Strippers, castles, and illusions

Last night was a failed experiment in Edinburgh strip clubs. I was told about the “Stag’s Triangle”, a small area down the steps next to the hostel where there were three strip clubs and some bars. A strip club in the UK consists of about a half dozen girls in a bar with a pole in the middle of it. They occasionally dance on it, but since no one ever tips, why bother? They are mainly there to do lap dances which consist of $5 to $20 pounds where you sit on your hands and they dance in front of you, sometimes sitting on your lap. I wandered in and out of the three clubs and had a number of ciders before I headed up the stairs to go back to the hostel.

I ended up sleeping in late this morning and not actually taking a shower until about noon. I hit a Kurdish/Arabic joint for some good falafel and lamb. I wandered up to the castle and was sidetracked by the camera obscura exhibit. It was a neat tourist attraction consisting of all sorts of optical illusions and a really good view from the top of the museum. They had a vortex tube that gives me ideas for Burning Man regional type thing.

After that I headed up to Edinburgh Castle. This is probably one of the coolest castles I’ve visited considering the incredible views you have from here. Not a lot of interesting anecdotes, thought the history of the place goes back a thousand years. I’ve briefly stopped into a tea house at the top of the castle and will shortly be on my way around.

After tea the castle was closing up, so not a lot of things to see anymore. They went through the various wars from 1750-ish to 1980. The weird things is not a single word about the US. The French, Russians, Dutch, Canadians, etc. I’m not sure if it was because the English were more interesting in the US breaking away, or we weren't as big a concern, or if they were a tad embarrassed about the whole mess.

There was a memorial in a main hall dedicated to the fallen military of the various wars and I felt honored and humbled to be allowed to enter the memorial. I removed my hat and was quietly respectful. Unlike the Indian family that let their kids scream and chase each other around. Sometimes I just want to backhand some parents, grab their kids, and throw/lock them out of places where they should have been taught to be respectful.

I checked out the prisoner’s quarters real quick but they were closing up already, so it was a drive by photo. Not much to see there though truly. The view is the main thing about the castle. Tonight? Maybe find a local pub for a pint.