Scotland awaits you

We completed our trans-Atlantic crossing and arrived in Edinburgh around 11:30 AM. Slightly disappointed when we cleared customs….. our passports were scanned, no questions about where we were from, or how long would we be here….just welcome to Scotland… No passport stamps to record our entry. Computers have taken over the world. We took a taxi to the Hilton Carlton and presented ourselves for check in. We were tired, hungry, and wanted our room. Rooms were not ready, maybe in a couple of hours. They stored our luggage, and we went in search of a place to eat. We found what we were looking for at Luckenbooths restaurant. The name Luckenbooths comes from the timber fronted tenement buildings which existed across the street from 1440 until around 1817. It was our first taste of Scottish cuisine. Linda had fish and chips, Amanda had butternut soup, Harry had a Scottish steak sandwich, and I had smoked salmon. I thought Harry’s sandwich looked kind of like the ones we can get in Alabama. After lunch we went back to the hotel and settled in. Afterwards we went for a walk around Old Town. By then it was dinner time, and we ate at Deacon Brodie’s restaurant. You may not have heard of Deacon Brodie, but I am sure you have heard of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. William Brodie, known as Deacon, was a well respected member of the Edinburgh society. He was well to-do and a member of the town council. As respected as he was, Deacon had some bad habits. He had two mistresses, numerous children, and a gambling habit. To support his habits, he had a night job. He was the leader of a gang of burglars and their names were Brown, Smith, and Ainslie. They decided to burgle His Majesty’s Excise Office in Chessel’s Court, on the Canongate. Although Brodie had planned the burglary himself, things went disastrously wrong. Ainslie and Brown were caught and turned King’s Evidence on the rest of the gang. Brodie escaped to the Netherlands but was arrested in Amsterdam and returned to Edinburgh for trial. Brodie was found guilty and was sentenced to death by hanging. The irony here, Brodie designed the gallows that were used for his execution.

It is said that Brodie’s bizarre double-life inspired Robert Louis Stevenson, whose father had had furniture made by Brodie. Stevenson included aspects of Brodie’s life and character in his story of a split personality, ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde’.

We had a great dinner, then returned to our hotel and turned in. Tomorrow, a walking tour of Old Town.