There’s a certain allure to Edinburgh that drew me in when I was there with my friend, Anthony, one summer three years ago. It was beautiful, happy, and balanced. Sadly, that same allure was missing for the first hour that Teko and I were there today and it wasn’t the good introduction I hoped for.

For a weekday in September, supposedly within the low travel season, Edinburgh Castle and the surrounding area was a madhouse of tourists streaming in and out, whole blocks of streets were closed for a heavyweight hollywood movie production, and construction activity marring most photo ops were everywhere we looked. It was all I could do to keep Teko from slipping into another miserable episode that threatened to ruin our day out in Scotland’s capital.

As we left the chaos of the castle area onto Old Town, and then onto calming Calton Hill, much like the horizon, things started to look brighter. We were blessed today with great weather, a total 180 from the dreariness yesterday, and it was really pleasant seeing Edinburgh from a clear, high perch.

With all the walking we did, a mini-celebration was called for and as suggested by our gregarious B&B host, an afternoon tea at an establishment called The Dome was highly recommended. While my wish for a similar celebration at the Balmoral Hotel was usurped, our 2 p.m. meal in the Georgian Tea Room can easily be described as wonderful, as well as another great reason to admire Edinburgh. We finished early enough to take a leisurely walk through New Town and idyllic Princes Street Gardens to cap off our lightning visit before heading onto our next destination. My yearned for Balmoral Hotel experience will have to wait yet another time. Christmas perhaps.