Just three days left . . .

It's raining today, a perfect stay-at-home day for packing, organzing and trying to remember the last details of what needs to be done. We've stayed long enough to feel at home, but not long enough to explore every nook and cranny of this beautiful city. We both hope to return one day.

Allen has decided we will go to a Michelin star restaurant on Tuesday, our very last day in Edinburgh. Entranced and inspired by the cooking on Master Chef: The Professionals, a BBC competitive cooking show featuring young chefs competing for the title of "master chef", we learned new vocabulary from host Michel Roux, Jr. (this has "bags of flavor").

So on Tuesday, we'll take our all-day bus pass and tour Edinburgh all the way to the port of Leith where we'l lunch at The Kitchin. We're hoping for "bags of flavor." For now, we're cozy in our apartment in Old Town, just down the hill from the sign of the mermaid, and I shall begin NaNoWriMo.