Sunday, March 27, 2011

Scotland, The Last Stop

We landed in Scotland at midnight local time after our discount airline delayed our flight by 30 minutes. We headed through an empty Edinburgh Airport with our bags on our shoulders searching for a cab. When we finally found one and told him the address he knew just where to go. He dropped us off at our B&B, a splurge we decided to make after spending far less than we expected on food. We met the owner and fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up to a hot breakfast, something we haven't had in a while. The breakfast contained: scrambled eggs, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, veggie sausage, and toast. It was very good. After food we got on our way, walking to the city center. Our first stop was The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the summer home of Her Majesty. It was a well put together tour, and a lovely place. We then went into the Scottish Parliament to have a quick look around and while there we stopped for an early lunch.

We then walked "the royal mile," a stretch of road connecting the current palace to the old castle, our next stop. Along the way we stopped by merchants and street performers, churches and pubs. It was a very busy, fun street. Upon reaching Edinburgh Castle we were amazed with its size. The place was huge, it was... a castle. There are many exhibits to be seen, and it took us a good 3 hours to see it all. Crown jewels, stories of plots against the king, and a camp for POWs were among the most interesting. The POW section was made more interesting because it actually housed American prisoners of war from the American Revolution. It was really cool to see etchings of the American flag on a door, made by a solider who had been shipped to prison across an ocean.

With the castle to our backs we headed to our room. We stopped at a grocery store to get dinner, and watched British Wipeout. Hilarious. Around 7 we headed out again for an underground tour. Much of High Street, or the royal mile, is built on top of old homes. We toured a few of them. It was a fun tour. It really would have sucked to live in Edinburgh in the 1500s, with the plague and poop everywhere.

It was ten when we headed back to the room. We stopped in a pub and had a few pints, not realizing what incredible lightweights we are. We stumbled out of the pub, which is next door to our bed and breakfast and went to sleep.

Today, our last full day in Europe, we plan on heading to the beach for a look around. The sun is shining like it has been nearly every place we've been. We're close to the end of our fun packed adventure. I'm sure today will be a beautiful one.

Miss you all, and see you soon.

Lindsay and Steve




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