Donde Esta La Biblioteca? Otra Vez

Our tenth day in Europe was one hell of a day. Norrie cooked us a hearty breakfast and as the Spanish would say, “salimos rodando,” “we rolled out” onto the misty Royal Mile in our matching rain jackets. We walked around the area and eventually found ourselves in the Edinburgh equivalent of a Book People perusing the interesting UK selection of books. We left Blackwell Books thinking that day was going to be the typical kind of day where you don’t brush up against, and make direct eye contact with, one of the biggest movie stars of your generation. We were wrong.

You know that kind of glance you give people as you walk past them on a crowded sidewalk? That instant of pure investigation, as if you were checking to make sure they weren’t someone you knew. Just as Lauren and I came upon a congested segment of the sidewalk with both lanes of people squeezing around a long bus stop line, we both found ourselves chest to chest with Tom Hanks. For the first millisecond that my eyes met his they were empathetically suggesting “Oh geez – crowds suck, right random dude I don’t know?” The unspoken message very quickly changed to “OH MY GOD YOU’RE TOM HANKS!” I would’ve had no way of knowing what my face looked like if Lauren hadn’t turned around with the same shocking expression bursting from her skin. We both were completely floored.

Back on the Royal Mile, the street was lined with miniature stages exhibiting live music and plays presented by mostly amateurs, but a few entertaining acts in between. It was still raining, so we decided to pass the time with a stop at Elephant House, better known as the café (brace yourself, Natalie) where J.K. Rowling began writing Harry Potter!

In association with the International Fringe Festival, we had purchased tickets for The Bacchae, a play featuring Alan Cumming (imdb him) as Dionysus. Before the play, we headed to Norrie’s vegetarian restaurant recommendation, David Bann, where we feasted on vegan delights at a good price despite the upscale ambiance.

A cab dropped us off in front of a theater crowded with old people. Finding our seats felt like being lost in Del Boca Vista. Our fears concerning the entertainment factor were quickly disbanded when, during the first few seconds, Alan Cumming (Dionysus) is lowered down, up-side down and bare ass. From then on it was nothing but brilliant Greek tragedy; angry lovers, murderous rampages, corrupt gods, and decapitated heads.

Between Ireland and Scotland we listened to Spanish brain rumbling all night and traveled by bus and plane all day. The countless city lights were illuminating every exquisite building when we stepped off the airport shuttle and made our way to the Royal Mile B&B. The Royal Mile is the area surrounding the road in the heart of Edinburgh that goes west from the Palace of Holyrood to the Edinburgh castle.

The owner of our B&B, Norrie, was extremely nice. We talked to him while we got settled and then left to grab a light night meal at a vegetarian place he recommended. It was a little too dressy for us travel zombies, but we found a cheap, lively Turkish place near by. We were the only people in the place and it was pretty late. After the musicians finished their set for the night, the owner and employees started taking turns with the guitars and the whole restaurant turned into one big Turkish jam session.

At first light, our suspicions were confirmed that Edinburgh (pronounced “ed-in-bur-ah”) was going to be one of our favorite cities so far. The whole vibe has this swagger; a smoothness. Like Rome, the city was built on seven hills, so the eye is always faced with something new to check out. It’s like a good story with charming characters put together, an intriguing plotline, and a dynamic ending. In short, it’s really cool.

Edinburgh’s coolness is evident in the charismatic people it has inspired over the years. Sean Connery posed nude for art students. David Hume rocked the philosophy. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and J.K. Rowling wrote some cool stuff. Alexander Graham Bell and Chuck Darwin read some cool stuff. Tons of cool people did such cool stuff, and you can kind of feel it. If in Paris love is in the air; in Edinburgh, cool is in the air.

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