"Grandad, why did you ever leave these bonny, bonny shores?"

The bustling streets of Edinburgh.

I am apologizing in advance, this is going to be a picture laden entry!  Firstly, because the city and environs are so gorgeous and for the entire time I was there, there was this hot, yellow ball of fire in the sky. Quite unusual I was told.

The city is quite compact and easy to navigate.  I was staying on Lothian Road which wends it's way down to the Uni and the National Museum.  It also crosses Princes Street, a quite good high street (shout out to the staff at Clark's Shoes!!💕).  It was fun to see all the British brands and Scottish tourist rubbish.

Steps into the wee Kirk where Greyfriar's Bobby rests.

Some of the faculty offices at the University.

The "Quad" and a rotunda lecture hall.

Looking down the Royal Mile, away from the castle towards the Firth of Forth.  (Dunno where once, twice, etc. are, but I kept my eyes peeled.)

One of the closes off of the Royal Mile.

The other end of the Royal Mile, the Castle!

The heather coloured hills surrounding the city, spectacular.

Part of the skyline from Princes Street Gardens.

It sounds kind of old lady, but I really enjoyed sitting in the park, drinking milky tea and watching people. The crowds weren't horrendous and the pace was leisurely.  Plus a great free public washroom near the bandshell!  You only rent tea.

Some housing from the Haymarket area.

Haymarket was fun because it isn't a true touristy area in the same way the rest of the city is.  People live here.  This is an example of some of the housing which I found very charming.  It also had a working class feel to it like "Coronation Street."

Part of Arthur's Seat, Holyrood Park.

I didn't get a chance to go through the park as access was partially restricted.  There was a "Royal" in residence at Holyrood Palace.  I saw their standard flying.  This end of the city I did by the "Hop On Hop Off" bus.  My feet hurt and I am too short to get a good vista. It was okay. 

Simple memorial to such a great writer.

The actual reason I was there was the conference on new research being presented by members of the Association Of Dress Historians.  It was truly an amazing experience.  The day before the conference, the curator of the "Diversity on the Catwalk" exhibit for the National Museum of Scotland gave us a tour.  It was really interesting and quite well done.  It highlighted 5 things the fashion industry is struggling with, race, mobility, LGTBQ, size and age.  Of course the last one really interested me as I am in 2 diverse demographic groups, the vanishing customer from the high street and media but also one of the largest groups with discretionary income..what gives?

Only one shot of the conference because it was so interesting I forgot to photograph!

The topics ranged the gamut but all were interesting in their own ways.  The presenters themselves were an interesting group from really diverse fields and countries.  The presentations that I thought that would be a snooze were sooo captivating.  It was a chance to really geek out.  Plus I got to meet 2 Canadians whose work I have been following for awhile.  Total Girl Crush!!  Rest assured they are invited to stay with us if they ever come to Vienna.

I didn't go to the dinner afterwards but instead decided to pop over to Edinburgh Fabrics which is in the University district.  OMG the neighbourhood was so lively it being so close to the University.  Had I only been several decades younger!!

Hard to see, but a shop window welcoming Orange 45's upcoming visit.  The one on the upper right is a toilet brush.

Of course everyone's curious about the cuisine of Scotland.  Being at bit of a gourmand, I sampled it all.  Please note: I did have Fish and Chips but ate it so fast, I forget to photograph it.  Also thought about a deep fried Mars bar!

Breaky at Uni.

Jacket potato, Royal Mile.

Dinner at "Bread, Meat, Bread."

Breaky at "Tasty Buns."

Heart Attack Breakfast at Grassmarket.

Lunch at Tasty Cakes/Boozy Bakes.  Sticky toffee spice layer cake.  Good, but made my teeth ache it was so sweet.

Finally, nothing like toilet paper for motivational thoughts!

Finally, MEN IN KILTS.  The moment you've all been waiting for.

Wedding Party at City Hall.

On the Royal Mile.  Had to smote a Chinese tourist to get the shot.

Again at the castle.

Outside Princes Park.

