Saturday's Saunter

saun·ter

 [sawn-ter, sahn-] 

verb 

1.

to walk in a slow, relaxed manner, without hurry or effort: sauntering through the city.

noun

2.

a leisurely walk or ramble; stroll.

3.

a leisurely gait.

Historically, I am not a saunterer.  I like to get the job done, check off my list, move on to the next task, etc.  Slowly I have been learning how to saunter, stroll, wander, roam.

Saturday, July 13th, can be described in no better terms than a day of sauntering.  We leisurely made our way to the Edinburgh Farmers Market that takes place at Castle Terrace under the Edinburgh Castle.  We frequented farmers markets at least weekly while living in Paris, and knew we needed to make the effort to travel to the regular farmers markets in Edinburgh because we love the atmosphere so.  In Paris, some were held within walking distance from our apartment; whereas in Edinburgh they definitely require the use of the bus to attend.

We traveled to the farmers market by way of Princes Street, and stopped by the Scott Monument.  This monument, constructed in 1840, is to Sir Walter Scott who is a Scottish author.  We have plans to climb the 250+ steps to the top, but wanted to wait for a less crowded weekday to do this.  Amelie and Liam had fun running around and dancing in the grass.  We have found that throwing in little bursts of freedom here and there helps all of our demeanors as we walk about the city.  This was not in the plans, but we are all about sauntering remember?! :)

As we approached the farmers market, Bobby challenged Amelie and I to see who could come away with the coolest thing for 1 pound.  Amelie held her pound tightly as she walked from vendor to vendor seeing what they had to offer.  While we were walking around we realized it was already lunch time so we gladly found something delicious and fresh to eat.  We chose to eat aberdeen angus burgers made from Well Hung & Tender beef.  It was one of the most delicious burgers that we have ever eaten.  Having food in our bellies we were able to continue our search for the best way to spend each of our pounds.  With a little encouragement, Amelie waited until she had seen all of the vendors to then make a decision on how she wanted to spend her pound.  In the end, she and I went in together to buy a delicious beautifully decorated chocolate cupcake to share.

After our fun perusing the market, we decided to continue our leisurely stroll through parts of Edinburgh that we had not yet explored.  We came across many buildings from the 17th century with amazing details.  We also ducked our heads into a couple of thrift stores, looking for little treasures and one souvenir that will mark our time here in Edinburgh.  Although we didn't find anything, we had fun looking around and taking in all of the action around us.  We also walked up on inner-city Bruntsfield Links, which is a public golf course park that anyone can play on for free.  We couldn't play because we didn't have any clubs with us, but just being close to the course made Bobby happy.  We walked by the Golf Tavern which was one where the caddies lived.  There were a lot of men eating outside wearing traditional golfing clothes.  We felt like we had stepped back into history. Below are just a couple of pictures of some of our cool sightings.  I didn't want to bore you with too many! ;)

Before heading home, we stopped by one of the kid's favorite playgrounds in Princes Street Gardens. You can't beat backdrops like these (St. Cuthbert's and the Castle).  Since it was Saturday, the playground was bumping!  Amelie and Liam are such troopers that we are happy to throw in playground time to our itinerary.

We fed the seagulls with our leftover buns from our burgers.
Liam would run around the field holding up a piece of bread chasing the seagulls to hand-feed them the bread.
Amelie and Bobby would throw the bread up in the air and watch the seagulls swoop to scoop it up.   

Amelie enjoying a snack in front of the Ross Fountain.
This fountain was made in Paris and shipped here in 122 pieces via Leith in 1872.

We usually have the camera focused on the kids.  We need to remember to take some of us together too!

Heading home we walked through the St. Cuthbert's cemetery.  

With not having much planned for the day, we sure did do and see a lot!  I guess this can be one of the benefits of learning how to saunter while being able to stop and smell the roses.  My Papa's birthday is tomorrow and I can remember as a kid him telling me how important it is to stop and smell the roses.  Papa, I am slowly learning this important principle! :)