Princes Street

23-25 Sep 2003:
It was my 3rd visit to Edinburgh. My spouse was there for work and as usual I tagged along. He took a flight while I went by train - a 6 to 7 hours journey (one way) from Newbury.

Day 1:
I reached there in the evening of 23 Sep and met up with him. We stayed in a hotel near the Haymarket train station (I can't remember which hotel it was).

Haymarket Train Station. Look deserted? That's because I waited until everyone left before taking a photo. Since all the photos were taken by me and without a tripod, I have no photo of myself for this trip.

I saw this when I stepped out of the train station. The structure with a clock is a war memorial for former players of Heart of Midlothian F.C. who died in World Wars I and II.


Day 2:
After he left for work, I took a train from the Haymarket station to Stirling (that's for another post) and came back in the evening. The time shown in the photo below: 11.12am (when I board the train to Stirling).

When I came back in the evening, my spouse was still at work so I took a leisure stroll all the way to see the floral clock in West Princes Street Gardens. The yellow line in the map below is the route I took. Yellow circle - Edinburgh castle, blue circle - The Royal Scots Greys monument, green circle - floral clock.

I walked along Princes Street, main shopping street in Edinburgh New Town and passed by a flower stall and numerous high street shops but I did not buy anything, just window shopping only.

Then I reached the West Princes Street Gardens and noticed a squirrel running about.

Photo of Edinburgh Castle  (yellow circle on map) as seen from the West Princes Street Gardens.

The Royal Scots Greys monument  (blue circle on map) shows a soldier from the Royal Scots Greys Regiment.

Finally I reached the floral clock (green circle on map) and I waited for the cuckoo (bird) to tell me the time. The time then was 4.10pm and the bird appears every 15 minutes.

Now you see it! The cuckoo appeared from its "nest".

Now you don't. No cuckoo.

West Princes Street Gardens. Then I walked all the way back to the hotel and joined my spouse for dinner.

Day 3:
I left for the train station immediately after breakfast while he checked out from the hotel and went to work before taking a flight back to London. I like walking along Princes Street and I hope to visit Edinburgh again one day.

Knowing

You say, "People who are doing what they want to do, are happy."

By and by, someone comes along and says, "I am doing what I want to do but I am not happy."

We say, "Then you are not doing what you really want to do. Go do other things. When you feel happy, see what you are doing. For that is the thing you want to do."

Daphnis who?

One morning, my spouse asked me to go out to our garden to look at a moth. I have not seen such a big moth before so I took a photograph of it. It landed on our car and did not fly away when I approached it. 

When I was young, I was told that when moths fly near humans, it means that the spirit of a loved one is visiting them. While I don't really believe it, I feel nice whenever I see a moth because I can choose to believe that it is someone closed to me who is visiting me from somewhere out there.

I googled for the name of this moth and came up with two results - Daphnis hypothous or Daphnis nerii (Oleander Sphinx Moth or Oleander Hawk-Moth), both species are from the Sphingidae family. I can't tell the difference between the two types of moth, except for their colour. So based on the colour alone, I believe this moth is Daphnis hypothous.

Later, when we drove the car to run some errands, the moth was still sticking to the car. We just let it be and when we arrived at our destination, it was no longer there. I hope it flew away to a new home but I wish to see it again because it looks so special.