And who could forget these lads!

I was quite pleasantly surprised to see many regular men wearing kilts.  One guy in particular, was rocking the black utility kilt look but was moving at such a pace I couldn't get a shot.  Damn.

Arriving back in Vienna.

There is so much more that I experienced.  The people were super nice, every corner a new adventure, and the city just drips with history and charm.  

"Grandad, why did you ever leave these bonny bonny shores?!"

Painted Ladies

Just returned from going up to my friend Colleen's place in Czech Republic.  I'm such a sucker for the laughs and good food that I forget what a shit ton of work it is.  But I love it.  30 years of pent up HGTV have to be vented somewhere!

Never noticed my car matches the house.

This trip was all about PAINTING...love it in theory... hate it in practise.  Catherine and Colleen had the really hard part doing the floors.  They were an awful mishmash of tiles.

Bleech, but I guess they used what they could.

They began the awful job of "impregnation" (to be said with an Italian flourish!).  First you paint toxic schmutz on the tiles, let dry, then add a different type of toxic schmutz on the tiles.  Colleen is enjoying this waaaay too much. 

The smiles are suspicious..more ventilation please!

"St. Catherine, the patron saint of floor paint application."

What a difference!  Those two are amazeballs!

My job was painting the dining room and kitchen.  Let's just say it was nasty.  Years of wood smoke, spider webs and shitty stucco board.  The fun part was learning to plaster.  I have worked with this stuff before in theatre but there we always called it "Designer Pig Pooh."  So lots of taping and sanding was called for.  However the finished product looks pretty darn good, though I forgot to photograph it...duh.  Though I'm sure every time I'm up, I'll see a space I missed.  I deliberately avoided the living room because you know how it is when you paint..when one room looks good the others look dingy.

I think a portrait of me would fit that niche nicely!

It wasn't all work and no play.  Colleen occasionally let us off the compound to go to town and the various second hand stores.  I was so chuffed to find my cow picture still there!  I know exactly where it's going too!  The other store was really bizarre but in a good way.  Lots of crudely done artwork and tattered taxidermy...scary/cool.  But they weren't budging on the prices so we left a bunch of stuff behind, their loss.

"The Divine Bovine."  The picture not me!

Let's just merchandizing wasn't their strong suit.

So I left yesterday on the long drive back to Vienna.  Next week is the conference in Edinburgh so please stay tuned!  I appreciate you reading these posts and your comments.  

Ciao for now.💋

 

"Yo Mama...she be a fine sewer!"

A little "Run MHP"

Okay, what else do you do on a cold rainy day except, sew yourself an awesome hoodie and take rap star pix?! 

It's actually the first day since we've been back that's been relatively normal.  Monday pm we arrived back here and were very grateful to be able to go to sleep in our own bed.  (If only you could travel but sleep in your own bed at night....they can put a man on the moon...).  Both of us fell into a deep sleep only to be awoken by the phone at midnight.

Our youngest, C was not being allowed to get on his flight from Montreal.  Apparently you can't stay more than 90 days in the EU.  Of course, it never occurred to us to check...we're Canadians!! Well the poor guy was very distressed and had to end up buying a new return ticket.  The only saving grace was that the flight was repeatedly delayed so he had minutes to get his ticket.  He remained calm and handled the situation very well, all things considered.  Us?  Not so well.  I stayed awake the whole night feeling shitty for him.  (He had also gotten screwed with return flights at Christmas because of the weather.)  Yikes, I doubt there is nothing now at an airport he can't handle.  Anyway, he arrived safe and sound.  He's chillin' as we speak.

Italy seems so far away.



Our last meal in Gaiole with the gourmet meats that our celebrity host made and an awesome bottle of Prosecco from our trip up north.  The pizza was good too!



Bibione was our destination for the last 2 days of our trip.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and we were stuck inside the whole time.  Who expects 4 degree weather with wind in May on the Italian coast?  Apparently not me.  Plus the whole town is boarded up because there are no tourists...a very strange place.  So what do you do?  You find the nearest Euro Spar buy some food, eat do interpretive dances when the internet goes down and generally just try to stay warm. 

