Though we've oft been told that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, that was not the case today.  When we left Stirling in rain just after 9 a.m., we drove to the Wallace Monument, a 200-ft tower atop a hill overlooking the city, only to find it wasn't opening until 10:00.  Rather than waiting almost an hour, we decided to move on toward Perth on our way to Dundee, our intended destination for the day.

Following the M-9 north out of Stirling, we picked up the A-9 northeast near Dunblane.  When we noticed snow on the radar near Loch Earn to the west, we decided to detour and check it out.  We set off on B827, a minor road through the Perthshire hills that looked like a short cut to Loch Earn.  Less than ten minutes in, we saw a FLOOD sign just past the village of Braco.  

The highway looked passable, so we pressed on. Soon after, traffic disappeared, and the road narrowed to a single pitted lane through the wide open spaces of the southern Scottish Highlands.  The roadside was covered in lumpy grasses of amber, rust and green.  Only wire fencing kept flocks of sheep off the road.  Light rain was falling and the only other creatures we saw besides the sheep were a few sturdy farm horses.

   

The going was slow and by the time we reached St. Fillans and turned west toward Loch Earn, the snow we were chasing had long passed through.  On a positive note, the sky actually was clearing, so we road along A-85 skirting the north shore of Loch Earn to Lochearnhead, a village at the western end of the lake.  

   

This cozy village of 250 plays host in summer to a flood of tourists who come to the area for hiking, fishing, boating and other outdoor activities.  Not only were the seasonal businesses locked up tight, even the public toilets were closed on this New Year's Eve.  So we reversed course and drove the A-85 forty miles to Perth.

  

Though we were eager to visit the spectacular Scone Palace, the crowning place of Scottish kings, it was also closed for winter.  We checked out the surging River Tay barely held back with flood walls and left town on the A-90 toward Dundee.

   

By 2:15, heavy gray clouds were hanging low and headlights were essential.  Dusk was approaching when we arrived at the Doubletree Hotel outside Dundee.  Upon checkin, we were asked if we were attending the masquerade ball for Hogmanay (Scottish New Year's Eve).  Though we weren't, we saw many other guests arriving laden with formal attire who obviously were.

We were fortunate to secure a room at this busy hotel, not so lucky with dinner at the restaurant, which was fully booked for a special four-course Hogmanay meal.  The nearby Bridge View restaurant served up an excellent, if less pretentious, meal.  After a delicious herb polenta with roasted shallots and spinach, we popped into the local Tesco to stock up on food as we expect restaurants to be closed tomorrow for New Year's Day.  With no refrigeration in the room and a cold night expected, we stored our haul in the car.

The hotel staff were kind enough to assign us a room on the far end away from the party location.  Even though the hotel was fully booked, things were wonderfully quiet until the requisite midnight fireworks.

Monday began with a return to the Glasgow Cathedral to check out the underground area, which was closed on Sunday.  Below the nave lies the impressive arched crypt which houses the tomb of Saint Kentigern, best known by his nickname Saint Mungo.  The patron saint of Glasgow, Mungo is credited with converting parts of Scotland to Christianity in the 6th century.  The first bishop of the ancient British kingdom, he built his church on this spot and was buried here in the year 612.

  

After picking up a few items at a nearby Aldi, we caught a taxi to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  Built in 1901, the museum offers free admission, which perhaps contributes to its popularity with both locals and visitors alike.  Exhibited in 22 themed galleries, the museum's collection is extensive, ranging from natural history to arms and armor, as well as art from many art movements and periods of history.

   

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

One of the most memorable exhibits at the museum was artist Sophie Cave's Floating Heads installation.  Cave created more than 50 completely white mask-like heads, each bearing a different facial expression, from delight to despair, anger to anguish.  Hung from the  by invisible wires, the heads appear to float in the air above the entrance hall.  Lights of changing colors illuminate the faces, giving them an ever-changing appearance.

