More Edinburgh

In the morning, after another one of those huge breakfasts at the hotel, we went and saw the 3D Loch Ness Experience. The dazzling awesome 3D effects are mostly the narrator tossing things at the camera as he speaks, but it was still fun for 2 reasons: they explained why the water of the Loch Ness is so dark (peat bogs) and they had great footage showing how a boat wake on a calm day looks like a many-humped sea serpent. Very cool, although I know Nessie exists nonetheless. Then we stopped at a Christmas store, where I picked up a few ornaments for me and a few for Vance’s mom.
Then we toured the castle. It goes on and on and on. Great halls, smaller museums, chapels, the Crown Jewels, for pete’s sake. It was a misty day, cold and blowy, with a very low sky. All very Scotland. Beautiful. Afterwards we were hungry and tired. We had lunch plans; from 2 different people/sets of people (Jack and Myrna, and Dave) we had been told that lunch at the Royal Museum was a must-do because the food is surprisingly good, and because the castle is right outside the window. David even gave me a card so I would remember, which I of course took out of my wallet right before we got out of the plane, and left behind, so we had to fish around for a while to find the right museum. It didn’t help that the National Museum is blammo right next to the castle, and we thought maybe that was the place. But “Royal” finally came to us, and we went and yes, the lunch was good, and wow, the view.


Then we toured the museums until they closed. It hit me, while looking at treasures from the past--Napoleon’s tea set, and a pile of silver objects that belonged to some unknown Pict--how incredibly much stuff we have, compared to just about every other human that has ever lived. That Pict might have been wealthy in his/her day, but I could kick his/her ass in terms of possessions, and I'm so middle America.