After checking out the Museums and Greyfriars Kirkland we headed back up to High Street. There was one more stop to make before we took a break in the action. Our trip would not be complete without a visit to what is considered Scotland's most important church, St Giles' Cathedral.
And though we had passed the Cathedral several times a day, and even checked out the gravesite in the parking lot, we had yet to actually enter the cathedral. We were looking for a time when it wasn't too crowded and at this moment the place was fairly empty.
As you would figure for a church that is one, located in Edinburgh, and two, been around since 1124, there are a ton of stories and artifacts. Like, for instance that three-legged stool to the upper right. It's called a "cuttie-stool".
Here's the story:
Indeed St Giles has quite a tumultuous history. It was established as a Catholic Church and then came the Reformation and John Knox. Things were changing. It is said that the statue of the Patron Saint Giles was stolen and "drowned in Nor Loch". In 1559 the Lord of the Congregation, led by John Knox marched into the St Giles and took over. John Knox preached in St Giles for the first time….there was a "new sheriff in town". After a brief time when the Roman Catholic party retook the church and the Treaty of Berwick was signed, St Giles once again became a Protestant Church on April 1st, 1560! Whew……all of that in just a year!
If you you want more on the history if St Giles, this is the Cathedral's official website's history page.
Me, I'm just gonna enjoy some stained glass.
It was a fun stop.
We headed back to the apartment and took a short break before heading out to dinner. Unlike the previous evening tonight's dinner locale was close by, a place named Wedgwood The Restaurant.
It was a quaint little restaurant serving modern, seasonal cuisine, that gives you a "wee tour of Scotland".
We started with the amuse and a bit of "bubbly".
And some very tasty bread.
We weren't very hungry, so we went with three starters and a main to share.
Like just about all the seafood we had in Scotland, the Treacle Cured Salmon was delicious.
It really didn't need all the soy and yuzu sauces; though the pickled beetroot was a nice touch.
The Laurencekirk Duck Breast looked lovely but was a bit on the dry side.
We didn't care for the fennel which was quite strong in flavor and overwhelmed the dish.
The Missus enjoyed the Charred Midlothian Wild Leek.
The wild leek had a nice mildly sweet almost pungent-garlicky flavor. The creme fraiche added a bit of mild acidity and richness. The potatoes had a nice starchiness and this was a good dish overall.
I was looking forward to the Avon Valley Roe Deer Loin and Venison Haggis.
The lean deer loin had a nice, moist toothsomeness, had been seared and seasoned nicely. It wasn't overly gamy, but you could tell it was venison. The jus was wonderful, not overly rich, and went well with the delicious potato pave. Loved the celeriac puree, but that round ball of venison haggis was super mild in flavor. It did have quite the gritty-grainy texture though.
Overall, a nice meal, great service.
Wedgwood The Restaurant
267 Canongate
Edinburgh, Scotland
We decided to go ahead and do our after dinner stroll and headed back to the Royal Mile. And of course we passed…..
We took a look at another placed we had passed oh, so many times on this trip, Deacon Brodie's Pub. It was such a nice evening, we thought we should do the "tourist thing" and grab a pint!
I went and ordered a pint; the Missus grabbed a table outside, and we watched all the happenings on the Royal Mile.
Like this guy with the owl and what looked like a television crew.
There's always something going on!
Deacon Brodies Tavern
435 Lawnmarket
Edinburgh, Scotland
We then headed back to the apartment.
Well, it was still early, so we decided to do some shopping and wandered along the various side streets.
We found a leather shop. My belt had taken a beating, so we walked in. The folks were awesome. They were closing in 20 minutes, but he selected the leather, belt style, and sized it for me. They'd be open at ten the next morning, they'd get it ready by the time they opened and I could pick it up then.
Somehow we ended up at Canongate Kirk.
With a statue of Scottish Poet Robert Fergusson "strolling" in front of it.
And of course Canongate Kirkyard, yet another cemetery surrounds the church.
What really kinda freaked us out was that there were apartments right next to the cemetery and the units overlooked the graveyard; not sure I would want to live here.
After this, we decided to call it a night and headed back to the apartment.
We slept well. Our flight wasn't until 5pm and the owners of the apartment said we were welcome to stay until one.
We took it easy in the morning. For breakfast we decided to do a takeout order from the very popular breakfast and lunch spot that was on the next block up from the apartment. I went and placed a takeout order and the Missus and I went to pick up my new belt which was ready. Man, the service here was awesome.
