Second Day in Edinburgh

John came down with a cold, but our second day in Edinburgh he rallied and we went to Edinburgh Castle.

Of course the most fascinating part to me was the painting of "Grey Lady," a charger from the calvary regiment the Royal Scots Greys.

John enjoyed the prisons.

We walked by the Scottish National Gallery on the way to Marks and Spencer to pick up food for the train, so I dragged John in and we took a quick look around at the RSA Annual Exhibition. The theme this year was "Between the late and the Early" and was supposed to be related to different realities, shamanism, dreams, etc. It was really interesting, it's too bad we didn't have more time, but some of what we saw was amazing. Photography in the exhibit itself is prohibited, but we did get this snap in the entryway:

There was one of those on each side of you as you approached the entrance. Sparkly AND spooky. Then we kind of accidentally went through an underground passage and came up in a completely different building, where the permanent collections are for the Scottish National Gallery. Somehow I saw the painting below in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a few years ago, I wonder if there is another copy? Or maybe it was loaned out for a special exhibit. The woman on the right always reminds me of my mother.

Honestly the resemblance is striking.

Then we got some sandwiches and crisps and rode the train for 3 and half hours to Inverness. Our hotel in Inverness was a bit of a trip. It was called the Royal Highlander, was carpeted all in tartan, but had modern art (for sale, too!) on the walls:

Also, this was when I first began to notice that in the Highlands, if you don't have a heated towel rack you might as well be peeing into a hole in the ground. EVERYPLACE has heated towel racks. No matter how humble the B&B or Inn, if you have a toilet in your room, you have a heated towel rack. You may not even have a sink in the bathroom, but by god you will have a heated towel rack. I should have taken pictures of them all, but just take my word for it. Actually, I defy someone to find a me a hotel in the Highlands without a heated towel rack. I bet it can't be done. Kind of comforting, really.