   

In the gallery where Impressionist works are exhibited, one could easily mistake a striking painting as a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh.  In fact, it is a portrait of a young Glaswegian art dealer, Alex Reid.  Reid often traveled to France to purchase works of art for Glasgow's wealthy industrialists.  During his visits to Paris, he befriended Van Gogh.  Legend has it they were often mistaken for each other by some French locals when the two went out drinking together.  Reid shared a flat with Van Gogh for a few months in 1887 and posed for this portrait.

   

After a delicious lunch at the museum cafe, we departed and tried to visit the University of Glasgow's Hunterian Museum complex, only to discover it is closed from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day.  So on we walked, locating the Kelvinbridge subway station, where we caught the outer circle train to St Enoch station near our hotel.  

  

Argyle Street was crammed with shoppers, and when we chanced upon PoundWorld (equivalent to a dollar store in the US), we remembered an Aldi employee's advice about finding a paring knife at such a store.  Indeed we did, along with a few other necessities such as shaving cream and hairspray with every item predictably costing one pound each.

Back at our hotel after an early dinner at Maggie May's, a classic pub with traditional Scottish food, we knocked around a few ideas for my birthday the following day—fly to the Isle of Man?  A day in London for theater? A quick hop to ??  Nothing was especially appealing, so we decided to hang in Glasgow another day.

Sunday was a day of travel planning and below low-key birthday celebrating.  We walked to Hertz and made arrangements to pick up a car tomorrow.  With none available today, we walked back to the hotel. Along the way we saw a goofy busker on Argyle Street performing a tribute to Eric Clapton's walking off stage at a concert in Glasgow last year.  

   

The highlight of the day was the Metropolitan, a small restaurant which actually offered a Caprese salad on their menu.  My favorite dish always makes the perfect birthday fare.  Back at the hotel, we altered some upcoming plans and decided to return home on January 6 rather than the 12th as originally planned.  The dismal weather in both Ireland and Scotland over the past weeks has just worn us down.  We considered bailing and finishing the next couple of weeks in London, but the forecast there is no different.  

Finally we packed up to depart Glasgow tomorrow.  We're hoping to drive north but not sure what the weather will allow.

On Sunday, we packed up and caught a taxi to Waverly Station for our train to Glasgow.  Arriving about 9:30 am, we were greeted by a ticket agent who couldn't understand why we were there almost an hour before the 10:23 departure of the first direct train to Glasgow Central.  Apparently airport habits die hard.

  

After purchasing first class tickets for £12.70 each, we sat in the waiting room until the departure of an earlier train left platform 10.  With our absorption in Pottermania on Friday, we looked around for Platform 9 3/4 but were unable to find such.

  

When we boarded, we had the first class car to ourselves.  It was spotless and well appointed.  With ample electrical outlets and a strong wifi signal, we continued working on our travel plans on the brief trip.  In less than an hour, we disembarked at the stunning Glasgow Central station, the UK's busiest train station outside London.  

Since it opened its doors in 1879, Glasgow Central has grown from eight to 15 platforms. Legend has it the station was the site of a murder.  It has also seen a gas explosion and served as a temporary mortuary during World War One.  To prevent its becoming a target for the German Luftwaffe during World War II, the stations glass roof was painted black.  Apparently it worked as Glasgow Central was not attacked.  Unfortunately, however, the black paint proved impossible to remove once the threat was passed.  More than 50 years later, every pane of the glass roof was replaced.

Glasgow Central

A short walk took us to the Marriott, which we found to be old, dreary and cramped.  We stayed in the room long enough to connect to the internet and book a one-bedroom apartment at Fraser Suites.  The Marriott staff were kind enough to allow us to cancel without penalty and we caught a taxi to the new hotel.  The room wasn't perfect, but was much better, including a kitchenette and separate bedroom.

  

While checking in, we were treated to lots of suggestions from the front desk clerk, a self-appointed ambassador for the city of Glasgow.  One place he recommended we visit was the Glasgow Necropolis, a Victorian cemetery located on a prominent hill east of the cathedral.  He assured us that the view from the hilltop would be memorable.  

