We just returned from a lovely 10-day trip to Scotland. The country is beautiful, the people are friendly, and we had the most gorgeous weather for most of our trip. It was one of our favorite vacations so far!
On the plane -- the boys are really good travellers now.
We arrived at the Edinburgh airport around 10am on Tuesday, June 26 and made it to our Airbnb flat with no problem. Our flat was located just off the Royal Mile, so it was convenient and easy to walk everywhere. On our first day, Gene took us up to Edinburgh Castle.
Stopping in front of St. Giles Cathedral along the way
Street performers on the Royal Mile
The castle was lovely and huge, but it was extraordinarily crowded and we didn't get to see everything (the lines were too long for the crown jewels). We did arrive in time to see (hear) this cannon being fired.
Inside the great hall
More cannons
Edinburgh
After visiting the castle and stopping by the local Sainsbury's, I rested at the flat while Gene took the boys on a tour of the city, including this stop at the Old College at the University of Edinburgh.
After a good night's sleep, day 2 dawned bright and early, so we set off for a hike up Arthur's Seat. Gene called a cab and it took us one third of the way up the mountain so our hike wasn't quite as intense.
Will: always reading, even in the cab!
Our starting point
Even with our head start, we still had plenty of mountain left to hike.
The boys reached the top first, of course.
This was one of our few foggy mornings. We had no views at the top, but the upside was that it was not hot!
And hiking back down.
We found this ruined 15th-century chapel (St. Anthony's) near the base of Arthur's Seat.
We walked back to our house, stopping for coffee along the way. We stopped only briefly enough for Henry to change out of his filthy clothes. He slipped and slid his way down the mountain and was covered in dirt!
By this time, it was lunchtime, so we headed to the Elephant House, where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.
Not reading Harry Potter at the Elephant House.
Our lunch was just okay, but it was fun to be in the spot where so much literary magic happened! After lunch, Gene took us on a walking tour of Edinburgh, past Greyfriars Bobby and through the cemetery
and on to McEwan Hall, the graduation hall at the University of Edinburgh where Gene graduated with his LLM. Unfortunately, the hall was closed and we couldn't get in to see Gene's name on the wall as part of the class of 1999.
We also passed by the Pear Tree, Gene's favorite pub from his time in Edinburgh.
We also visited the Surgeon's Hall Museums, which were absolutely fascinating and detailed the history of early surgery and pathology.
By this point, the jet lag was catching up to us, so we peeked in at the University of Edinburgh before heading back to our flat to rest.
On our street before dinner
Will ordered the haggis tower with neeps (rutabaga) and tatties (potatoes) and a whiskey cream sauce. We actually all loved haggis and ordered it pretty regularly.
Edinburgh at night
Day 3 coming up next!
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