Leaving Edinburgh for Padua

It’s been a great week in Edinburgh. My talk went well, I did the Scotch Whisky Experience, and a cancelled Literary Pub Tour turned into a great night! After spending about 45 minutes sitting in a dark, empty meeting room on the top floor of the Beehive Inn, waiting for the actors to arrive and the pub tour to start, it became clear that the tour was not going to happen. The night took a turn for the better, as I moved on to another pub with two fantastic (and hilarious!) American ladies who also had tickets for the pub tour.

After a pint (and a nip of a great 15yo scotch), we ended up taking a Graveyard Tour of Edinburgh. To ward off the cold night and the relentless rain, a bottle of “old and cheap” scotch was purchased and cups were purloined from Starbucks, and generously filled. The tour proved to be excellent, despite the rain being sufficient to completely drench us all. The night was topped off with a free pint at the Bank Bar, warming ourselves around some small candles until closing time. This was followed by a mad dash to our respective hostels, and I was able to convince the hostel staff to throw my sodden clothing into the dryer.

It’s now 10am in Edinburgh, I’m due to check out in 30 minutes, and I’m heading off to the airport just after noon. I didn’t get to see everything I would have liked to in Edinburgh (nor did I build up the courage to climb the Walter Scott monument – although I may if I can squeeze in a quick few pints in the next hour or so), but it really has been a great week. I highly recommend coming here (and that you see a whole lot more of Scotland than I did). Bye for now!