.
As you can see for Edinburgh, there is not quite the same volume:
So I took a bigger-area view:
It turns out that all 3 locations South-of-Edinburgh are closed in January, so let's plan a day in Edinburgh (after a red-eye flight), eventually get over to Glasgow (day 2), and then make our way up to Aberdeen on day 3 (day 4 fly home). Caroline visited Scotland recently, and she recommended the Motel One Royal in Edinburgh, so that will be our base there. It turns out that Wyndham (my Super 8 chain) has a hotel at the top-of-a-triangle anchored by Glasgow in the west and Edinburgh in the east = Wyndham Duchally Country Estate, Gleneagles, Scotland. So I booked Wednesday and Thursday nights there! It should be an easy drive from there to The Airport on Friday morning;
Let's Get Started! Off we go to Terminal E at Logan Airport for our 7:50 PM Icelandair flight to Edinburgh (2-hour-layover-in-Iceland, plus change planes):
High above the North Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Iceland and Scotland:
We landed about 10:30 AM. It was easy going through customs, and we picked up our car. Unfortunately they did not have a Volkswagen Golf, so they "upgraded" us to a Jeep Avenger. A very nice idea, but it is a BIGGER car (and Scotland roads are narrower than in the US), AND it was a stick-shift = gearshift ON THE LEFT (because they drive on the "wrong side" over here). It continued to be a "bad idea" because there are roundabouts/rotaries EVERYWHERE (which means down-shifting and up-shifting just to get through one-of-hundreds of intersections!):
I drove into downtown Edinburgh and parked in a garage. I did not know how to get the car into reverse, but a kind stranger (angel?) told me that you have to LIFT UP THE RINGS ON THE GEAR SHIFT to get it into reverse. Oh, why didn't I think of that?!?! Nice lunch next to the
The University of Edinburgh has 2 paintings by Giovanni Paolo Panini, both titled "Roman Ruins with Figures". They were in storage, but I had exchanged emails with their Museum Collections Manager, and she was waiting for us as we walked through The Library door. IT WAS SO COOL going Behind-the-Scenes:
I dropped Wendy off at the Tartan Weaving Mill and Exhibition, and I parked the car and walked to our hotel and checked-in (it was kind-of rainy):
Wendy called me - she was done, so I said I'll meet her at the National Gallery of Scotland (walking distance for both of us):
They have a wonderful collection! I took photos of Bonington (2), Boudin (2), Canaletto (2), Cézanne, Frederic Church, Degas (2), Guardi, John Martin, Monet (5), David Roberts (2), Sir Henry Raeburn, Rembrandt, Sargent, Tiepolo, Turner oil (1), Turner pencil (1), Turner blue and grey washes (5), Turner watercolours (33), and van Gogh. My favourites are:
Francesco Guardi - "The Piazza San Marco, Venice", c. 1775 oil:
Canaletto - "The Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, looking East", about 1745 oil:
Claude Monet - "Poplars on the Epte", 1891 oil:
John Martin - "Macbeth", about 1820 oil:
David Roberts - "Rome: Sunset from the Convent of Sant' Onofrio on the Janiculum", 1856 oil
Frederic Edwin Church - "Niagara Falls, from the American Side", 1867 oil:
Their exhibition spaces are lovely - both the "regular" spaces as well as the room-for-watercolours:
It was great seeing the Turner watercolours, and the tail that wagged this dog-of-a-trip. i will start with 2 watercolours that I have engravings of:
"Loch Coruisk, Skye", 1831-32 (interestingly, the engraving is called "Loch Coriskin" and appears in 'Scott's Poetical Works' (Cadell), 1834, Vol. X):
"Falls near the Source of the Jumna in the Himalayas", about 1835 (the engraving is called "Falls near the Source of the Jumna, above Delhi" and appears in White's 'Views in India,' 1836-1837):
Other beauties include "Falls of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, Side View", 1841:
"Heidelberg", about 1846:
Wasn't that a fun walk-about!
We went back to the hotel for a little rest (and shower), and then we went around the corner to "Makars Gourmet Mash-Bar" - you order meat/chicken/... on top of a type of mashed potatoes. It was yummy:
Bought some orange juice on the way back to the hotel. WOW - Thank You God for this wonderful Scotland adventure!
Past entries of this blog are available on the website https://dixonheadingwest.blogspot.com/
Shameless Plug: if you enjoy this blog, you may like my other one about Hiking the 4,000 footers in New Hampshire/Vermont/Maine/New York:
hyperlink: dixonheadingnorth
http://dixonheadingnorth.blogspot.com/
