Flagrant Disregard Mosaic

Flickr. Certainly the coolest photo-sharing site available. Right. Flagrant Disregard. Definitely the coolest photo-enhancing set of toys. Just tell it what you want from your Flickr. and it gets it, builds it, and displays it. Tres Magnifique. Wastrel On! (Listening To: Noisynight by Portastatic)

The Jolly Judge Pub

We've walked up the hill to the castle, but decided upon arrival that we were hungry. So, we walked past the castle down Lawnmarket until a pub was located. That didn't take very long. The Jolly Judge is a typically Scottish basement-bar just off Lawnmarket in James Court. It apparently is frequented mostly by tourists and is actually a stop on a number of the walking tours that are so prevalent in this Edinburgh's Old Town. We popped in and took a seat, Larry (in the photo) ordered food for himself & Denise while I took my spot at the bar and ordered a half cider (for the wife) and a pint of the 80 shilling for myself. Quaint pub with friendly folk. The ceiling was plastered in paper money from all over the world. We did the only touristy thing we could do, we pulled out an American dollar bill, wrote our names on it and gave it to the barkeep to staple to the ceiling. I hope someday to return to the Jolly Judge and locate it. As a point of interest, the Jolly Judge has just installed free WiFi in their pub. Arsenal has FINALLY landed a player or two and are swooping in on a third. It's about time, we truly needed to shore up our midfield. The unfortunate thing here is that it appears we have just purchased a 19 year old & a 16 year old and are trying to close on another striker. Shame I'm not the manager, eh? Wastrel On! (Listening to: General Taylor by Great Big Sea)

Edinburgh Castle

Quite the image. Walking up the hill toward the castle from the carpark I looked up to see this. This imposing structure on top of an already imposing rockpile was a photo I couldn't resist. The Castle is such an overwhelmingly dominant structure that the city of Edinburgh would be lonely, indeed desolate, without it. It lords over the city like no other city in all of the British Isles. It exists to prove every childhood dream of a castle true. The epitome of the castle, it is the subject of countless stories & legends. It is visited by more than one million tourists every year who after visiting the castle & marvelling, wander out, down the esplinade and into the Royal Mile where they spend their hard-earned dollars, yen & euros on Scottish trinkets. A fantastic sight, a fantastic site. Wastrel On! (Listening to Burning Bridges by Garth Brooks)

Castle Terrace Car Park

Ahh, the Edinburgh Castle. Astonishing in it's rocky glory, no? My previous visit to the castle, I had recalled a street on which nearly no one parked that had easy access to the castle. Marita Beth navigated & I drove us to Grassmarket (Haymarket?) Street where we were to park, only to find that they had erected this HUGE parking garage, which made it doubly easy to park. It also explained why in Project Gotham 2, I was racing down familiar, yet unfamilar streets in Edinburgh. They'd put this monstrous parking garage in the game, I didn't know it was there. We parked & we walked, through the rain, up the hill to the castle. Marita Beth & I had a different agenda on that day, so we didn't go in the castle, but Larry, Denise & Ginger did...and loved it. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Rock the Casbah by the Clash)

Unknown Castle Burleigh Castle

We got up early this morning and headed toward Edinburgh, that fabulous auld city. Ginger, Larry, Denise, Marita Beth & myself in our little Ford headed to Auld Reeky. Marita Beth got a wild hair, which she does often enough, and decided that we should take the scenic route to Edinburgh & stop at every available scenic/historic/touristy stop...ok, scratch the touristy bit, we don't really do that. So, she grabbed the map and located a "castle" icon that was somewhere near our intended route and off we went. What a treat this little castle/fort was for us. Utterly empty, it was locked but bore a sign indicating we could pick up a key at the little housing complex across the street. I ran over, caught the lady just as she was leaving, got the key and walked back to the castle to go exploring. It was, originally, three stories, but only 2 of them have floors now, the third floor having long since rotted away. The stairs up to the second floor were slick with bird shit, but it was worth the climb. I regret that I do not recall the name of this little gem. We'd been there perhaps 30, maybe 40 minutes when the continuously darkening sky decided to open up. This photo is taken from inside our vehicle parked on the side of the road just after the rain really started coming down. Having just found out, the castle is Burleigh Castle. I'll search & find more. Wastrel On! (Listening to: August by Shooglenifty) (now listening to: Loch Lomond by Runrig)

Lady Stair's Close

Ahhh, Edinburgh, the Auld Reeky, truly one of my favourite places on Earth. According to the Scottish Place Names dictionary, the name Edinburgh means 'Fort of the Rock Face'. The 'edin' part comes from Scottish Gaelic and means 'rock face', while 'burgh' comes from Old English meaning stronghold (this bit of text taken directly from Stuck on Scotland). It didn't take long to find ourselves in the wynds & closes of the Royal Mile, the investigation of which could take days. The Lady Stair's Close is where the Writer's Museum is located and why we were walking into it. The day was misty, as so many of them were on this vacation, and most of us were bundled in hoodys, sweaters or other keep-warm clothing. Ginger & Marita Beth went the extra mile when entering this close & huddled together for warmth. I love those girls. Wastrel On! (Listening to: Let Your Troubles Roll By [LIVE] by Carbon Leaf)