It's hard to believe that it's been over a year and a half since we got our passports stamped. Oh, how we missed traveling! This summer we decided to visit Scotland for our vacation. And for once, we were actually lucky with the weather - only one full day of rain, if you can believe it.
Below are the stops we made during our trip - you'll see that we logged in almost 900 miles in 8 days. Our first two days in Edinburgh didn't require a car. We started our road trip on August 18th and flew home on August 25th.
We landed in Edinburgh the morning of August 16th.
With about 3 hours of sleep, we were zombies arriving at our hotel. Of course we couldn't check in so we dropped our bags and explored the city.
We continued our tour of Edinburgh the next day and walked the remainder of the Royal Mile.
Below are the stops we made during our trip - you'll see that we logged in almost 900 miles in 8 days. Our first two days in Edinburgh didn't require a car. We started our road trip on August 18th and flew home on August 25th.
We landed in Edinburgh the morning of August 16th.
With about 3 hours of sleep, we were zombies arriving at our hotel. Of course we couldn't check in so we dropped our bags and explored the city.
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| The Balmoral from a distance |
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| The Balmoral up front |
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| Scott Monument |
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| This Victorian Gothic monument is for Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the largest monument to a writer in the world. |
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| Walking towards the Edinburgh Castle |
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| View of the castle |
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| St. Cuthbert |
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| Edinburgh Castle from a distance |
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| Edinburgh Castle up front |
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| Wearing sunglasses helps hide the bags under the eyes |
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| Entrance |
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| Paul carefully inspecting the cannon |
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| View of Edinburgh |
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| Ready, aim, fire! |
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| Another city view |
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| We went to see the Scottish Crown Jewels |
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| Ello! |
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| We then walked down the Royal Mile amidst the Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
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| Double decker bus! |
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| Fringe art |
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| Paul doesn't care |
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| Just trying to make our way through the crowd |
We continued our tour of Edinburgh the next day and walked the remainder of the Royal Mile.
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| A bit less crowded on a Monday |
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| Back in the 16th century the city of Edinburgh was walled. The gates to the city were situated outside the pub. As far as the people of Edinburgh were concerned, outside these gates was no longer their world. |
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| Still the Royal Mile |
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| Holyrood Palace - this is where the Queen stays when she visits |
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| Paul is impressed with the unicorn |
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| Paul is not impressed by the architecture of the Scottish Parliament |
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| Let's climb that! |
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| Avoiding the steep route, we took the more scenic route |
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| Yeah, we did not climb that high |
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| Pretty scenery |
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| Didn't quite make it to the top |
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| But got a decent view |
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| The view from the other side |
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| We then walked back to The Royal Mile |
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| For some lunch at World's End |
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| Wee Taste of Scotland - chieftain haggis with creamy mashed potatoes and bashed neeps with a highland oatcake |
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| World's End Famous Steak and Ale Pie - Award Winning! |
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| With full bellies, we went to Cadenhead's to buy/taste some whisky! |
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| An empty alleyway |
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| Blue skies - the weather is off to a good start! |
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| I don't see anyone doing the Carlton here... |
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| Paul is thirsty |
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| Evening view of Edinburgh |