No internet but FOOD!

And this is how I crossed the Dolomites.  I think I have a fine seat.  Dolly was a bit stiff after all those mountains, but who wouldn't be?  I know, you thought I was just a cyclist.



Aside from preparing for C's arrival, part of the big rush home was that there was a reception for Team Canada at the Official Residence.  All the big names were there, Eddie Shack, Gump Worsley, Stan Mikita even Dave Semenko!  So N and G scrubbed up and hit the gala.  Actually, it was pretty cool.

So kids are here (thank goodness!) and I'm starting to get excited about all our visitors.  I'm up to Nalzovice (say it like you read it...Not!) to supervise  C and her friend C in their various cottage renos.  Mostly I think it's to stop too much day drinking going on! 

I'll post from there!

A shout out to my brother M and all the good people in Calgary who helped him out..God bless.

We shall return!

Thanks for all of your kind comments!  You know it only encourages me. 

Thursday was a fun day.  G wanted to do a mondo ride with lots of climbing.  Me, ....not so much! So he went off on his way and me on mine.  The climb that had taken me almost 2 hours the first day took one hour twenty yesterday!  Whoo hoo!  I really enjoyed the solo ride because I was the only cyclist on the road.  Hardly any traffic and plenty of birds and quiet.  Feels good to ride up a hill under your won physical power.  Stopped in Radda in Chianti for my salumi and pecorino panini..delish!

Don't normally selfie but this was too good not to!

Not a bad lunchtime view.

When G returned from his epic ride we went for gelato (natch) and spent time deciding where to go for dinner.  We ended up at this fantastic place called "Ristorante Malborghetto".  We were greeted by the chef and just had such a lovely time and meal.  Gawd Tuscany is truly like the brochures!

The slop we had to eat in Tuscany!

Today was supposed to be rainy and G's bike had malfunctioned yesterday so we went for a walk up in the hills to compensate for missing out on a bike ride.  We were on a "Strade Bianche" one of the famous white gravels roads of Chianti.  Lots of fun to see the untouristy parts of the region.

Our goal was that castle above G's head, but hunger won out!

After that we hopped in the car to go tour south of Sienna and see the region as it opens out.  It was amazing, vista after vista (punte panaramico after punto panaramico).  Got a few Kodak moments for sure.

Look at the weird pump jockeys in Italy.

Unbelievable...sigh.

Sadly it's our last day here.  We are off to the coast tomorrow for a couple of days. No more cycling but definitely eating "thatsa for a sure!"

One more morning to enjoy this view.

Margaret Peters and "The terrible, horrible no good ride".

"Why do I continue to fall for G's assertion that it's only a hill?  No, it's 800m of climbing!!! I am such an idiot.  Normally I'm a pretty good sport but yesterday's slog was soul-destroying!  The first part of the ride should have been an omen, it was a "white road", or what the Italians call a gravel road.  Not a problem I have the tires etc., but the grade was the problem.  So for 1-2kms I had to push my bike (suddenly e-bikes didn't seem so lame afterall!) but the little town (Vertine) at the top was amazing. 


It's a part of "L'Eroica" route which is this crazy bike race through the Tuscan hills where no one can use any bike stuff after 1972.  Apparently over 7,000 nutjobs show up to race.

Church mosaic at Vertine.

That's the problem is all these little towns at the top are amazing!
Volpaia was so worth the ride, the tears (yes I cried at myself for being such a dolt) and the sweat.  We lunched up there and baked in the sun like lizards!

Before...

10 minutes later!

Of course the ride down hill is what it is all about, 2.5 hrs to ride up, 50 minutes coming down...sheesh.

Lorenzo's salumis

Once back in Gaiole we found the "bike shed" full of meats curing.  That's probably several thousands of Euros right there and when we added our bikes to the mix the value increased immediately!  Ha ha!



Lemme tellya, it was early to bed last night.  Ciao for now.