Seeing the Sights!

From the upper deck of a tour bus or from ground level on the cobbled streets - and even on the trail up to Salisbury Crags, en route for Arthur's Seat (although I certainly didn't make it that far!) - we feasted our eyes on many of the sights of Edinburgh. As this fair city had been the courting place of my parents, many of these landmarks were very familiar to me from the stories told during my growing up years, but I always enjoy re-visiting them.
In recent years, I have enjoyed reading Alexander McCall Smith's books set in Edinburgh, so as I wandered the neighbourhood of Scotland Street and Drummond Gardens, I kept my eye open Bertie, six-year old child prodigy, fluent in Italian and proficient saxophonist. When in the Old Waverley Hotel, on Princes Street, I wondered whether I might run into Cyril, the dog with the gold tooth, slurping beer from a bowl under Angus Lordie's seat....
Interestingly enough, as I checked Scotland Street for number 44 - only to discover that there was no such number! - I met another 44 Scotland Street fan, herself an author (Susan Wilson) who had been giving a presentation on Scottish poets, Hugh MacDiarmid and Sorley MacLean, at the Edinburgh Book Fair. As Susan and I chatted, we discovered that we both live in the Victoria area, and plan to meet up when we return to Vancouver Island!