Let the sun shine on!

The last two days I feel I have been very productive. Yesterday when I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and a mostly clear sky I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to climb to Arthur's Seat and the Crags. It was a beautiful climb and it felt really good to do a hike like that, even if it was pretty easy. Then right when I got to the top it started raining a little. Which wouldn't have been too bad except it is very very very windy up there. Which made the rain hurt a bit, so I didn't stay at the top for very long. But on the way down I learned how slippery those rocks get when wet. I can't tell you how many times I almost fell and it was only be my sheer coordination that I maintained standing. Or it could have been luck. Or the chain railing. I like to think it was skill and coordination though.
I also found a fabulous cafe on the Royal Mile called Almost Sunday. I don't know that the food really was that much better than other places I have been, but the staff was so beyond friendly and nice that it sure seemed like it was. It was really a very nice morning, even with the freezing rain on the hill. I also went to the Museum on the Mound, which wasn't very exciting unfortunately. Alas I didn't realize it was a museums about the founding of the bank there until I got inside, and then I might as well check the whole thing out.
This morning I woke up to another gorgeous blue sky. Can we talk about my luck with the weather here? I think I have had two legitimately bad days and I have been here for just shy of a month. That is not something I was expecting on this trip. The only downside to this morning's clarity though is it is the time of year that you need the cloud cover for it to be warm. So while beautiful and sunny, it was almost bitterly cold at the same time. I was not one to be deterred though and I headed out on my own personal art walk. I went to the Dean Gallery, GOMA, Collective Gallery, Stills Gallery, Fruitmarket Gallery, and one other I can't remember the name of. Loved the Stills and the Fruitmarket though. The Stills had a collection of black and white forest shots. But my favorite section was pairings of photos of the same location, same angle, but with a notable time difference between the shots. Its amazing the little changes we don't notice accumulating over time with basic things like that.
But even better than that was the Fruitmarket, which also had notably the friendliest and most personable staff. The had a staircase where each step was pressurized and hooked to a speak so as you climbed the stairs each one released a different note making a chromatic scale as you climbed up or down. And the elevator sang. When you went up it started with a bass at the bottome of his range singing upward, more voices joining in and dropping out until there was only a high soprano as you reached the next floor. It went in reverse on the way down. I totally want a musical staircase and or elevator! It was amazing! And the best part was the staff there encouraged me to take all forms all directions to make sure I heard every rendition. And then we all talked about how it would be fun to get a group on the stairs and have each person claim a couple notes/stairs and play an actual song by walking up and down. That would be so much fun.
Then I went to a pub which was recommended to me by my hostel. So much food for so cheap! I couldn't believe that it was actually good food too! I can't decide though if it was actually good or if my taste buds just don't care anymore. I think I'm going to go with the former though. Score one for my hostel though. Actually score several, as they have also introduced me to or reminded me of tons or music. They play great stuff all day long! And they not only fixed my stay for the days I wanted (the internet bungled my request a bit) but they made sure I wouldn't have to change rooms or beads any more. Keeping things simple they said. Basically Edinburgh rocks on all levels possible at this point.