OOOoooohhhh SHIIINEY!

okay so maybe I went a bit overboard on these, but they are so pretty! I did it myself! they tell you how when you exit the tunnel/wall of lights set up like Disney World Haunted Mansion or Spaceship Earth.

Optical Illusion Land of Wonder!

The Camera Obscura is a tall building/fun house in Edinburgh on the Royal Mile located just next to the Castle. It is the oldest attraction in Edinburgh. At the top of the tower there is a mirror which reflects down onto a simple bowl shaped wooden disc. When the lights are dimmed a live image of the city is seen. It is actually really fascinating that something so simple can produce such a complex effect. The 'camera' can see for miles and be zoomed in and out. It really is kinda creepy... because if you are on Princes shopping or in your hotel.... you can be seen. PERFECTLY and IN DETAIL.
BAHHHH shadow wall!

Andy....

really awesome giant person many mirror thingy

oh this was really cool! you step or wave your arms and it mimics water movement!

heat sensor camera... we actually started lifting up our clothes to see if various parts were warms then we realized we were in public... and then we stopped... highly embarassed. however, it was really cool!

Gelada Baboons!

These baboons entertained us for like 45 minutes I swear. There were babies!! I hope you can see them in these pictures.... they are so so so cute. It made it cooler because we watched them be born which would be why there are so many pictures of baboon babies.

Okay... I like zoos a lot

LIONS!

and TIGERS!

sorry about the glare... nothing I could do about it.

endanger pantherns... aren't they beautiful

This one made me very upset. This poor guy was moved from his original enclosure to this one. He hadn't fully adjusted yet so he was upset. He paced back and forth in front of the window, marking it on occasion. The guy next to him... (above) was perfectly okay.

I Like Zoos...

These were some pretty docile zebras... however there were lots and lots of bunnies running about!

Koala!

This is a gaint blue pigeon!

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, Merry, merry king of the bush is he, Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh, Kookaburra, Gay your life must be.

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, Eating all the gumdrops he can see, Stop, Kookaburra, Stop, Kookaburra, Leave some there for me.
Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, Counting all the monkeys he can see, Stop, Kookaburra, Stop, Kookaburra, That's no monkey, that's me.

This is not an emu... no....

PENGUINS!!!!

This little guy was my favorite. I have never seen an albino penguin before. He (or she) is so dang cute. (Back shot)

(PROfile)

and here he is coming with his cute little face... and waddle

There are 3 different types of penguins at the Edinburgh zoo. I don't know the name of these. It is almost baby season for them!

These are Imperial Penguins. They are the symbols of the zoo. That one is fuzzy because he is shedding his old duds for some new ones because this particular type of penguin prides itself on being pretty. He is shedding so he can get the best mate possible.

Rock Hopper penguins


The best part! The Penguin Parade!

Rockin' at the Zoo

and (Polar) BEARS! OH MY!!

That is my hand feeding that really pretty bird! A bird also sat on my shoulder!

Okay so this was a bit weird.... even for Scotland. In the exhibt for the Budungos there was this stand or whatever where you walk up and sniff this general area. Then you lift the lid over the area to find out what you smelled. This one was literally ape crap. WHY?!

Budongos. These are a breed of chimpanzees which are APES NOT MONKEYS. Repeat: Chimps are NOT monkeys.

A different form of crane...

The ZOO! THE ZZZOOO!!

Andy and I went to the ZOO! I really like zoos.... a lot...
There were cranes with fuzzy heads!

A tiny, tiny deer-like cutie!

Lemur! (this is the lemur in the face; don't worry there is a video!)

Funny thing is we walked into this... like staring at the Lemurs thru glass. Then we walk outside a door and it was like... LEMUR in the FACE!

Pink Flamingos!

Lemur! Lemur! Lemur! Lemur! Lemur!

The Day Scotland Played Ireland

This was Mr. Andy Bank's first day in Scotland. He arrived on the day that Scotland played Ireland in the 6 Nations Rugby match. They played in Edinburgh, obviously. I was never expecting all the things I saw that day. When we played Wales there was not this much fan fare! While walking down the Royal Mile there came a parade!!

It Is Just So Freaking Pretty!

The View from Arthur's Seat... almost

I know it has been a while since I have posted... these were all taken the 4th of March. It snowed the night before I got the bright idea to climb the giant rock.
Pretty flowers...

Me on a rock... isn't it lovely? I look like death.

The chapel ruins that were on the hill side.

Pond. The pond had some lovely swans and some very unusual looking geese.

That is Calton Hill with the pointy thing in the back ground.