Edinburgh Festival shows

The Edinburgh Festival is in full swing, which means walking down the Royal Mile is like walking through Times Square on New Year's Eve. Well, it's less smelly, and the people are nicer. Still, this city is crowded.
Nick Keir -- performing at Valvona & Crolla
today and tomorrow for the Fringe Festival.

We've had a super-fun houseguest for the past week, so that means lots of time spent taking in the sights of Edinburgh. I've been to Portobello Beach, Duddingston's Sheep Heid Inn, Edinburgh Castle (twice!), the Royal Military Tattoo, pub trivia, a restaurant/7-course meal so amazing it needs its own blog, and a few Fringe shows in between wanderings.

I love that the Festival lasts a month, so there's no pressure to see everything. I've also taken to not reading anything about the shows and basing my show choices entirely on how far I feel like walking. Last week, when I was wallowing in my 9th month of pregnancy, I talked the boys into seeing the closest show to our house -- an Australian musical called "Crab House" at Fingers Piano Bar (why did I not seek out a job at this piano bar when I first arrived?? I love playing cabaret nights!).

We also saw a one-woman-show called Folken Britain, featuring an adorable woman, Susan Harrison, who does a fabulous impression of an English Bulldog (at least, that's what I thought it was) and made us giggle lots. She was also kind enough to not involve the extremely pregnant woman in the 3rd row with any of the audience participation moments, and for that, I thank her (if you've got yourself on Google Alert, Susan, then thank you and great show!).

There is one Fringe show I'm really, really excited about, and that is the return of Nick Keir! Nick is my favorite Scottish performer (to call him merely a singer-songwriter is an extreme understatement). He's actually got a show today (3:00pm at Valvona & Crolla, an Italian cafe that will make you drool) as well, if you Edinburgh folks are looking for something to do. I'm not able to go until tomorrow's 5:45 show, but I can't wait to hear him. Nick's been seriously ill for the past several months, and he's powering through these gigs in between treatments. I'm pretty sure that beats playing a show 9-months pregnant (which I'm doing on Wednesday in Dunfermline, if anyone cares to see a vaudeville act of trying to play guitar/accordion with an enormously pregnant belly).

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