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Published: November 3rd 2007
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It was great seeing my parents after more than three months away from home. I love the fact that they came to visit me, to see a little bit of what my life here is like. They flew into London and stayed there for two days before traveling by train to Edinburgh. I met them Tuesday at the train station, and after checking into their hotel, we just went out for a late dinner.
Wednesday morning I had to work, but wanted to show them my favorite café in Edinburgh, Deacon Brodie’s Café on the Royal Mile. It used to be the workshop of Deacon William Brodie, who was born 1741. By day he was a craftsman and town councillor, but by night a gambler, drinker and thief. Brodie made copies off the keys to shops he worked in and robbed them. He was caught during a break in and fled to Amsterdam. He was caught, though, and brought back to Edinburgh, where he was tried, found guilty and hanged on gallows that he had designed himself. In 1876, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a play called “Deacon Brodie or the Double Life” followed 2 years later by Jekyll and Hyde,
Looking down to New Town
Princes Street, with the Sir Walter Scott Memorial in the Back which made him famous. The café is just a really cozy, cute place. I liked it, and thought my parents would, too. The night before, I wrote down the name of the cafe because I knew they'd take a taxi, but they forgot I wrote it down. This morning, they get in the taxi and my dad tells the cabbie- "oh, you're going to love us. We need to meet our daughter but we don't remember where. Is there a cafe or something to do with Jack the Ripper????" JACK THE RIPPER??? Where the hell did they get that from? I tell you, my dad is a wee bit slow sometimes! Okay, Jack the Ripper= killer in London / Deacon Brodie=thief in Edinburgh…hello, do you see a connection?? I guess the fact that they lived in the same continent? But the real surprise was the cabbie figured it out!!! Can you believe that? My dad says he's probably going to be telling that story for years. "This one time, I had these stupid Americans get in the taxi..." Doing a lot for race relations, that’s my parents. 😊
Thursday night, my mom and I did one of the nighttime
ghost tours. This one was by Auld Reekie Tours. Auld Reekie is the old Scots nickname for Edinburgh, meaning “Old Stinky or Old Smoky” because in the olden days, there was a major stench from the open sewers, and when the buildings were heated by charcoal, there were thick clouds of smoke in the air at all times. The tour was ok, it went down underneath the city, under South Bridge. The best thing I had to say about it was it was free, since I used the passes I got from my work. And for free, it was decent entertainment.
Friday night after work, I took the bus to Glasgow to meet my parents, who had left earlier that day. After walking over two miles from the bus station to the hotel, I got to the room to hear my dad saying he felt like he was in ‘paradise’ because the hotel room was so nice. It was a Hilton, and modern, so the rooms were larger and nicer than most older British hotels. We went to a restaurant, Rococo, that was recommended by John, my parents chauffeur. It was a modern, fancy restaurant, i.e. really expensive. The
food was really good, but the service was horrible-so slow. It was the most expensive food I’ve ever eaten, but it just made me realize how I’m more of a casual, low-key kinda person. I think everyone in my family is.
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Dad
non-member comment
SLOW!!!
Nice Blog and btw, we had a wonderful time in the UK. But, whats this about Dad being a bit slow sometimes? Absent minded and forgetful at times (not unlike many geniuses), but slow?? Thaks a lot. Love, Dad