Things I have Learned while in Scotland

In just two days, I have learned many things about Scotland. Let me just share a few...

1. Everywhere you want to go in Scotland is either upstairs or uphill

2. People smoke ALOT

3. Our bed doesn't have a top sheet...we asked for one for tonight!

4. Phone booths are red (I actually already knew this but wanted an excuse to post the picture) :)

5. Things close really early...most shops and museums are closed by 5...this makes it difficult to fit everything in that you want to see. I missed the Museum of Childhood. :(

6. People even WALK on the wrong side of the "road" in Scotland....escalators are backwards too

7. You must learn lots of new vocabulary. For example, in Scotland, bathrooms are toilets, elevators are lifts, parking lots are car parks, scotch is whiskey and alleys are closes.

One of the MANY closes in Scotland



8. Scotland (or more likely it's all the walking!) makes Steve REALLY hungry! :)

I am sure there are more, but I wanted to share a few....stay tuned for more!



First Day in Edinburgh

I am pretty sure we walked 5 miles today in Edinburgh. Knowing that we had only gotten about 3 hours of restless sleep in the past 24 makes that pretty impressive. Scotland is beautiful. The country was SO GREEN as we were landing. The buildings are magnificent and the weather is unbelievable. After we arrived at city center and checked into our hotel, we took showers and rested for a bit...but only a bit...we knew we couldn't sleep or we'd never wake up again.

We left our hotel and walked to Princes Street. On our way, we admired much of the architecture and beautiful views...these are just a few examples...

Then we arrived here...

This is a monument built to honor Sir Walter Scott, the famous poet. The picture above is the guy who designed it. The statue above is of Sir Walter Scott. You can actually pay to go up into the monument, and go up we did! We walked up all 287 steps...

....and these were some of the breathtaking views from the top....

 Edinburgh Castle

 Another shot of the castle...

 Yes, we were that high up!!!

 Princes Gardens

Arthur's Seat

The views from the top were absolutely amazing. Here is another view of the monument that shows the very top. Go back up to the picture of the entire monument above and you will get an idea of how high we were! It was awesome! A little scary and VERY tight turns and spaces...and pretty dizzy going down. We climbed up the entire turret on a spiral staircase of 287 steps....

Here is the whole thing if you missed it....

Steve and I at the top of the monument....

After we finished touring the monument, we continued onto the Magnificent Mile....a one mile stretch of road that starts at Edinburgh Castle and ends at the Queen's residence. It is full of shops and restaurants. It is also where St. Giles Cathedral is located....

It was a beautiful cathedral. Steve tells me this is where all of Scotland's kings and queens were crowned (I think?) And something about a stone that was stolen from England and then returned. My history is sketchy. He says we will learn more about that tomorrow when we go to Edinburgh castle so I will be sure and listen very carefully so I can tell you the entire story! :)

After walking a little more, we saw the place where Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written (Deacon Brodie's Tavern) and we stopped for dinner at Biddy Milligans.

One more thing....you know you are in Scotland when....on every street corner you see this....

It has been so fun so far! And Steve is still napping on the bed. And since it is 10:30 here in Scotland, I will go wake him up to get ready for bed and I think I will head that way as well. Stay tuned for more adventures tomorrow when we get to go to Edinburgh Castle!!