Attack of the Bed Bugs

I think our flat has bed bugs. Kate, Anna, and I are covered in red, itchy bumps. We’ve been spraying bug spray religiously, so all fingers crossed, the bed bugs will vanish.

We had a touristy day this past Saturday. After our ghost tour last week, we were determined to revisit both the Calton Hill cemetery and the top of the hill during daylight hours. After our necessary Saturday morning errands, we headed towards the cemetery. A statue of none other than Honest Abe Lincoln stands right outside the tomb of David Hume. The Scottish believe that a soul must have some place to go once it dies in order to reach heaven. Abe served as a gateway (for lack of a better word) for the souls of Scottish-Americans who died in the American Civil War away from their homeland. David Hume’s tomb is etched with Bible verses. According to our tour guide, whom we dubbed “Eyebrows” for 2 very obvious reasons, even though Hume was an atheist, his children were not and wanted him to go to heaven. And so we have Bible verses on the most well-known atheist’s tomb.

Calton Hill looks down on Leith, the northeast area of the city and where I currently work. Three buildings are on the tip-top of the hill: an observatory, a monument to Admiral Nelson, and “The Shame.” 1) The observatory is no longer used as such; someone finally realized Edinburgh has too much light pollution, and the 80% cloud coverage doesn’t help much, either. 2) Admiral Nelson served during the Napoleonic Wars. After receiving orders to retreat, Nelson disobeyed and pressed forward, and his ship was victorious against the Spanish enemies. Legend has it that after hearing his orders, he looked into his telescope—with his BLIND eye—and announced that he saw no reason to retreat. His monument on Calton Hill looks like the mast of a ship, complete with a telescope on top. A ball is raised to the very top of the tower every day, and at exactly 1:00pm, the ball drops. (Note: A cannon is also shot from the castle at 1pm. Punctuality is important.) 3) The National Monument, my favourite structure, is built to be an Athenian-style acropolis; it looks like the Parthenon in Edinburgh and was supposed to be a nearly exact replica. BUT… half-way through building it, the Scottish government ran out of money for the project and simply stopped. So, ½ of an Athenian acropolis, now nicknamed “The Shame,” adorns the top of the hill. The Shame is apparently a popular place for teenagers to drink excessive amounts of whiskey and is also the location of the annual Beltane Fire Festival.

Our Saturday was completed with trips to the Writers Museum and the Edinburgh Castle and finally to The Tron on Hunter Square (quickly becoming one of our favourite pubs) with our Canadian friend, Angela, to see our British friend, Mark, and his band, White Heath. (Good show; enjoyed by all.) We stopped for cookies before heading home, and as a result, we had to run like the wind to barely catch the last 35 bus. Good times and good cookies.

PC homecoming is this weekend. I must admit I am kind of disappointed to be missing my first homecoming as an alum; however, I am even more excited about our weekend’s plans than I am disappointed about what I am missing back in the states. We are going on a bus tour of the HIGHLANDS… including a boat tour of Loch Ness. Maybe I’ll see Nessie; I’ll have my camera ready just in case.