Madison County Democrat. (London, Ohio) 19??-1958, 1956-06-05
= OUR
ca TOWN

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
We arrived here in the late
afternoon from Lochearnhead
by way of a road which took
us underneath the Firth of
Forth bridge-one of the Won
ders of the world from an en-
gineering standpoint. t he
great railroad bridge was COM
pleted in 1890 and is the pro-
duct of the effort of 5000 men
working day and night for
seven years! The tubular steel
construction gives the bridge
an almost lacy look and If a
bridge can be called beautiful,
this one is surely that.
But a word about a hotel
named "Bailie Nicol Jarvie"
situated in the village of Aber-
foyle some miles back. Once
the scene of revels of the fam
ed Rob Roy and his band of
lawless Highlanders, the Bal
lie Nicol Jarvie is now proud
and pretentious hostelry which
boasts fine cuisine and is the
principal meeting place for the
modern Highlanders Of today.
Here in the heart of the Tros-
sachs one sees both young and
old dressed in native costume
and not just for the edifica-
t!on of the tourist either
these people wear kits be-
cause they like them. Outside
on a tree hangs the poker with
which old Nicol Jarvie bested
q couple of nasty Highlanders
back in the old days-hence
the name of the hotel. These
mountain villages ring with
romance of the past which is
etill vc~v much alivc tNS"''.
Interesting people and inter-
esting places.
Our hotel in Edinburgh is
the mammoth old Caledonian
situated under the brooding
shadow of Edinburgh Castle
right in the heart of the
city. To give you an idea of
size of the Caledonian let me
point out that our room is ex-
actly 100 yards from the ele-
vatorsi This statistic is by act
ual measure and, needless to
say. we don't make any unnec-
essary trips to our room.
Princess Street in Edinburgh
is beautiful at this time of
year. The gardens are in full
bloom and the old castle atop
the hill is a beautiful sight.
This is the land of the linger-
ing twilight and you can still
read newspaper at IL o'colck
at night. This is understand
able if one reasons that New
York is actually further south
than Rome. If it were not for
the Gulf Stream, England and
Scotland would be ice-bound
and wholly unlivable.. But no
one seems to bother thinking
about this bit of fact and each
goes his way without the
slightest doubt that the Gulf
Stream will remain his friend
forever.
If you ever come to Edin-
hurgh. don't miss going for
dinner at a little inn called
rarmont House. Here you will
find the very best in Scotch
beef and lamb. Though very
small, the inn boasts one of
the largest menus in the city
and. as yet. it Is little known
to the tourist. We only learn
of it through taxi driver who
is old enough to be my grand
father.
Edinburgh is city of i'm
port TO all who travel around
seeking the better things in
life. You can see everything
here if you wait long enough.
The King and Queen of Ugan-
da are guests at the hotel
and have a whole staff of sec
retaries and travel guides with
them. II is quite sight to see
them come in to dinner dress
cd in long, white clothes which
hang clear TO the floor and
with colorful hats perched on
their heads. Looking around
the dining room we see Chin
esq Africans. Indians. Turks
and blonde Scandanavians -
all as unconcerned with each
other as cows in a field Truly
this is an international CITY
A walk down lovely Princes
Street is must for one ane
all. Our own sortie down this
broad thoroughfare is a de-
light. The stores here are ol
every variety and we stop here
and there to purchase a few
things for ourselves and 9th
ers. Interesting time in ons
store when we FRY to buy
couple of hats which the Scot
use for grouse shooting. They
bring out about 500 of tfss'
hats and. for the life of US. ~
can't find a single one thu
right size. Man explains tha
the size we require is the mos
popular size and it is for thi
reason that he doesn't hav