June 7
Cockburnspath to Edinburgh

A late morning and a large breakfast. Yesterday's sun had been replaced by cloud and it was certainly cooler. I might have to take a second sweater on my travels. I did venture outside to take some photos of the house and the garden. I should have done both yesterday, in the brilliant sunshine.
The palatial B & B	Colours in the garden

Towards lunchtime, we set off in the car, along the busy dual carriageway, to Edinburgh, just over 30 miles away. Once in the city, traffic chaos ruled and I was grateful that I wasn't driving.

We stopped at a Tesco for John & Pauline to acquire some passport photos from a machine - for use on visas.

We then drove along cobbled streets to Leith and the old building which houses the Scottish Malt Whisky Society, a club of which John is a member. We lunched there in considerable grandeur, in a luxurious room with comfortable leather seats. I drank beer rather than whisky, but so did John. Right: I drank beer
The Scottish Malt Whisky Society

From there, we drove along more cobbles to the office which dispenses Russian visas. John & Pauline ventured inside and I wandered the local streets, all cobbled and all lined by elegant terraces.

Elegant cobbled streets

Pauline then left in the car, leaving John to walk and me to stagger with my back pack, up the hill to Princess St. Here there was even more chaos, caused by the long drawn out construction work for the Edinburgh trams.

The tram has a lot to answer for	Wonderful view from the hotel
The Royal British has definitely seen better days and my room was small and imperfectly formed. The view from the window, however, was amazing and the check-in staff seemed friendly. We wandered along a busy Princes Street, me stopping at regular intervals to take photos and John managing not to look too bored. We had a coffee stop and entered the new town.
	Princes Street

Elegance is definitely the watch word here. Georgian terraces and crescents abound, most of the buildings having delicate wrought iron balconies.

Elegant terraces in the New Town	Lots of wrought iron

John then left, heading towards his gym, and I crossed the road to the West End, where there are yet more elegant terraces with delicate balconies.

After a reasonable explore, I claimed a seat in Bert's Bar, an old pub with comfy seats and good beer. I had a much needed rest, a pint of interesting hoppy beer from Alloa and the chance to write up my diary for the day.

Bert's Bar

The sun was shining brightly as I emerged from the pub with my fleece slung over my arm. By the time that I had walked ten yards up the street, I realised that the wind had a considerable chill to it, so I put it on again.

I walked slowly towards Dean Bridge, which crosses the Water of Leith at a great height. I took photos off both sides and continued on my way, following John's directions.

The houses were tall, elegant and stone, just like almost everything else I had seen in the city. I even passed the magnificent edifice that is Fettes College, alma mater of our former dear Prime Minister, nice Mr Blair.

I found Stewart's Melville College, not difficult given the size of the place, and sat on a wall with John until Pauline arrived in the car to collect us.

We drove over lots more cobbles in lots more traffic until we reached the intended restaurant - not the most ornate Pizza Express in Britain! We parked, had a brief walk along the banks of the Leith, discovered that the restaurant was full and returned to the car. Not far away, close to John & Pauline's Edinburgh flat, we had more success and enjoyed a pleasant meal in a French bistro.

Stewart's Melville College	The Water of Leith
The most ornate Pizza Express?	The Old Town in the evening light

They drove me back to the edge of Princes St, where I disembarked. The evening sun was shining brightly on the old town, so I took some photos, descended several escalators onto Waverley Station, took more photos and returned to the hotel for the night.