Thursday: The Nat'l Museum of Scotland

Thursday (yesterday) was our last full day in Edinburgh. Later today (Fri.) we are heading north to Inverness then to the Outer Hebrides to begin our next stage of this adventure, but more about that later. 

Chris went to her conference to do three presentations. They all went very well especially given that her co-presenter (Rico) got very sick (flu?) and ended up going to the hospital. (They kept him there for several hours and eventually gave him some medications and sent him back to his flat. He is doing somewhat better but the doctors told him not to travel for two days). Nonetheless, Chris's presentations were well attended and went off without a hitch.

As for me, I decided to go to the National Museum of Scotland to see the visiting exhibit on the Celts. It was very fascinating because there is so much myth about who they are. I think one quote by an expert on the field said, "they were everywhere and yet they were no where." Sadly, we were not allowed to take photos so I have none to share.

I did, however, see some other exhibits that I could take pictures. Of particular interest was their exhibit on Native Americans because what they provided were three groups that are commonly used as stereotypes for "all" Indians.

First, Great Plains Indians (Lakota clothing):

Southwest Indians (Pueblo pottery and kachinas):

And Northwest Indians (totem poles):

I did wander the streets a little on the way over to the museum. The city is very old and the streets are very narrow. There are also a lot of interesting places and history. For example,

cont'd below...

And then there is this interesting tidbit:

Then after finishing my tour of the museum, I ventured into "The Elephant House" cafe for a flat white which happens to be where J.K. Rowlings wrote the Harry Potter series.

This what it looks like from the outside.

And this is the view from the inside. Look familiar? It was her inspiration.

And here is a photo of her at work in the cafe.

When I was done with my flat white it was time to meet up with Chris and her colleagues at a local establishment for conversation, a couple of pints, nibbles & "snackies" including some haggis. Yum!

That was it for us and then it was a quick cab ride (in one of those cute British taxis) back to our flat to start packing for our trip up north. (Keep in mind that the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides are about the same latitude as Juneau Alaska). Hopefully, we will be able to find wifi to be able to continue our blog. If not, you know where you can find us. 😉