When true friends meet in adverse hour; ‘Tis like a sunbeam through a shower. – Sir Walter Scott

July 27 – Another sunny day! What else can we see in town?

Our giraffe count increased today by 7. I’m a long way from that free ice cream.

We walked this morning through the Princes Street Gardens, where lots of roses were in bloom.

We stopped in at St. Cuthbert’s – very pretty:

Here is the Sir Walter Scott monument, below on the left. Scott, a native son, is best known as the author of Ivanhoe, written in the early 1800s, and for saying, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”

We saw the memorial to Greyfriar’s Bobby, the little pup who faithfully guarded his master’s grave for fourteen years. The patina has worn off his nose, as so many people touch him for luck.

We visited the Scottish National Gallery, jam packed with classic European art. To avoid being overwhelmed by so many paintings, I like to focus on one thing. Today my focus was on babies. Enjoy:

The one below is technically not a baby, but is supposed to be twelve year old Jesus speaking with the rabbis at the temple. Does he look 12 to you?

We also visited a Camera Obscura that had lots of optical illusions:

The buskers were out, entertaining the masses:

We visited the Museum of Edinburgh, which displayed some quirky ceramics:

The Museum on the Mound told about the history of Scottish banking. Would you like to see what a million pounds looks like? You’re welcome!

Finally, what would an adventure be without some wall art? There wasn’t a lot, but here’s one political and one pastoral. Not sure what Paddington is doing chained in Rwanda?

We had dinner at a lovely Nepalese restaurant, where Jim spoke with the owner about old times in Nepal. Then it was back to our apartment to pack up and get a good nights rest. Tomorrow, we’re off to Glasgow!