Onward to Scotland

We set off several hours ahead of the Petersens for a road trip to Scotland. It was Caleb's first time behind the wheel on the wrong side of the car and also the wrong side of the road. Luckily those two things served to keep us extra alert and he managed the road without any issues, even in the rain and on the narrow two lane roads of the UK.

We were pretty excited to jump out in the rain to document our arrival in Scotland, the last stop of our adventure.

We made our way to Edinburgh, and easily located the flat that we were going to stay in for the weekend. Our first impression was a strange one as we tried to park on the pack and narrow streets and found the battered door to the building and were buzzed in. The stair well was very old, and all of the stone stairs had been worn down in the middle. We arrived in the flat and were pleasantly surprised to have an adorable and cozy place. The owner was a big help in getting us acquainted with our surroundings and suggesting places for us to start exploring.

Our first stop was a climb up a large hill that separated the flat from the main areas of Edinburgh, and of course provided us with some great views that Caleb longs for everywhere we go. This viewpoint was awesome. We could see the ocean on 3 sides and get our first glimpse of this wild city.

The Royal Mile is the street that runs from the Palace to Edinburgh Castle. The Queen's Palace at one end.

Edinburgh Castle above us at the other end.

Even though you can't read it, that monument says "Stewart", hence the highly recognizable pose.

We headed through a busy business district in search of the museums and galleries, and then arrive to discover that they were closing, so we put that on hold and headed towards food and the Royal Mile. We passed some great things like this garden and a few other monuments along with more than a few bag-pipe players wearing kilts, one of which was even playing the Star Wars theme song. 

We spent the rest of our evening wandering as we have been known to do, and found a great little place called "The Piemaker" and enjoyed some super delicious meat and cheese pies. And then we were even kept entertained by trying to understand what a homeless guy in a kilt was trying to say to use with his thick Scottish accent.

We then continued our wet and rainy walk, and discovered the enchantment of Edinburgh, like the fact that even when you are walking along a street and cross a bridge, you suddenly realize that there are streets running beneath you. It was a bit of vertigo, and such a strange and intriguing thing.

Finally after starting to feel completely drenched and worn down for climbing so many hills, we headed back to the flat, just in time for me to get completely splashed by a passing car, and drenched up to the knee.

Then when we got back to the warm and dry home, Caleb dug in to his haggis pie. He was determined to try haggis and figured that in a flaky pastry was probably the least offensive option. He didn't finish it, but he did say "It wasn't horrible."

A view of the street from where we stayed. The strange and rough city grew on us very quickly, even though our first impression was that it was possibly the ugly step-sister to London. It really was a fascinating and unique place that showed us a great time.