Weekend with Leah: Day Three

We got up early on Sunday to go to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, which was just a 10 minute walk or so from the hotel. But on the way, we realized it was Sunday, and we would get there before it opened! So, we had about 20 minutes or so of sitting outside on a bench, staring at the various sculptures on the museum grounds.

 It is kind of hard to see in the picture due to the fact that only half of the first word is illuminated, but the sign on the museum says "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT." Isn't that just fantastic?

Once the museum opened, we headed straight for the cafe! It was a scones and latte kind of morning.

 We took our breakfast outside to the lovely gardens. Even on a cloudy morning, it seemed a lovely, tranquil place.

 As like most modern art museums I have been to, the theme of sexuality radiated throughout the exhibits. There was a particular exhibit that is currently open, called "From Death to Death and Other Small Tales." It was all about the human body, and touched upon everything from a physical exploration using fibers that are similar to the texture of skin like in the piece below, to looking into the early childhood experiences we may have that shape the way we view our bodies and what we do with them. Some other common themes were examining traditional gender roles, statements about the objectification of women's bodies, and explorations about sexual orientation. I found the exhibits really interesting, and many of them were shocking.

 One of the most interesting parts of the exhibit was actually a film reel. A highly popularized exhibit was being opened at a museum (I'd say it was the late 1960s/early 1970s), and people were endlessly coming through the doors. The two artists who thought up this idea, decided to stand naked facing each other in the doorway, forcing those who entered the museum to squeeze between them. Little did the museum patrons know, they were being filmed the whole time! It was interesting to see how the people reacted - most blatantly ignored the artists. I should mention too that one was a man, and one was a woman. Leah and I kept watching, and we realized that most of the men seemed to squeeze through by facing the women, and the women usually preferred to face the men. But rarely ever did any of the people coming through acknowledge what they were doing. It was so interesting.

 After the museum, we headed off to the Royal Botanic Gardens. At the point, the clouds gave way to sunshine. I wish we could have spent more time here, because it was so lovely! I am going to try to go back to do a little bit more exploring, I think. Best of all, like the museums in Edinburgh, the Gardens are free!

 We hung out in the gardens for a while, and then headed back to the hotel to get freshened up. We had a reservation at the Balmoral Hotel on Prince's Street for afternoon tea! We decided to take a bus from the hotel we were staying in to the Balmoral, and we were worried at one point we wouldn't make it! There was road work being done, so we had to take a detour. Thankfully, we made it in time for our reservation.

Walking into the dining room was amazing. There was a harp player serenading us all from the balcony, and the walls were decorated with romantic images of fine ladies in gowns. We got the tea for two - as you can see, a fine spread of finger sandwiches and desserts! We had five types of sandwiches, three desserts each on the tier, all the tea you would like, a signature hotel drink made with pommes, and scones and jam were delivered after all of that! There was also a trolly that brought over another selection of sweets.

Everything was incredible, and it was so nice to be pampered! As you can see, we devoured everything but two scones, which were packed up for us so we could bring them home.

As you can see, even the loo was posh!

 After our delicious tea, we headed out onto Princes Street. Most of the stores in this area of town are designer brands, and quite out of our price range. But it was really fun to look around and see what they had to offer. One thing I wish is that I had left room in my bag for shopping. At this point, I have yet to buy any souvenirs, and the only thing I bought for myself was a ring which obviously is not going to take up any space in my luggage. I have had this idea of collecting local pottery from every country I travel to, as I feel they are so reflective of the feeling of the place their made in. But I did not think ahead very well, so I may have to rethink this. But pardon, I do digress...

 We were quite sleepy after our busy day, so we went back to the hotel to freshen up. The weather for the day began colder and cloudy in the morning, turned to warm and sunny, and then began to get cooler again. So we changed our clothes to something warmer, and headed to Georges Street, a road that runs parallel to Princes Street. It is also full of the upscale stores, but many of the restaurants are reasonably priced for New Town. One restaurant that was recommended to us was "Cafe Andalez." It is a Spanish Tapas place. We thought it might be nice to try something different, and as it had an appealing menu, we decided to head inside. The restaurant was very atmospheric, with beautiful artwork and painted plates on the walls. It was all so colorful Even the floor was decorative, with little colorful tiles carrying through the Spanish theme to literally everywhere you looked.

As you can see, we had a delicious spread of dishes. It was great, because they had an extensive vegetarian menu, so we shared most of the orders! My favorites were the spicy potatoes and the goat cheese topped with marmalade. I'm getting hungry again thinking about it!

                                             Our meals also came with desserts!

 We had such a fantastic time, that I did not want to leave. So I ended up staying over (Sunday night) and heading right to the hospital from Edinburgh on Monday morning. Because I had only packed for three days worth of sunny-weather clothes, I was not really prepared for the rainy morning we awoke to. I think the rain contributed to the bittersweet atmosphere. I was really sad to see Leah off, but knowing she was continuing her adventure into the Highlands of Scotland made me feel better - I knew we would have to catch up again soon to hear about the next set of adventures! It was a great weekend!