If you have time (and you will need a few hours) to do only one thing in Edinburgh make sure you choose to see
Edinburgh Castle. It is BEAUTIFUL! You can easily walk to the castle or catch a bus, the walk is worth it, just for the sights along the way. I estimate that we were here for at least 3-4 hours, but easily could have spent more time (we got tired of standing and hungry). There is not much more to say than that, as the picture below speak for themselves. Warning, this is a long post, as it was a single day and my favorite city.
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| My two favorites and the walk to the castle |
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| The city below |
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| The chapel, they still host wedding here |
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| How cool would it be to get married here?!?!?! |
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| Adam wanted to play so badly |
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| The Great Hall |
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| You could fit a small car in the fireplace |
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| Would love this as my reading nook |
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| The woodwork was incredibly ornate |
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| Daily firing of the cannon at 1p, to orient the seafarers to the time |
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| View down onto Princes Street |
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| The man who fired the cannon and the shell remaining |
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| Stuck in the prison |
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| Inside the prison |
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| Adam wanted to "invest", this did not happen |
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| The Royal Mile |
All the tour books tell you to do "The Royal Mile" road down from the Castle, unless you really enjoy overpriced tourist shops with identical things, definitely skip this. We made it about 100 yards down it before we abandoned ships to the more interesting side streets.
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| St. Giles Cathedral |
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| So many fun and picturesque alleyways |
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| A favorite pict of mine, not sure if Adam was going to me or his scotch, but came out well |
Just FYI: England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not on the Euro money system, still using the Pound Sterling. This currently LOVES coins: 1 pence, 2p, 5p (thing 1 cent, 2 cent, 5 cent), 10p, 20p, 50p, 1 pound, and 2 pound. All different sizes, colors, and thicknesses. Similar to us, but with a few more options.
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| So many coins, trying to figure it out |
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| FIND THIS BAR, GO IN, HAVE AN AWESOME TIME |
Hebrides is definitely a "local" bar. A very friendly and social local bar. We were there too early for the music, but this is where everyone comes to catch the best music in the city in the evening. We sat at the bar and happily engaged with the bartender and the patrons for quite a while while Adam sampled a variety of scotches.
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| The Balmoral Hotel |
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| Jenners: Outside |
Jenners is a modern store (similar to Macy's) that is outfitted in a historic building. It is located centrally on Princes Street (the main street through central Edinburgh), and it worth a quick visit just for the ornate exterior and interior architecture. They definitely don't build stores like this anymore. There are marble staircases on the inside as well.
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| Jenners: Inside |
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| LOVE my honorary Scotsman |
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| Scouting out locations for the next day |
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| Adam's overwhelming options |