We then walked on back to the Edinburgh Larder to pick-up our order. There always seemed to be a line here.
We actually picked up our order from the "Little Larder".
It was the Hash Breakfast, which was enough for both the Missus and I.
Nice poached egg, sweet corn, wonderful red potatoes, smoked haddock, which was a bit too much for the Missus. The Chermoula Dressing was nice; a bit of nice cilantro tones, mild garlicky flavors, quite herbaceous.
We finally had a chance to avail ourselves of the generous amount of coffee pods in the apartment.
The Edinburgh Larder
5 Blackfriars St.
Edinburgh, Scotland
We left the apartment at around 1230 and walked on over to Princes Street and caught the tram to the airport. We made it in good time and were now getting excited about our next stop. It was back to Paris!
Much like 
I wish I took notes on the cheeses. That bleu was fabulous! And like I mentioned earlier the Sommelier was fabulous. When I asked for a "Spot of Port" to go with the cheeses, he selected an amazing Tawny that was perfect with the bleu!
The eggs were decently cooked, much better than the over-cooked boiled eggs I'd had last time. The sauce was nicely flavored, not overly sweet, good anise-soy sauce tones.
much fat for my taste, it wasn't bad at all. At least I didn't go hungry. Overall, it was better than what I'd had the last time, the price wasn't too bad, and I'll take that.
So, I peeled back the bread to reveal watery, runny, flavorless eggs, and though the Spam slices were fairly thick they lacked color. I recall trying to order a 
The herbs and sprouts were sparkling fresh, though there was no ngo gai. The broth was quite clear, perhaps a bit too defatted for me. It was also "sweeter" than I prefer and quite "salty" but better than what I'd recently consumed at Pho Lucky, at least in terms of beefiness. There was a very mild hint of anise flavor in the broth as well.
Admittedly, I was disappointed in not being to get "Dem Bones", but this was an ok bowl of pho especially for the Kearny Mesa area, which may have the most KFC, hot pot, and such, but seems to have seriously fallen off with regards to Vietnamese cuisine over the past decade.
The final float of the parade 'announces' the Rose Bowl football game which will start four hours after the Rose Parade ends (on January 2, 2023, because there is never a Parade or Game on a Sunday).
Here is the same float on December 31 last year; it is not judged but always freshly decorated.
The Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom float, "Protecting The Wild" was being tested. You can see the tree in the back of the float 'collapses' to be able to fit down the Parade route. (See how other floats collapse in the Road Test #3 post). 
Here is the artist rendering of the Mutual of Omaha float.
In the front is the
(Royal Court float being decorated on December 31)
The Trader Joe's 2023 entry is a multi-piece float. 
The front appears to be a 'chopper' motorcycle.
The attached second part of the float is a pirate ship; I see the ships wheel, collapsed sail, giant pelican, a banana and a collapsed palm tree. It will be interesting to see the progress. 
Soon, we were in El Monte, parked, walked in and were able to get a table right away.
The other entrance door lead to the steam trays and take out area of the restaurant. 
Each table had a menu and a pen; we ordered. Soon, everything was brought out to our table at the same time. 
I was not the only person taking photos of food. 
The salted chicken porridge ($6.89) was wonderful with a great chicken stock base; you can tell the porridge had been simmering a long time. The chopped pieces of bone-in chicken were plentiful.
Pork Shiu Mai ($4.29) were quite large, very well flavored (didn't need additional soy nor chili sauce). In addition to the chopped pork and shrimp, the filling had crispy water chestnuts, carrot and mushroom. 
The Seafood Gow ($4.29) were particularly good. The crisp, pan fried dumpling, filled with pieces of fish, shrimp and crab as well as (spinach?) greens; turned out to be our favorite bite of the morning.
The shrimp rice rolls ($5.39) were each filled with two plump, large, flavorful shrimp. The rice noodles and sauce complimented each bite in flavor and texture.
The shrimp Har Gow ($4.29), steamed in tapioca flour wrappers. Filled with very plump, large shrimp, this 'staple' of Dim Sum restaurants was a delightful treat. 
The baked egg tart ($4.29) was a perfect ending to the meal. The still warm and eggy custard inside the multi-layered Chinese puff pastry (less oily/more flour-y than traditional puff pastry) was just so perfect. 
The tea, very fresh.
For those of you wondering, we just drove right past Portos on the way home (!)