20140419 A Nat Day

Nat Pendleton, whom we've known since the day he was born, is a senior at St. Andrews University, and really, the reason for our making this Scotland trip now.  Nat graduates in June, and on our bucket list has been a visit here before he graduates.

Nat took the train to town today to spend the day with us.  I look like I feel in this photo.  It was hard not to hug Nat, but I sure was too toxic to do so.  Poor Allen already spent a night listening to me cough and sneeze, so him I got to hug.

We took an amble on this beautiful morning all over New Town, back to the National Gallery of Modern Art, then headed east along cobblestoned streets with beautiful huge 19th century homes, gardens, cathedrals, and fun shops and restaurants.

I think its interesting that Scots refer to their huge rows of apartments as tenements, such an innocent definition compared to its U.S. counterpart.

Lunch was at one of Nat's favorites, the organic Urban Angel.  I left the guys at that point to rest for the afternoon while they did the National Portrait Gallery, walk the Portobello beach area near the mouth of the First of Forth, and settled in for a few pints one some of Nat's favorite pubs.  I caught up with them for dinner at another of Nat's favorites, The King's Wark restaurant in the original city port area of Leith (I'm very proud of myself that I navigated there all by myself via Edinburgh's extremely efficient bus system).

One more day's observation - I'm surprised to see that (still) Princess Diana and baby Prince George are shamelessly used to sell stuff.