 

Since we need scant encouragement to visit interesting cemeteries, we soon found ourselves walking a little over a mile to the Glasgow Necropolis.  Though more than 50,000 have been buried there, only about 3,500 burials are marked with monuments, a practice common when the cemetery was founded in 1832.  The cemetery was active with tourists and local visitors, wandering the paths and enjoying the city views.  

   

Across the Bridge of Sighs, separating the living from the dead, is Glasgow Cathedral, a parish church of the Church of Scotland.  Dedicated in the year 1197, after sixty years of construction, it was originally constructed by the Catholic church, becoming part of the Church of Scotland after the 16th century Protestant Reformation.  Most of the current cathedral structure dates from a major rebuilding in the 13th century.

The cathedral's soot-stained spire and green roofs tower over the city's more modern buildings.  Its Gothic architecture is compelling, but its real claim to fame is its place as the sole medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to survive the 1560 Scottish Reformation.  Inside, the eye is drawn to the warm tones of the 105-foot wooden ceiling,  Though it has been restored on a number of occasions, some panels still date from the 1300s.  

   

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped and shopped at Aldi, allowing us to prepare dinner in our room.

Since we had heard that shops would close early on Christmas Eve, we set out that morning to locate several items:  an electric space heater to replace the one we left behind in Ireland; eye drops for dry eyes; and groceries to tide us over while restaurants are closed for the holidays.  It's times like this that having a kitchenette in our Residence Inn room is convenient.

   

We don't have a rental car, so all our errands had to be run on foot.  Just a half mile from the hotel, we found a small heater exactly like our abandoned one.  The only differences were the brand name, and it was cheaper.  Another half mile through a pleasant park took us to a Right Medicine Pharmacy location.  Although I was unable to find the same brand of preservative-free eyedrops, I followed the pharmacist's advice and bought one that looked similar, packaged in single-dose vials.  When we returned to the hotel and opened the package, it was the identical package, manufacturer and product, just with a different brand name.

In the pharmacy, we encountered a friendly local who was there to pick up his prescription.  He asked if medical care was really as high in the US as he has heard.  All his medications are free, a government benefit.  When we parted ways after chatting a while about this and other matters, he gave us £1 note from the Bank of Scotland.  Our final stop was the Sainsbury's Local grocery store just 200 feet from the hotel.

  

Back in our room at the Residence Inn, we collected up our laundry, ready to finally have some clean clothes.  The hotel's guest laundry—free of charge—is a rarity at a European hotel, so we were certainly not going to miss this opportunity, even though the equipment had us somewhat baffled.  

Accustomed to water "temperature" choices of cold, warm and hot, we were flummoxed when we had to select an actual temperature.  Crossing our fingers, we opted for 30°- 40° Celsius.  Then we needed to tell the machine how fast to rotate the drum in the spin cycle.  Not sure why, but 800 - 1200 rpm sounded good.  After only 20 minutes, the washing was done.

  

Our experience with the uncommonly found tumble dryer was completely as expected.  Interestingly, Europeans eschew tumble dryers because of their high energy use.  Yet, rather than the typical 30 minutes our dryer at home takes to finish a load, the alleged dryer at the hotel tumbled the clothes around for two hours.  And they weren't even close to being dry.  Doesn't that two hours expend more energy than the half-hour cycle?  As we've done many times before, we laid the clothes out in our room to dry and made a large salad for lunch.

Our afternoon of planning was briefly interrupted by a delivery of mulled wine, hors d'oeuvres, and cookies—a holiday treat from the hotel staff. We prepared dinner in the room as we assembled a list of letterboxes to search for in Edinburgh tomorrow.

In search of letterboxes and some of the many Harry Potter connections in Edinburgh, we walked to Old Town. Though author J.K. Rowling grew up in England, she moved to Edinburgh in 1993 to be near her sister.  And it was here that she completed much of the writing for the seven Harry Potter books.  Fans of the wildly popular series have scoured the city for Potter connections, and though not devoted Potterheads, we were curious enough to seek out some of the now famous spots.

