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After a busy few months, Alette and I finally returned to exploring the city and beyond on Sunday afternoon. It was also a big day for Japhur, including his first-ever bus ride, and first visit to an Edinburgh pub.

Just before noon, the three of us hopped on the Number 36 bus and headed towards Holyrood Park. It was about a 20-minute ride to our destination, and Japhur whinged most of the way. Luckily, buses are relatively noisy (especially when driving over cobblestone), so we could basically ignore him. We're hoping that he'll associate the bus ride with a trip to a fun location, and at least whine with excitement only next time.

Faithful readers will no doubt remember our original trip to Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park. On Sunday, we followed a different path from our trusty walking guide that took us through the park to Duddingston Village. Once in the village, we spied a sign for The Sheep Heid Inn indicating that dogs were welcome in the garden area. There was no food available, other than crisps, but we stayed for a drink. While Alette had a juice, I enjoyed a pint of Black Sheep Best Bitter. While the signage indicated the beer was a cask ale, they didn't serve it with a traditional handpump. Upon returning home, I re-read some material on real ale - either they were really serving keg beer (and not cask ale), or using a 'traditional air pressure fount' to serve the cask ale. I'll have to confirm on our next visit.

The walk back through the park was along Radical Road, just below Arthur's Seat. The steep descent offered some great views of the city, though was a tad nerve-wracking for those of us with a fear of heights (both Japhur and I appear to be immune).