Exploring the World as a Roving Retiree

My housesitter, Rachel (Scott had to leave for Switzerland for work a couple days before), picked me up at the light rail and so we met for the first time. My house looked nice. But so much is in the "wrong" place (like driving in the UK) . We have different senses of style, maybe. It was nice seeing Quino again though after a second time of petting him he scratched me and got me bleeding on both hands. I guess he was getting me back for abandoning him? He will miss Rachel and Scott, or do cats even miss caregivers?  _____<<<______<<<_____ And now a few questions, to end my trip! Why are ALL the houses cream colored or light brown? Why does no one but me seem to see the irony of a primary betting establishment sound like it will make you, men (lads), broke?* What did I buy on my 5 week trip, you might wonder? (from top left) a mini guide about Loch Katrine, a guidebook about Duart Castle, a map of Scotland,  a poster from Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre in Glasgo...

Beautiful morning! I took the bus to the airport bus and enjoyed the sun on the Mound. I saw a plaque through the bus about Haymarket, the area I stayed in when first arriving in Scotland.  I met a nice older man traveling by himself on the plane. We sat next to each other but didn't talk until we prepared to leave the plane. He lives in Edinburgh and was on his way to London for the weekend so he could see Windsor Castle. He has visited the Trump golf course near Aberdeen and showed me the sign you first see when entering. Over three hours to kill at Heathrow! I liked the tea and candy on sale at Fortnum & Mason. I had eggs Benedict at Pilots restaurant. And enjoyed The London Essence orange and fig soda.  Interesting sign on my table at the restaurant:  The flight was LONG! Having an aisle seat allowed me to get up a lot, especially nice when I got a leg cramp but I slept very little.  I watched all 6 episodes of "Outrageous," about the Mitford sisters which wa...

My peaceful morning at the Airbnb was disturbed by horrible noise nearby that I discovered later was stonework.  The whole back of the building next door which was numbered 1A and this one is #1 was covered in scaffolding! Escaping the noise, it was a short walk to the post office and a 15 minute wait for it to open at 9:30, Then I went the the Royal Botanic Garden which is just down the street, so close! Although the season is unpromising, I still found it lovely. And it's free! Of course, there was a nice restaurant and an art gallery! It's about 50 or so acres but, unfortunately, the glasshouses are closed for reconstruction. "Linder" (Sterling), artist, 50 years of collage and photography work, at the Inverleith House Art Gallery She did the cover for a Buzzcocks album, "Orgasm Addict", 1977. Then I went to the Museum of Childhood which had a small toy store on the front. Being Scottish,  I didn't recognize a lot from my childhood,  but there's a...

Today I took a bus (rush hour, very crowded) to the centre for an e-bike tour I signed up for on Airbnb. There were 4 people from Germany, 2 from North Dakota, one from Ottawa and me. The leader was Riccardo from Italy and his 1 year old dog, Lucy.  It was supposed to be a two hour tour but was three hours. The other Americans, a father and daughter (perhaps), dropped out after 2 hours and Riccardo had to lock their bikes to a lamppost.  It was fun but it took me a while to get the seat the right height and feel comfortable with the gears, and Riccardo yelled at me a bit harshly. And then there was lots of riding on the damn cobblestone, and his dog barking and running around, and one or two of his bikes failing, his constant use of "guys", and his thick Italian accent, making it hard to understand him even if I could hear him, which I often couldn't.  So I can understand why the people from ND dropped out. I mostly enjoyed the tour, believe it or not, but my right hand w...

Today, Tuesday, I took the train from Perth to Edinburgh.  As usual, the scenery was beautiful. A young woman near me never once looked up, I think, but just looked at her phone. So sad. I took a taxi (only the 2nd time on this trip) to my Airbnb to drop off my luggage since I was early and set out to visit the area called Stockbridge (heavy rain), have lunch and walk the Water of Leith walkway the librarian at the local library recommended to me. It goes for a very long ways. I watched a gray heron for a long time until a smoker came to watch near me. Then I found Dean Village which Clare in Perth recommended I see. Well, there were lots of people, taking photos, some very elaborately posed with costumes,  but it was still a charming area. I enjoyed watching a couple of dog owners throwing wee bits of sticks into the water for their dogs to fetch. I had a bit of time before the Stockbridge library closed at 5:00 so I went in and read part of a book called  Afternoon Tea....

This morning I took a long bus ride to Dundee to meet Marie from Couchsurfing. I asked if she could host me but then changed my plan to stay in Dundee. She is my age so we are atypical Couchsurfing members! She is Italian, living half the time there and half in Dundee where she was a professor at the University of Dundee.  We went first to the V&A Museum to see the Palestinian embroidery exhibit. The museum opened in 2018 and is splendid. It is the first ever "dedicated design museum in Scotland and the only other V&A museum anywhere in the world outside London." The embroidery exhibit was great but heartbreaking. Of course. Dundee and Nablus are twinned (sister cities). (That's Marie looking at the case of jewelry, dressed all in red)              Headdress The other exhibit I saw while Marie found a nice place to read was about Scottish design. Of course,  there was Charles Rennie Mackintosh but so much more. "Lover's Lane" dress, 2...

Today Clare and I went to an organic strawberry farm and café, with her driving. But they had no electricity due to the storm two days ago. So we bought a few things but there was no hot coffee for Clare. Then we were going to Scone (pronounced scoon) Palace but they were closed also because of the storm. So we went to the Black Watch Museum, near to Perth. I had no idea what Black Watch was (it is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland) and after paying $10 admission I lasted 20 minutes.  War, war, war, men, men, men, room after room! The only mention of women was in warning soldiers to be careful of someone behind a wall because it could be a "wifey with a pram" (so don't shoot immediately)!  Then I joined Clare in their café for lentil soup and tea. Everywhere I go seems to have a café and a gift shop! We decided to go to the small charming historic town of Dunkeld, about a half hour away. There were many tourists, it being a Sunday.  We had a meat pie...