 

First stop was George Heriot's School, an independent prep school on Lauriston Place.  Founded as an orphanage and charitable school in 1628, the institution was funded by a bequest from George Heriot (1563-1624), a goldsmith and jeweler at the court of King James.  Initially a boarding school, it transitioned to day students in 1886 and began admitting girls in 1979.   space 

This impressive turreted sandstone building is believed to have inspired Rowling's descriptions of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  With its four houses and four towers, it's easy to see the connection.

  

Though unrelated to Harry Potter, we had to make a brief stop to pay our respects to Greyfriars Bobby—the dog, not the pub named for him.  According to legend, this skye terrier became known in 19th century Edinburgh for his loyalty to his master.  Bobby was the pet of John Gray, who worked as a night watchman for the city police.  

After Gray died and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard (churchyard), the dog spent the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave.  After a 14-year vigil, during which people in the local area cared for and fed him, Bobby died in 1872 and was buried in the cemetery near his beloved master.  

Later a sculpture of him was erected near the cemetery, followed by a pub which took on his name.  Like so many statues, Bobby's has become a talisman for those who believe they'll obtain good luck by touching his nose.

  

Just up the street from Bobby is another Harry Potter site—the Elephant House, complete with a sign proclaiming itself in both English and Chinese as the "birthplace" of Harry Potter.  Whether the famous character was conceived there or not, Rowling did spend many hours at the cafe writing the popular series of books.  The cafe even has a view of Greyfriars Kirkyard, some of whose residents were tapped for fame in the series.

  

Although the author has never specified so, it is widely believed that some of the gravestones in the cemetery inspired some of the main characters in the Potter series.  Best known is the grave of Thomas Riddell, who is believed by fans to be the inspiration for  Tom Marvolo Riddle, the character later known as the evil Lord Voldemort.  Other names in the cemetery, including McGonagall and Moodie, appear in the novels.  Coincidence or not?

After finding a letterbox in the cemetery, we wound up our Potter tour with a stop at Victoria Street, a narrow curved street in central Edinburgh’s Grassmarket area thought to be the model for Diagon Alley, the cobblestone street with stores selling wizardly supplies in the novels.

  

Victoria Street—or is it Diagon Alley?

In search of sustenance, we wandered onto the Royal Mile where we were delighted to find Taste of Scotland restaurant open for tea and lunch, though most other restaurants were closed for the holiday.  Their vegetarian haggis was every bite as good as that of the famous Henderson's, but we were quite hungry, which may have biased our judgment.

Thoroughly exercised and entertained, we returned to the Residence Inn for the remainder of the evening, preparing dinner in the room and closing out the day as heavy rain fell outside our window.

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For the second morning in a row, we woke up with the certainty that we need to move to another location.  The room at the Doubletree was OK, but we had a little neighbor, a 4-year-old girl, next door who apparently is in training for some track and field jumping event or perhaps gymnastics for the 2028 Olympics.

In addition, the room was pretty small and not exactly cozy warm.  This is a bit more of an issue since we had to leave our little heater behind in Dublin when we flew the restrictive Ryan Air to Edinburgh.  After doing a too-long series of one night stays, we both have almost zero clean clothes.  In a room with no radiators and often cool air blowing from the ceiling level vent, it’s going to take a long time to get clothes dry.

Weighing our options, we decided to move to the rather new Residence Inn by Marriott in the Quartermile, a mixed use redevelopment of the former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh site and not too far from the Doubletree.  We were able to book a spacious one-bedroom suite with a full kitchen for just a few pounds more than the Doubletree.  And the Residence Inn had a guest laundry on site.  Washing machine and “tumble dryer,” as they’re called here.  A no brainer, and we’re hoping the third hotel will be charmed.
   

The taxi driver who transported us from one hotel to the other waited while we checked in and drove us to the Scottish Parliament.  To continue our survey about why Scotland rejected the vote for independence, we asked the taxi driver Gordon for his take on the matter.  Gordon surmised that people were just uncertain about how independence would affect the country as a whole and themselves individually.  In his particular situation, he was concerned that Edinburgh’s losing its position as the second largest financial center in the UK would deal a blow to the city’s economy and thus impact his livelihood as an Edinburgh taxi driver.
   

