Since I have been to Scotland many times and enjoy visiting family and friends so much, I have never really done all the "touristy" type stuff while here so I decided to take advantage of my ten day stay and take a little trip over to Edinburgh.

View of Edinburgh 

On Monday night I found a super deal at the Travelodge Waterloo for 29 Pound ($46).  This is a terrific deal since most places were going for upwards of $150 around the same location.  I also checked out some attractions and tours and the next morning I was on my way!  Total train trip, including a change of stations in  Glasgow was about two hours...in total comfort - can't say enough about how awesome the train service is in Scotland!

The weather lived up to the expectation one might have of Scotland - cold and rainy but I had a terrific time in any case!  I stubbornly refused to haul an umbrella around with me and came to the soggy conclusion that my little green jacket was designed more as a windbreaker rather than a water repellent. but c'est la vie!

Street performer on the Royal Mile

The hotel was about a two minute walk from Waverley Train Station and due to the extremely low cost I walked down the street with trepidation.  After the clerk gave me the key and mumbled incoherent directions, I headed to the elevator.  Since my room number was 301 I hit the floor 3 button but was told by another person on the lift that I had to go to -3.  I pictured myself in some dungeon below the streets of Edinburgh but found myself in a clean little room, backing onto an alley.  Apparently, this room, which was advertised as ACCES, was designed for travellers who are wheelchair bound.  The bathroom was huge and contained various accessible features.  In the morning, when I was still half asleep and it was dark, I stumbled into the bathroom and reached around for the cord that I thought would turn on the lights.  As soon as I yanked on the cord, alarms sounded and lights flashed.  Apparently I had pulled on the panic, "I need help" cord.  I had visions of firefighters and police knocking down my door any minute as I furiously looked around the room to find a phone to call the front desk and tell them that I didn't really need rescuing but being a budget accommodation there was not a telephone to be found.  Luckily, I found a huge button on the wall to press and cancel the call.  Unfortunately, I was now worried about going in the shower since I was worried that my would be rescuers were perhaps, just delayed a bit and they might burst in at any minute.

More later...