To The Virgin Of The Burgh

It had rained and stormed and howled the entire night.  By morning, it was still raining, but then less and less, and by the time we left the hotel for what has become our daily walk, it was dry and slightly sunny.  We borrowed a hotel umbrella, just in case.

On the way to the Old City, we came across a black hip bag left near the office of the Coast Guard.  We took it along in case we ran into a policeman.  No such luck, though.  AW put it around his own waist.  We intended to hand it over to the front desk of the hotel.

We walked to the Old City again to buy the chess set but all the shops were closed.  We passed by the restaurant we ate at two days ago and the owner told us that all the shops will surely be open tomorrow because a cruise ship is scheduled for a stopover.  I hope so.

Once inside the Old City, however, AW promptly got into exploration mode and so we walked around the parts we hadn't seen yet.  While I wasn't exactly in a walking mood, I was very much in a shooting mood, and I was happy that we saw some new structures again.  The shot is of the Church of the Virgin of the Burgh, or Virgin of the City, now just another medieval ruin, but properly cleaned, no rubble, we could walk around.  AW pointed out how porous some of the ancient stones have become, obviously the influence of so much salt in the air plus wind and rain and general wear and tear.

On the way back to the hotel, we dropped by a cafe where I had the usual freshly-squeezed orange juice and a grilled cheese sandwich with salad -- I had the sandwich, AW had the salad.  It had been drizzling on and off, but that was okay.  Once back at the hotel, we gave the black hip bag we found to the front desk attendant and told her that there was a little notebook with telephone numbers, and that there was no money inside.  After about half an hour upstairs, during which I was able to open my mail and find, and read, the final version of the judicial affidavit from the Viking, I thought I'd go down to pay for the room in advance, since I wanted that expense to enter the 2019 books.  While I was busy with that, the woman who owned the black hip bag arrived to claim it!  That was fast!  I asked the front desk lady if she was able to use one of the phone numbers, and she said no, someone phoned the mobile phone in the bag, and she picked it up, and it was the owner trying to see where her bag was.  She was obviously relieved that it was not lost.  Our good deed for today.

The Viking managed to send the judicial affidavit via DHL, just before their offices closed for the holidays.  Looks like I won't get the package till the 6th.  I'll probably hang around the front door till the doorbell rings.

Tomorrow has been forecast to be drier.  We both hope so.