At the Scottish Parliament, we underwent the typical bag x-ray and walk through metal detector security screening before entering and making our way to the visitor desk.  We opted for the self-guided tour of the chamber gallery and the exhibition areas.  While it seemed we were given carte blanche to wander around the building, employees were discreetly stationed at the entries to areas outside our limits and would kindly point the way to where we needed to go.

Though there is historical evidence of a Scottish Parliament dating back to 1235, this particular iteration of the institution dates back only to 1999.  Though the Parliament of Scotland stood for almost 500 years, when the Kingdom of Scots and the Kingdom of England decided to unite as Great Britain in 1707, the Scottish Parliament was dissolved in favor of the one in London.
   

Parliament's Debate Chamber

For almost 300 years, the Scottish Parliament remained dormant, though there was always a contingent of Scots who favored local rule on local issues.  Finally this movement led to success in 1999 when Tony Blair’s Labor government initiated a referendum of the Scottish people on the topic.

Like state governments in the United States, the Scottish Parliament enacts laws on matters of local concern, such as education, health, agriculture, justice, social services, and transportation.  Issues of a national interest, including foreign affairs, defense, and immigration, remain the purview of the UK Parliament.
  

With a controversial love-it-or-hate-it postmodern design, the Scottish Parliament building opened in 2004, three years overdue and more than £300 million over budget.  It was designed by a Spanish architect who created a collection of low-slung buildings meant to harmonize with and permit views of the surrounding rugged scenery while symbolizing the connection between the Scottish people and their environment.  The building has won numerous awards, yet it has also ranked fourth on the “UK Buildings You’d Most Like to See Demolished” list. 

We found the chamber striking, and while there we struck up a conversation with Hugh, a security agent stationed in the chamber gallery.  Eventually the conversation turned to the independence referendum last year, and Hugh expressed his concern about whether Scotland has the resources to succeed as an independent nation.
  

Leaving Parliament, we walked across the street to visit the Palace at Holyroodhouse, a royal residence which grew out of an abbey established at the site in the early 12th century.  The palace has served as a royal residence since the 15th century.  Before Scotland’s union with England, many Scottish monarchs reigned there, including the turbulent tenure of Mary, Queen of Scots.  It was at Holyrood that her husband murdered Mary’s Italian secretary in a fit of jealousy.

Holyrood Palace

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Today the palace serves as the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.   Holyrood has undergone numerous additions and transformations over the centuries.  Most of the current palace was built in the late 1600s and consists of four 230-ft sides built around a grassy quadrangle.  Like most such buildings, only a small portion is open to the public.  At Holyrood, the self-guided tour with an excellent audio guide led visitors through the 17th century royal apartments, parts of which are still used by the royal family.
  

When we exited the palace tour, we walked to the adjacent ruins of Holyrood Abbey, built  between 1195 and 1230.  In its long history, the abbey changed hands from Catholic to Protestant and back to Catholic before its roof collapsed in the mid-1700s.  It was never rebuilt.  Numerous burial sites are located within the remains of the ancient nave, and when we arrived there a seven-year-old boy was gleefully balancing on top of the tombs as he walked from one to the other.  Then he discovered that if he ran really fast and stopped quickly, he could send a spray of pea gravel flying.
  

Holyrood Abbey

Seeing no adults supervising the mischievous imp or explaining the inappropriateness of his behavior to him, I finally could take no more.  Though retired for fifteen years, the teacher in me came out as I reprimanded him:  “Would you stop that?  This is not a place to run and play.”  Finally then he ran to an older couple who asked him what I had said to him…as the three of them departed the area.
  

Upon leaving Holyroodhouse, we walked back up the Royal Mile looking for a place for a bite of lunch.  We hadn’t walked two hundred yards when Clarinda’s Tea Room caught our attention. With eight little lace-covered tables set in a chintz and china parlor, the cozy shop served up a bit of interesting history with a delicious light lunch.  Clarinda, it seems, was the romantic alias of a beautiful 18th century young woman named Agnes Maclehose, who used the pseudonym to exchange poetic communications with her friend “Sylvander” whose true identity was the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns.
  

