Day 47: Dalkeith - Edinburgh - Cramond

In the morning the sky was as gray as a wet cat's soul. It was raining on and off, it was chilly and neither of us were in a hurry to get out of the duvet. So we spent a good part of the morning in the camper, lying down, watching the rain hit the roof as if it wanted to come in and play.

But around noon the sky began to give us a break. Just a little. It was enough for daddy Edu to cheer up, put me in my travel cage (yes, I have my personal suite with views of the handbrake) and start the car towards Edinburgh. Half an hour later, we parked for free (because it's Sunday!) on Great King Street, a stone's throw from the center. Well, a stone's throw from a giant, but you get the idea.

We walked to the center. And my goodness! Edinburgh was bursting with tourists. It looked like Las Ramblas had been teleported to Scotland. People with maps, with cameras, with umbrellas, with flip-flops (yes, flip-flops), and with that look of "I'm on vacation and I'm going to see EVERYTHING, even if my eyelashes hurt".

First stop: Victoria Street. A very photogenic street, with colorful facades that look like they came out of a box of pencils. The shops are a mix of hipster and geek, and they say this street was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. I didn't see any wands, but I did sniff a lot of butter cookies.

Then we went down to Grassmarket, which centuries ago was the place where they hanged the bad guys, and now it's a place where they hang menus with exorbitant prices in modern restaurants. It has beautiful views of the castle, yes. And many benches to rest your paws.

We did a bit of the Royal Mile, between bursts of sun and rain every five minutes, as if the weather was playing "hot-cold" with us. When daddy Edu's hunger began to roar like a lion, we went to Waverley station, and there, in a McDonald's, he ordered a full menu that he devoured in beast mode. I stayed just inside the door, looking from afar with a face of "I eat too, you know?". People laughed at my face. I don't know why.

We continued along the Royal Mile, passed in front of St. Giles' Cathedral, which is the main church in the city. We didn't go in because there was a queue, and besides, I'm not very fond of sitting on benches that aren't in a park. At the end of the street, where there are no more tourists or tartan shops, we saw Holyroodhouse Palace, the official residence of the king in Scotland. We didn't go in, of course, if I can't go in, no one goes in. But it's beautiful on the outside, with its mix of castle and elegant palace. From there we took some photos and turned around.

We returned passing through the Canongate Kirkyard cemetery, which is a rather curious place. There rest historical figures of the city, and some tourists who fell asleep from so much walking. Well, I think so. It's a very quiet place, although one of those Scottish ravens looked at me strangely.

We slowly went back to the car, alternating between cobbled streets and park paths, always dodging raindrops between bursts of sunshine that lasted just long enough to think "what a good day it is!" before getting soaked again.

With the day almost over, we decided to go back to a place we already know well: Marine Drive, near Cramond, where we had already slept a couple of nights. Less than fifteen minutes by car, there was no need to think too much. This time we placed ourselves on the other side of the street, closer to the forest, so that the wind wouldn't shake our cell like a tent.

There are new motorhomes, others that are repeating like us, and it is still a quiet place, with a good atmosphere... and without a fair of noisy cars, luckily.

Edinburgh seemed to us a beautiful city, with impressive buildings, history everywhere and charming corners. But we also have to say that we didn't find it too pleasant. There are too many people, there are hardly any pedestrian zones (only a little bit of the Royal Mile is), and cars pass by everywhere. Between that and the millions of tourists, it's not the most welcoming city we've visited.

Tomorrow we'll see what we do. Today, it's time to sleep with the sound of the trees and the breeze, which also know how to tell stories.