The View

Sunday, July 12

Still recovering, I slept in and met Anya in Carrubbers at noon. The walk to Carrubbers is about 25 minutes, so before I left, I downloaded a sermon by Alister Begg (I thought him an appropriate choice in Scotland), listening to it as I walked, and finished just as I arrived. 

We were invited to have a picnic lunch at the Botanical Gardens by Sarah. We stopped by Tesco's to buy some food, then drove to the gardens. It was so beautiful there!! We met up with her friends, Jenny and Michael with their three children and Michael's brother, and tried to find a spot in the ever-elusive sun. Anya and I had scones with cream and jelly for lunch (a must while in Britain!) and relaxed while we got to know the others. 

After lunch, Anya and I said goodbye and walked over to Calton Hill. It is a hill in Edinburgh that contains ruins of a partially built, but never finished Acropolis. It also happens to offer incredible views of the city and surrounding landscapes. 

On our way, we stumbled across this pub. 

I found the secret entrance! ;)

We enjoyed the view for awhile, and then parted. I needed to rest and take a nap, but Anya was able to keep walking around, shop, and even read by the castle for awhile. We reconnected again at the Rose's and had toast for dinner (we were slightly obsessed with toast in Edinburgh...I don't think we went a meal without it. :) ) (Crimea- River). But as soon as we were finished, Cameron Rose came in and started putting water on, sticking bread in the toaster, and invited us to join him and some people from church (evening service) for toast! We declined the toast, but we did end up staying to hang out for awhile. What an eclectic group we became. One of the great thing about the Rose's is their hospitality. Cameron will invite anyone over after church and they often have people staying at their place, Anya and I being one of the many. During our stay, a couple of French men were also staying, so they and another Frenchman that they had just met that night at church, along with us two Americans, another Scottish man, and the Rose's were seated around their table discussing various topics. The Scottish man I was seated next to has been attending Carrubbers but isn't a Christian and is trying to learn about it (from a very philosophical background). I was able to talk with him for a little while, because he was surprised that Anya and I would go to three services in a day, plus bible study during the week. He wanted to know why. The Frenchman that everyone had just met also wasn't a believer but just walked into the church that night because he had liked the singing and was interested in church architecture. The Frenchmen mostly talked to him in French so I'm not really sure what took place at that end of the table. That night, I also tried some homemade Orange and Lemon Wine that one of the Frenchmen staying at the Rose's had made at his house in southern France. It was very sweet but very strong as well. We had small portions. :) It was an interesting night, but after a little while, Anya and I excused ourselves to go to bed.