sen_no_ongaku | Scotland, Day 2 (Reply)

Our first full day in Scotland begins with a bus ride and breakfast at Mum's, probably the equivalent of a good greasy spoon diner. G, being G, orders both a milkshake and smoked salmon, which strike me as diametrically opposed flavors, but sure.

It turns out that the British Isles have a standard food called an "X" roll, where X is some variety of breakfast meat, said meat is placed in a dry bun with NOTHING ELSE, and somehow this supposed to be a satisfying combination.

Our planned morning activity is exploring the National Museum of Scotland, which is astonishingly large. I wander around with J while E takes G, and over a couple of hours we get through maybe half of the section on Scotland's history (which itself is just one wing of five or so), making it from how the island was formed geologically through around the 16th century. Unsurprisingly there's a dizzying and awesome array of artifacts -- plus some lovely artwork by Andy Goldsworthy, which is a nice surprise.

Our afternoon activity is a food tour of Edinburgh, led by a fellow who goes by the name of "Wag" -- our group is us four and a mom and her two sons from Canada (minus a couple who never showed up). We meet just outside the John Knox house, under which is our first stop, The Haggis Box. We partake of a serving of haggis, neeps, and tatties, and are informed that haggis is mostly made with ground lamb these days thanks to Mad Cow Disease, and it's -- surprisingly inoffensive. Not thrilling, exactly, but without the off-putting organ-ness of offal.

The adults are served a lovely cider, and the children get their first taste of Irn-Bru, Scotland's national drink, a bright orange answer to Coca-Cola. It's inoffensive, with a taste all its own, and J & G love it.

The eatery is inside The Scottish Storytelling Centre, and lining one wall of the dining area is an exhibit of beautiful Venetian masks made by an artist named Lorraine Pritchard. On the opposite wall is a series of dioramas hidden in cabinets displaying scenes from British folklore.

Our next stop is The Outsider, where we have an excellent dish of coley (similar to cod) and greens, along with elderflower-infused water. While G is excited about seafood, I'm concerned that J will balk, but he's game, tries it without fuss, and ends up really liking it.

After that we stop at Scotts Kitchen on Victoria Terrace (also known as Diagon Alley) for a delicious beef stew and some mac and cheese, the latter of which convinces G that they actually like mac and cheese.

Our final destination is a super cute bar called Under the Stairs, which is on the underground floor of a building, where we have a butterscotch tart for dessert and I try a Campbeltown whisky that I (and G) enjoy.

Wag has been a wonderful host, and I find out that he's spent some time in the States, mostly in the Northwest doing work for the Gates foundation as a mechanical engineer helping figure out how to simplify medical equipment so that it can be used in less developed countries (that might, for example, not be able to provide a steady flow of consistent power to an MRI machine).

Though it's still early evening, that's basically it for us -- we retire to the hotel and spend the rest of the day chilling out, saving energy for Arthur's Seat on the morrow.