Edinburgh Redux

Kevin here with more thoughts and reflections on our first stop of our 80-day trip to Europe: Edinburgh, Scotland.  I've got plenty to say about this great city, so expect more.  But I'll start here:  Edinburgh is exactly how I hoped it would be: a lively town, full of ancient beauty.  It's busier here than I thought it would be in late Winter, so the busy-ness of the center city (although touristy) has been a welcome surprise.  It's a treat to walk around late at night amid throngs of people from Scotland and beyond, pubs bustling, the lights of the (imposing) Walter Scott Memorial and Edinburgh Castle lighting up the sky.

I like this place.  A lot.  It's cold this time of year, in the 40's.  And it rains as much as people says it does. But we came prepared.  We set out, undaunted, into this fair city.  It's split into two parts, essentially.  The New Town, where there is much shopping and apartments and where our B&B was located (off Frederick Street), and The Old Town -- where the castle is, among other more ancient sites.

The Old Town of Edinburgh.

One of the first things we did was to hit a local pub.  I promptly got a beer (A Murphy's Stout) and fish and chips.  It was all good, all good. A fitting start to a tour of fish-and-chips dishes throughout the U.K.!

A Murphy's Stout.  An excellent start!

Fish & Chips... with Mushy Peas (not guacamole, as I first thought).

We hadn't really been out long on our first full day in Edinburgh when Kelly stops dead and her tracks, pauses.... and says.... "Pipers!"

Yep, a guy playing bagpipes (not really that rare in the Old Town where the tourists go).  Nevertheless, Kelly -- being a MacDougal by birth -- hurries over to negotiate a picture of him.

Anna - with new raincoat & umbrella -- in tow.

Doing touristy things.  Don't judge us.

Our first big stop was Edinburgh Castle, which Kelly posted several pictures of.  It's a beautiful old castle, rich with history.  The kids seemed to enjoy it.

Daniel & Justin with Edinburgh Castle in background.

Anna enjoyed climbing up into the forbidden parts of the castle, inviting ruin.

Now the below picture is one of my favorites so far.   As I said, Edinburgh is an old city, rich with history, it's playrights, and actors.  I love that centuries-old buildings and monuments are a dime a dozen here, so... "sure... park that dumpster right in front of that guy's monument over there."

An ancient hero... and his orange dumpster.

Edinburgh is such a beautiful place.  And we're just getting started.  We've got more to say about it.  And about being in the U.K. in general. So stay tuned.  I leave you with this shot of a beautiful cathedral along the Royal Mile (which stretches through Old Town from the Castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse) at sunset.  One of my favorites.

Tron Kirk on the Royal Mile at sunset.