I spent my last full day in Glasgow walking in rain and pursuing another Chas Rennie Mackintosh/Margaret Macdonald installation. How fitting.

The walk there passed by Glasgow’s more modern exhibition center and science museum on the River Clyde. I was heading to an inspired place — House for an Art Lover — which Mackintosh was never commissioned to do. He had submitted interior and exterior plans to a German competition that he did not win (no one did?!) but he received a cash prize and recognition for the originality of his designs (1901). And 95 years after his submission, a team of historians, academics, architects, artists, and craft workers completed the project to see his (and his wife’s) designs to reality. Nothing therefore is “original” to Mackintosh or Macdonald but people did extensive research to try to match what they believed were their original intentions. I also took one external shot but I don’t think his outsides are as interesting. Tonight it’s time to pack (laundry done already!) so I can catch a train in the morning to Edinburgh. I’ll miss my lovely hosts, Fiona and Alex, but I’m sure they will be happy to get their house back for a bit (though I’m sure they’re booked again soon. And if anyone’s going to the Glasgow area, I highly recommend their place. It’s beautiful, comfortable, a 3-minute walk to the train plus 12 min ride to Glasgow Central, and if you have a car, free parking and close to the motorway. They’ve got great advice for going in and out of town and couldn’t have been more hospitable, generous, fun, and interesting people). Anyway I’ll miss feeling pampered but it’s time to hit the road!

Today was sunny all over Scotland!! After an uneventful ride to Edinburgh (actually, had a funny and enjoyable chat with a Scottish woman on the train who was going to Edinburgh for a meeting) and checking into my Airbnb, I headed out to Rosslyn Chapel (at the advice of Fiona). It’s about 9 miles outside Edinburgh and the local bus takes about 45 mins to get to the town of Roslin. Look at the blue skies!!! Anyway the chapel is now famous because of Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code — the folks there are happy about it because it’s brought in a ton of tourists and revenue for the church restoration. It was never completed to the original Knight St Clair’s wishes (original forebear was French but they’ve also spelled the name Sinclair or St Clare) and it was in ruins for a long time. But it’s a classic gothic chapel complete with flying buttresses and gargoyles.We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside but it’s quite intriguing. All stone work with tons of faces, flowers, animals, and stories carved into the barrel ceiling, on archways, on pillars, lintels, and everywhere in between. Here’s their official website if you want to see more. https://www.rosslynchapel.com/

Of course, spoiler alert but the ending of DaVinci code doesn’t seem to match up with what’s in the basement crypt. It was all pretty cool anyway.

There’s also a lot of walking paths in the area, many which lead around the Roslin castle. I didn’t realize it was so close but thankfully asked about seeing other stuff since the day was so beautiful (60 and sunny felt pretty amazing after all the rain I’ve seen here) — and was directed to the area. It’s all in ruins. But also interesting. The ruins were famously painted by Turner…. and many others. I thought this painting was cool to see it in one shot. https://goo.gl/images/s6tGC8 Also cool, the current Earl of Rosslyn actually rents out a few of the working rooms in the castle ruins — something to think about for your next holiday!! (You can see pink curtains in one of windows in the last photo– guess that’s a guest room?!)

When I got back to Edinburgh, it was getting close to sunset so I decided to walk to a high point (Calton Hill) overlooking the city before it got dark. I’m not sure if it was the good weather or if every sunset is like this, but there were a lot of people up there taking pictures. Here’s just a few of mine… Edinburgh has huge mountains on one side and water as well (the Firth of Forth — I can’t make this stuff up!). It’s quite stunning in a way Glasgow is not. But I think I made the right choice to spend the majority of my time in Glasgow. It’s a bigger city and more spread out — and Edinburgh has the government stuff plus more tourists, I’d say. Overall Edinburgh feels less authentic, whatever that means. That said, I’ll end this post with a few more shots from Calton Hill in a variety of directions…