What I did on my Holidays, Edinburgh: Part Two.

On Easter Monday we mooched around Princes Street and did a bit of culture at the National Gallery of Scotland. Sheer bliss, I fell in love with about half a dozen of the paintings but no photos allowed inside so I can't show you which ones. I was chuffed to see William Dyce's - Francesca da Rimini which I had only seen a few weeks before at the Ashmoleum Museum in Oxford in their Pre-Raphelites in Italy exhibition. I just love seeing paintings that you have only seen in books in the flesh so to speak. They also had a fantastic exhibition of pictures from the Scottish School.

I loved the vintage ice cream van outside almost as much as the gallery itself. We got something to eat and went to meet Himself's friend Adam at the Conan Doyle pub.

 Here's my view out of the window. We had a brilliant night and it was Himself's turn to get tired and emotional to the point of me having to pour him onto a bus and steer him back to the B&B.

Tuesday was castle day. Another lovely sunny but very windy day meant I gave up any idea of doing my hair in anything other than a ponytail. I managed to find not only an elephant but a monkey as well whilst wandering around.

We spent about 5 hours in total doing absolutely everything there was to be done inside the castle walls. I did find the military museum a bit too big, by the end you were saturated with war and walking glassy eyed and unseeing, Himself said the same.  The war memorial was very moving and beautiful and the new Scottish Crown Jewels exhibition was very good.
 We decided a little lunch was in order and where better than The Elephant House? I have wanted to go here since my last visit to Edinburgh 12 years ago. I am probably the only person on the planet who was excited to go for the elephants and not the Harry Potter connection.

 Here is where J K Rowling sipped coffee and wrote the first Harry Potter book. The food was lovely by the way and I could quite happily have filled my bags with most of the wonderous elephants on display. We went from here to Greyfriars to see the grave and statue of Greyfriars Bobby.

The churchyard backs onto a school and the children were doing bandpractise in the playground Scottish style.i.e; Bagpipes and drums and a darn sight better than a lot of the ones playing on street corners!
From here we mooched to Grassmarket and I bought my only vintage purchases of the trip, a handbag and 2 scarves. This was in the Barnardoes Vintage Shop, they really are catching on to the vintage thing aren't they?

Now I know you have been waiting patiently to see what this shopaholic purchased in Bonnie Scotland. Not too much I'm sad to say as I found the couple of charity shops I did go into over priced and full of nothing worth having.So other than the obligatory shortbread for work and gifts for my parents here follows my lovely new bag.

£8.99 and in almost perfect condition!

The scarves were £2 each.
My sister also asked me to find the most kitsch Scottish thing I could for her other half who is Scottish and gets very misty-eyed about all things Scotch.

 I found this teapot for £3. I think it fitted the bill don't you?
Finally I got this skirt in the sales and this tea towel at Edinburgh Castle which I think I will frame.