July 29-Britannia and Stramash

We started today's adventure on a bus to Leith, which is just outside Edinburgh on the coast. Here, the former Royal Yacht Britannia is docked as an exhibition. It was used by the royal family on trips of state business and holiday. Whereas most of the royal sites we've been to have a high degree of extravagance, the Britannia feels more like a country house rather than a palace. In fact, Queen Elizabeth II designed the yacht in the hopes that it would feel more like a home than an elaborate palace. This is not to say it was sparsely decorated or furnished. The rooms used for functions and housing were beautiful and certainly worth of the royal seal. It was a great way to spend the morning.
We had lunch at Clarinda's Tea Room, so named for Robbie Burns' friend and mentor. They had a great selection of lunch foods and a tempting tray of sweets. I indulged in a bowl of carrot and coriander soup and a scone with the works (butter, jam, and cream--so good). The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the Royal Mile shops and exploring Victoria Street, a street of unique boutiques and restaurants. It was a great day for browsing; I'll admit that by this point, I was fairly museumed out.
We attended a fabulous musical showcase in the evening, in which we heard bagpipes, fiddles, guitars, and a few singers performing traditional Scottish music. The session, called a "stramash," was a great hour of music and a little bit of history of the music as well. One song I'm sure you all know would be Robbie Burns' "Auld Lang Syne," which was actually originally sung to a tune different from the one popularized today. It was a great finale to our time in Edinburgh. Since it was right across the street, we headed to the Elephant House for dinner. We endured a terribly long wait for our food--almost 45 minutes, and it wasn't that crowded. I can see how JK Rowling could've written the lengthy Harry Potters here. But the dessert almost made up for the long wait. I don't know what it was called, but it was a cake of chocolate graham cracker crust, caramel, cream, and chocolate sauce on top. So good!