The flight to Edinburgh was pretty noneventful. We're such "seasoned travelers" now.
We got back around 3:30 and collected our bags. The only problem was we had no where to go. This was the only night we hadn't booked a hotel. We thought about trying to reserve a room at the Hilton near the airport before going to Ireland, but never got it done. Surely no one would want rooms so far from the center of town and there would be something available.
Well, we were wrong. With the Fringe and other Festivals going full speed ahead, everything was booked. We checked into storing our luggage at the airport, but the hours didn't synch with our flight schedule. We were on the same "red-eye" flight that the rest of the cast took last week.
So in one of those great flashes of insight that often occur with creative artists, someone (I forget just who now.) suggested calling Heriot-Watt University to see if they had any rooms available. As it turned out they had three. We reserved two of those, collected our bags, and headed for the taxi pickup. Unfortunately there was quite a long line and it didn't seem to be moving very quickly. Teresa said, "Wait here," and went off in search of a taxi. In about a minute she had located one and we were off to Heriot-Watt to dump our luggage.
Junel and I both had felt such a connection with Rosslyn Chapel when we were there, that we had decided if there was time we would go back.
When we got to Heriot-Watt, we checked in quickly, and the taxi driver said he was willing to take us over to Roslin. It was only a twenty minute ride or so from there. So we told Dave and Teresa we would meet them at the Black Bull at 6:30 for dinner and we were off to visit Rosslyn Chapel again.
I had called to see how late they were open and as it turned out they were open until 6:00. We got there about 4:30, paid our admission, and went inside.
Dave and Teresa meanwhile had wanted to get a picture of themselves at CToo and make a stop or two at the C and Fringe Offices.
I think anyone who has ever visited Rosslyn Chapel would testify to its uniqueness and to the almost magical feelings it evokes. We sat in silence for about five minutes holding hands and just soaking in the vibrations of the place.
Since we had had time to read the books, and since there were fewer people there, I was able to walk around more easily and get more shots from different angles of the Apprentice's Pillar and some of the other carvings we had read about and had missed the first time.
South Corridor, Rosslyn Chapel. (©2005, Williams/Bacigalupo.)
Closeup of a carving of an angel holding a heart. (©2005, Williams/Bacigalupo.)
Junel caught up with me after a while and gave me my cap. I realized I had left my cap and glasses in one of the pews and now I couldn't seem to find my glasses. After searching a bit, I was about ready to go ask if they had a lost and found when I finally saw them exactly where I had left them. I just had forgotten which pew I was in. A mind is a horrible thing to lose.
Junel wanted to take some pictures outside, so we walked out the W door and she took a few more shots.
West entrance to Rosslyn Chapel. (©2005, Williams/Bacigalupo.)
Memorial outside W entrance, Rosslyn Chapel. (©2005, Williams/Bacigalupo.)
It was about 5:30 and time was running out. The chapel would close soon and we would need to catch a taxi back to Edinburgh because the last bus had left at around 3:00. We went back inside and sat down near the back of the chapel to enjoy a few more minutes of solitude.
After a little while, I sensed that Junel was feeling sad to have to leave this enchanting place. I was feeling a bit sad as well. Especially since neither of us knew when we might have a chance to return. I gave her a kiss, and we both shared a heartfelt "I love you."
When she looked up again at the intricately carved patterns on the ceiling, I pulled out of my jacket pocket a diamond claddagh I had found at one of the jewelry stores at the Dublin airport (You can only imagine how hard it was to sneak off and find it.) and said to her, "Will you marry me?"
I think it was one of the few times I've been able to totally surprise her. Her eyes welled with tears and she hugged me tight and we kissed again.
"Can I take that as a yes?" I asked.
"Of course." she replied. We sat there for a few more minutes just holding each other. I had started crying as well and we both needed a little time to regain our composure.
When we had been there the last time, she had said off-handedly (but I think with some sincerity) to me, "Let's get married here next week." So then I whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't get the wedding planned in time." She chuckled and I added, "We'd better get going, hon."
We left the chapel and walked a block up to the Roslin Glen Hotel where we had eaten lunch last week to doublecheck for a bus. No bus.
I called a taxi from inside and in about ten minutes one was there to take us back to the city. The driver, Robert, asked us where we were going and we said, "Grassmarket St., the Black Bull."
Robert was fairly jovial and talkative, though his accent was so thick it took us probably a couple minutes to understand anything he was saying. I think we were happy enough to let him do more of the talking while we sort of basked in the afterglow of what had just happened.
We were about 15 minutes late getting there. Teresa asked Junel how it was, and Junel flashed her the ring. After a surprised second or two (Dave is pretty unflappable), congratulations were being offered. Instead of getting dinner and drinks there, and because it was getting a little noisy, we decided to walk toward our old lodgings and look for another place to eat. We tried a few places, but for most of them you needed a reservation, or it was a half hour wait.
Interestingly right by where we stayed was an Italian place called Zizzi's. Again quite a score as the food was delicious. The beer selection wasn't quite as good. But we were all in a mood for celebrating, so it didn't seem to matter much.
After dinner we decided to walk down to this mall we had discovered last week on the bus ride to Heriot-Watt. We checked out the movie schedules, but unfortunately we had missed everything. So we caught a bus back to Heriot-Watt to try to get a few hours of sleep before having to catch a 3:30 a.m. taxi to the airport.
What a momentous day that was and one that we will always remember.
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