Edinburgh to Glasgow

Had just enough energy last night to go out for beer and nachos right around the corner from our apartment, fun to be recognized by the staff, but sad that we went to the same place 2 nights in a row!

Today we decided to go on a tour of Royal Yacht Britannia.  On decommissioning Edinburgh won the bid to have the yacht in their harbour.  We checked out the map and it looked not too difficult to drive to from our apartment, so after breakfast we packed up the car and off we went first to the yacht visit.  We all really liked the tour, lots of pictures of the royals, family and heads of state that have visited over the years.

Our apartment in Edinburgh, much nicer on the inside than the outside

Royal Yacht Britannia

Admirals Quarters

Rolls Royce on Board

Queens room

Drink anyone?

Admiral Andre having a drink

Staff quarters

Engine Room

Next stop is a little detour to Stirling Castle.  First off we went to a fantastic family owned pub that we packed but we had room to sit at the bar.  A great lunch and fun to watch all the action from the bar.

Lunch at the pub at the bar

Yummy Steak and Ale pie

 We next visit Stirling Castle.  A fee 45 minute tour was included in the ticket price, which was interesting.  It is quite overcast and much colder today, but still great to walk around on the tour and hear some of the history of the castle.  An interesting point for us was there are 6 tapestries that have taken 8 years to complete that are now on display in the palace. 

Wallace monument in the fog

Stirling Castle

Amazing tapastry

After Stirling Caste we headed into Glasgow to return the car and spend the night at the Howard Johnsons that is located right at the hotel.  We also had dinner at the hotel, just too tired to venture into the city.

We have had another fantastic vacation, but a little too short.  We really tackled a lot and got most done that we wanted to but it was a little rushed.  A beautiful country that we all hope to get back to one day, and hopefully with some golf involved next time! 

Until next vacation....

Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Full day planned for today so we are off early.  Decided to split up today and meet later in the afternoon.  Andre and I headed out to get to the Castle for opening time.  We had pre bought tickets on line so saved quite a line up.  We spent about 2 hours in the Castle, we decided to do the audio tour as well.

Fountain in the park on our walk to the castle

Governors residence still in use inside castle

Dog cemetery inside castle walls

Looking out from inside castle, they are setting up staging here for Tatoo, Arthurs Seat in distance

Inside Castle

Different cemetery with all the tomb stones lined up together

Following the Castle we headed down the Royal Mile with lots of stops in between.  We had a quick bite to eat on the way down as we knew we had high tea booked for 3PM so didn’t want much to eat before then.

Royal Mile

St Giles cathedral

Whiskey shop

Holyrood palace

Made it to the bottom of the Royal Mile Holyrood Palace and decided to pass on going in here and instead decided to climb Arthurs Seat. It is an absolutely beautiful day so we got some great views.  It is quite the climb, and the last bit is not so much fun, but worth it when we got to the top.  We were a little pressed for time as we had a tea reservation booked for 3PM so pretty much got to the top, took a couple of quick pictures, raced down and made it to tea 5 minutes late, and a little sweaty.

Hiking up to Arthurs Seat

View of castle from Arthurs Seat

View of palace from Arthurs Seat

Time for a picture, I'm dressed for tea!

We had purchased vouchers online for 2x1 tea at a very trendy place on George Street.  Started off with drinks that were like Mojitos, followed by sandwiches, desserts, and scones and of course tea.  Very yummy and no guilt as we certainly burnt more calories than we took in today.

Tea time, started with these Mojito type drinks

Yummy

Following tea the 4 of us stuck together and climbed Calton Hill, like we hadn’t climbed enough already today!  This again was a beautiful view, much closer to the city for views, and much easier to climb!  We had a beautiful day today, around 21, but after tea it had dropped to around 15, and tomorrow is supposed to be even cooler.

Rose Street

Andres favourite food truck

Scott Monument

Nelson Monument

View from Calton Hill

Free movies in the park

We are now back at the apartment, it is 8PM, having a break and then we will see how much energy we have to go out again.  We may just make it to the little bar around the corner for a snack and a beer before bed.