Elephant Polo??

"At what unusual sport did Scotland become world champs in 2016?"

Rugby? No.  Curling? Nope. Morris Dancing? No!  It was elephant polo, of course. 

"Who was the author of the book 'Chitty, Chitty, Bang! Bang!'?"

"Which band wrote this [mid-2000's] song?" (30 seconds of unfamiliar music).

And so the questions went for five rounds of pub quiz tonight at Jeremiah's. And then came this zinger which stumped all but ourselves: "What U.S. city has a team called the Chargers?" No Way!!! We let out a loud whoop and our 100+ evening companions stared. Still didn't do us much good as we finished last among the 19 teams. But we did have fun.

  But that's dinner before breakfast....

The National Museum of Scotland

  The National Museum of Scotland is a wonderful place. Located in the heart of the town, this museum is free (except for special exhibits). Regular exhibits include Scotland's Story, World Cultures, Animal World (photo below), and more. 

    Animal World gallery

We particularly wanted to see "Celts" - a display of artifacts and jewelry from ancient days and many parts of Europe. That was great! Well done!

Overall, the SNM is spacious. Light, and accessible. Two of the three floors held excellent coffee shops so parents could park themselves and leave the kiddies free to roam the plains. We could sure use something like this in San Diego.

Blackwell's Books

James Thin Bookseller was Edinburgh's oldest bookstore. Blackwell's Books, a family operated chain bookstore, bought James Thin's and preserved the original building. Blackwell's is multi-story with a fabulously helpful and friendly staff. They helped us find Irish cookery, Scottish poetry and Asterix comic books in English and Irish. The collection also includes music and DVDs. I was tempted to get season three of Death in Paradise that I have been patiently waiting to air at home.