We went for a walk along the water of Leith, near my apt, on Amma's first evening. The bright and sunny weather didn't last long
Day 2: Sunny but slightly misty Edinburgh from across the Princes St gardens
Only the daffodils seemed to be in bloom initially
But soon we came across these flower beds
Amma, flowers, and the National Gallery of Scotland
Steps leading up from the gardens to Princes St
More flowers
More pictures of the Princes St gardens (just below the castle)
View of Edinburgh old town from the gardens. The twin towers are the University of Edinburgh's school of divinity.
Tulip Close-ip
We tried asking someone the name of this flower. Any takers?
Sujai in front of Edinburgh castle (Amma: “This is it?”)
Amma enjoying good Darjeeling tea (finally) at the Elephant House (where JK Rowling penned some of Harry Potter)
View of castle from the Elephant House
The graveyard behind Greyfiars Kirk has wonderful views of the old town and is a lovely green spot in the heart of the city
More flowers in Greyfriar's Kirk
Memorial to Greyfriar's Bobby - the dog who sat at his master's grave for 14 years with such dedication that the locals dedicated this memorial to him
And the scots, never to pass up a good story, also have the Greyfriars Bobby's Bar
Just a funny trinket in a shop window.
Neuroinformatics at Edinburgh is in this old building up Forrest Hill
The old medical school (right) with the Doctors pub opposite (where the Gliding club meets every wednesday)
Posing with Benjamin - the little robot that could (solve a maze and gather balls)
Ocean Terminal - on Day 4 when it was so grim that we couldn't see the sea beyond a few 100 m.
The royal yatch Brittania. Appropriately, we had just finished seeing “The Queen”
Fishing boat at Ocean Terminal
The real Dolly. At the Royal Museum of Scotland
Amma looks spaced out
The lovely light and airy interiors of the victorian museum
Day 6: Bus tour day - but the weather was not good for photography. First views of the royal mile.
We got off at the Botanical Gardens on the bus tour
And made straight for the glasshouse because we figured it would be warmer there
Orchids (I think)
More orchids
Enormous palms in the glasshouse
The rainforest section which was so warm and humid that my lens fogged up
At the botanical garden
Terrific ad for recycling outside the botanical gardens
View of castle from Botanical Gardens - while we were waiting for the bus tour to come back
Edinburgh West end churches
Day 7: Outside the bus station, before going to St Andrews. This was the first time in many days that it was clear enough to see the Firth of Forth and the hills of Fife to the North of Edinburgh
Inside Jenners - Edinburgh's oldest dept store
Crossing the Firth of Forth. That's the Forth Rail Bridge - which takes so long to paint that by the time they are done it's time to start again
Amma seems aghast that the St Andrews castle (in the background) is so small!
St Andrews cathedral - or what's left of it.
Gulls off St Andrews
Gorgeous weather and views at St Andrews
St Andrews castle - more imposing from this angle.
More gulls (I love the zoom on this camera!)
People playing cricket on the beach under the castle
We stopped at this lovely bookshop+cafe for soup+coffee
Wandered into the All Saint's church next door to the cafe to see the stained glass
St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest after Oxford and Cambridge I think
Gull on roof
Random church in St Andrews
Gull with clock
Gargoyle, no gull
Amma wandering down a flower market
The bus ride to St Andrews and back was longer and more tiring than the train but the views were better because it was along the coast almost the entire time
Back in Edinburgh in the evening after a long day out to St Andrews
Old town looking terrific in the evening light
Edinburgh west end from Princes St
Day 8: At the train station on our way to Stirling
Stirling train pulls in
Linlithgow castle hidden by the trees
Linlithgow castle speeding by from train
Prerona and Amma take a break on the steepish hike up to Stirling Castle
The Stirling youth hostel used to be a church.
Church of the Holy Rude (Scots for the crucifix) where Mary Queen of Scots worshipped
“Tea Pavilion” just outside the church, formerly a bowling green (supposedly the oldest in Scotland, but the teashop owner could have been making that up)
View of church from tea pavillion
Inside the church of the Holy Rude
Pretty Stirling old town. Yes, amma actually walked all the way up from the base of the hill
Old Stirling bridge and the Wallace monument (to William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson in Braveheart)
Looking out over the surrounding countryside from the castle
Stirling Castle
From inside the castle
The Upper Back Walk down from the castle back to the train station was gorgeous - with trees in bloom...
... and great views of the countryside
Random pigeon nesting in old town wall hole
On train back from Stirling
Back in Deep and Nandini's apartment. This is my room.
The main living room with La-z-boys that you don't feel like getting out of.
(took lots of pix of the apt because I didn't have any)
Aishwarya got amma these flowers when my friends came over for dinner
View of Great Junction St from the apt
Juanita Mamiji and Gulab Mama
Had a terrific dinner with Gulab Mama and family
Amma's nana and nani - taken from a portrait at Gulab Mama's house
