Day 10!

Edinburgh Castle!

Day 10!  I'm hot on the apartment hunt in Edinburgh, which has been a blessing in disguise as I am quickly learning my way around the city!  I have seen about 7 places and I have 5 viewings in the next 2 days- I'm hoping that one of them will be home! As the Fringe Festival is in full swing, it is very entertaining to wonder the streets! There are lots of free and ticketed events and I have really enjoyed the atmosphere!

Last night, Caitlin and I went to the Military Tattoo, a phenomenal show celebrating Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee.  It featured international armed forces, bands, dancers, and of course- lots of pipers! I don't think I will ever get sick of bagpipes- such a cool sound! David Hasselhoff was sitting in the section next to us! The backdrop was the Edinburgh Castle, and the show concluded with fireworks shooting out of the castle!




President Bob Hislop of Rotary Club of Edinburgh

This morning, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Edinburgh Rotary Club.  All of the Rotarians were genuinely welcoming and very friendly, and I really enjoyed chatting with the few I met before the meeting began!  The speaker gave a very powerful presentation on Auschwitz.  Caitlin and I were asked to return and give a speech together, which we enjoyed brainstorming this afternoon!  I presented the club with a banner from Downtown York Club and along with their reciprocated banner I was given a CD of Scottish music compiled by club members, as well as a wee bottle of single-malt Scottish whiskey!! Other things that were distinct about the club meeting:  we toasted to the Queen mid-meal, and toasted again to Rotary International at it's conclusion!  The Edinburgh Club has about 120 members, with 55 attending today (50% attendance is required).  The club is celebrating 100 years in existance this year!


            

 

We enjoyed dinner tonight with Caitlin at 'The Elephant House', the coffee shop famous for being the birthplace of Harry Potter! JK Rowling wrote the first drafts of the series in this restaurant- her photos hang all around and the bathroom is decorated with HP doodles and quotes all over the walls!

 

Some more Scottish linguistics: Arcade is a shopping mall, the Chemist is where one goes to buy nailpolish, makeup, medicines and so on. The letter Z is pronounced zed.  Apparently, the Scots find it odd/funny when North Amercans say "Have a nice day"...I haven't yet figured out why this is so strange...