Sustained with that romantic story and a bit of nourishment, we decided to walk over to Calton Hill Park to look for a letterbox.  We had looked at the map, and Calton Hill was only about three-fourths of a mile away.  Before we arrived at the park, we were reminded of the wise words of our first Edinburgh taxi driver Nick.  He had warned us about judging distances in the city by a two-dimensional map because Edinburgh is an unexpectedly three-dimensional city.  Often two adjacent places on the map, he warned, will be at entirely different elevations.  And that was indeed the case with Calton Hill Park.

We needn't worry when we had Jacob's Ladder, a steep pedestrian pathway carved into the volcanic rock of Calton Hill.  Mention of the path was first recorded in 1784, but it has been around much longer.  One of its early uses was for funeral processions from Old Town to the burial ground atop the hill.  Over time, the course of the path has been altered to accommodate building projects.

  

The vertical distance to reach Calton Hill Park from our starting point on the Royal Mile was equivalent to a sixteen-story building.  I’m not going to lie; therewas some huffing and no small amount of puffing before we reached the top.  But, oh, the reward when we did.  In addition to a sweeping view of the city, the park is home to numerous impressive monuments. 

  

National Monument

The National Monument, designed after the Greek Parthenon in Athens, was begun in the early 1800s as a memorial to soldiers and sailors who died in the Napoleonic Wars.  Construction of the monument was to be paid by subscription, but after it was only partially completed, funding dried up and construction came to a halt.  A variety of proposals have been floated over the years to “complete” the monument in the manner the architects envisaged.  But the consensus has been to retain its current, uniquely Scottish character.

Even before work began on the national monument, the highest point on Calton Hill had been capped in 1815 with the Nelson Monument to honor the hero of the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar.  The design is intended to depict an upturned telescope, an instrument closely associated with Nelson.
  

Though construction on his design for the National Monument was halted in 1829, the following year architect William Henry Playfair was tapped to fashion another monument on Calton Hill.  This one would honor Dugald Stewart, a Scottish philosopher and mathematician credited with popularizing the Scottish Enlightenment.  As with his previous commission, Playfair (ironic name?) borrowed liberally from the Greeks and contrived a circular temple modeled after another famous memorial in Athens.

Before we left Calton Hill, we searched in vain for the letterbox which was hidden along one of the approach paths.  As we passed back through Old Town on our way toward the Quartermile and considered our options for dinner, we realized we were quite near the Doric, where we had enjoyed such a great meal on Monday.  We didn’t have to think twice.  In fact, we didn’t need to think at all, as our feet beat a path toward the self-billed oldest gastro pub in Edinburgh.  And again, the food—locally sourced and impeccably prepared—did not disappoint.

When we left, with just a mile or so back to the Residence Inn, we again decided to walk, even though part of it was vertical.  About half a mile into the journey, I realized that I had left “the scarf” at The Doric.  I have three other scarves with me on this trip.  Perhaps I could just write this one off as lost.

Not!  This is no ordinary scarf.  In fact, it’s a stretch to call it a scarf.  It has become more like a soft and cozy gray 40” by 80” traveling companion.  It is lightweight but not too sheer, warm but not too bulky.  In fact, it has served as both neck scarf and lap blanket on this trip.  Often in a chilly hotel room, I have wrapped it around myself like a snuggly sarong.  Abandon it at the restaurant?  No way!

We were climbing down on the vertical stretch of the walk on the way back to the Doric, but once we recovered my friend Graycie—I mean, the scarf—we were a bit loath to restart our walk to the hotel.  Since we were close to the central rail station, we had only to cross the street to find a queue of taxis waiting for fares.

Back at the Residence Inn, we picked up our bags from the front desk bag storage and moved into room 608, which had not been ready when we checked in.  Delighted with all the extra space and thankful to have no budding gymnasts as neighbors, we settled in for a few days.

Tomorrow we plan to do a bit of shopping nearby to pick up some needed items and food for the next couple of days when restaurants will mostly be closed.