Everything Is Going To Be Alright

 Graffiti or street art doesn't seem to adorn as many buildings in Edinburgh as in Glasgow.

This brilliantly colorful work stretched through a dark Victorian pedestrian tunnel.

Thom had trouble grasping the concept of leased gardens, despite clear evidence to the contrary on our leafy stroll beside the Water of Leith.

We passed an amazing boutique that combined pieces of discarded clothing with new and recycled materials for a steampunk look. 

Flowers and Scrabble tiles caught our eye as we walked west across the entire city to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.  I wish I had photographed the Aga store, too.  We learned they're very popular in Blue State country and come in all different colors.

You know the art is modern as soon as you step onto the museum grounds.

It's housed in two buildings across the street from each other.  We visited only Modern One because I hoped to see painting by Scottish artists. 

Landform by Charles Jencks (2002)

Anxiety plagued Thom before our trip.   But as the hard-to-see neon above Modern One declared "EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT".  He acknowledged coming to Scotland was "the best thing he could have done."  Travel takes you out of your head like little else.

Interesting work, including a strong collection of Surrealists, hung on the walls inside.

"Jake and Kate on the Isle of Wight" by Winifred Nicholson (1931-32)

"Nude Boy in a Bedroom" by Christopher Wood (1930)

A woman who brought a folding chair sat staring at this western Highlands landscape for what may have been the duration of our hour-long visit.  I wish that I had a little of her zen, but I'm always looking around the next corner.

"For A Lady Remembered" by James Morrison (2007)

"Tête Raphaèlesque éclatée [Exploding Raphaelesque Head]"
by Salvador Dali (1951)

Portrait of Lee Miller by Pablo Picasso (1937)

Portrait of Maurice by Andy Warhol (1976)

A museum employee suggested we walk through Dean Village where you feel as if you have stepped back into time.  

The Water of Leith runs through here, too.

Before Dean Village became a posh residential area, grain was milled here for eight centuries.

Daniel Ross purchased this cast iron fountain in Princes Street Gardens for the city of Edinburgh in 1862.  I like it less now that I know he manufactured guns.

Edinburgh also noted the Queen's Jubilee in the same gardens.