Snailin Across Europe: Edinburrah!!!!

Edinburgh Castle

Holyrood Palace

Megan with all the Scotch

Painter Sisters at the Whiskey Experience!

Edinburgh Castle

The Painter Sisters on the Edinburgh Castle!

Since my guest blogger, Megan or Katie, are taking forever to write an excerpt, I will have to proceed without them! (hopefully they will fill you in on their trip from Inverness to Edinburgh later)

On the Thursday after my birthday, I flew out to meet Katie and Megan in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were to pick me up at the airport in the car they rented, and I am not going to lie, I was a bit nervous. Picture Megan driving in the States regularly and then plant her in a vehicle in another country where they drive on the other side of the road.......SCARY!!! Surprisingly, they weren't bad navigating the roads and I managed to get to the hotel we were staying at in one piece! I also have to give them much love for getting me jacket potatoes for dinner!! (I was starving, but a lot of places were closed because it was late)

The next day started our sisterly adventures in the town of the Scotsmen! We decided that we would by a hop on, hop off tour bus ticket that gave us entrance into 3 big amusements- Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Royal Yacht Britannia! The first stop we went to was the Edinburgh Castle! Fast Facts: In 1440, the castle became the first recorded meeting place of the Scottish Parliament. In 1566, it was the birthplace of the son of Mary Queen of Scots, James, who grew up to be King of both Scotland and England. In the castle we took a guided tour and saw the Crown Square, a pet cemetery, the Great Hall, and much more! We were also able to see the Stone of Destiny (stone which must be present at the crowning of a new monarch), the Crown jewels (not as impressive as England's), and the Honours of Scotland (which are the oldest in Europe!). When we were done touring, we stopped in the old feed house to have tea and scones!

After our tea break, we left the castle and ventured down the Royal Mile. This street connects the two castles together and is full of shops and things to do! We stopped in a tartan weaving mill and picked up some MacKay tartan scarves!! (who is our family clan, along with McElroy). After getting one piece of our family heritage, we decided to delve eve deeper- we went to the Scotch Whiskey Experience! We got a guided tour into how whiskey is made and then got to try out different flavours of whiskey. It was very potent, but interesting to try. We even got to keep our very own Scotch tasting glass! After the tour, we then found our way into a celtic jewelry store! I picked up a new claddagh ring and a forever knot locket!! (all very pretty at a reasonable price!) After going in some more shops, we made our way down the mile to the Palace of Holyrood. This is the current palace for the royal family when they visit Scotland and it we were able to tour it! It was very impressive, but I couldn't imagine living in such an old place! It is very outdated, but that is what keeps the charm I suppose! We then spent the rest of the day looking around in shops and finding a good place to eat!

The next day we finished up our bus tour and went to the Royal Yacht Britannia. (Dad- you would have loved this boat!!) The yacht was used as the sea home to the royal family for 44 years! We were able to view the Sun Lounge, the State Dining Room, the royal bedrooms, the crew's quarters, and the pristine engine room! After our great day out on the royal yacht, we did some more shopping (to get shortbread!!) and made our way back into town! Katie and I then proceeded to go to the Scott Monument (a building with 287 steps to the top- we did all of them and have a certificate to prove it!!) We then met Megan at the National Gallery- she couldn't handle the steps! After a long two days, we started to make our way to the airport to head back to London.....which is a whole other story...

On the bus to the airport, we needed to all arrange our bags so they fit into one. (Cheap flights are very strict with your allowance of one bag) Katie got bus sick and quickly finished and then sat down to close her eyes. We arrived to the airport and only had about 30 minutes to get through security and make it to our flight gate!! We ran to security and I made it to the metal detectors to only realize that Katie and Megan weren't behind me! I go back to the first check in point and see Katie looking frantically around. SHE CAN NOT FIND HER PASSPORT/PURSE!! Megan runs through the gate and doesn't look back until she gets to the metal detector and yells at me to look for her passport (Im waiting inside the checkpoint trying to help Katie, who can't get in the checkpoint without id) Im frantically looking around the area and look to Megan to say that I can't find hers. Surprise, surprise, she's not there- she forgot to tell me she found it and went on. At this point, the ladies let Katie give me her bags and she takes off to the bus we just got off of. (It's about a mile away) I am waiting and waiting when I hear them call her name on the loud speaker asking her to come claim her passport. Bad news- I can't leave the checkpoint because the security officers already scanned my tickets. I could leave, but only if I went back to the luggage counter and printed out a new ticket (update- we now have 5 minutes to our gate closes). I'm still waiting and Katie is still a no show, so I decide that I need leave the checkpoint and help her out. As soon as I sprint out and get to the top of the escalator, Katie comes running up and yells lets go!! I just yell and look back to the security ladies, who just wave to come back and they'll let me through...THANK GOD! Katie and I then sprint through security and the metal detectors and come face to face with Megan in the terminal side. She has a drink and a magazine and just laughs and says oops, we read the wrong time and still have another hour. HA HA HA, funny....After a near breakdown experience, Katie and I sit down on the nearest bench and lose it. (Katie more then I) She goes into explaining how she left it on the bus and they turned it into the info kiosk, who she went to and said they didn't have it. After running back and forth between the two, she ends up seeing it at the info desks and begs to have it. For some reason they won't give it to her until the manager happens to wander by and just hands it to her. After a few deep breaths, we make our way to the nearest airport bar for a pint. We make our flight and make it safely to London. Scotland= what an adventure!!

Katie on the steps of the Scott Memorial