Edinburgh--in and around

After York and Alnwick we headed for Edinburgh where we enjoyed a break at the Elephant House Cafe where JK Rowling was inspired by the view of the castle and sat writing some of the Harry Potter series. (Other writers, like Alexander McCall-Smith, have also frequented the Cafe.) 

We had some hot chocolate and a cookie Jacob and I intended to share. Gavin ate most of it, mostly because he shoved it in his mouth, fearing he'd have to share with his parents.

While Melissa and Mike explored the city, we took a boat cruise, mostly to see wildlife. Here's a puffin and some cute seals.

 We would have liked to see more puffins, but we did enjoy the boat ride on a gorgeous day.

One of the highlights of the trip was the highland games. We watched pipe band and highland dancing competitions, as well as the heavy athletics where competitors mostly threw really heavy objects. But the best part was sartorial. Everyone wore kilts, including the athletes.

...and the highland games' mascot, Hamish the Haggis.

We loved the highland dancers' cute outfits. Also, the piper in the left of this picture provided the music for their dancing which seemed much more authentic than playing recorded music over a speaker.

Signspotting

I guess I'm not the only one on the lookout for funny signs. On our recent trip to Edinburgh we came across an exhibit from http://www.signspotting.com/ where they find ACTUAL funny signs and sell them in the form of t-shirts and books and fridge magnets and the like. Here are some of the funnier ones they had in the exhibit.

The Edinburgh Military Tattoo

This year is what Scotland is calling its Homecoming year; 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the poet Robert Burns (pretty much the most important person to come from Scotland--even Sir Sean Connery himself would probably agree), and the Edinburgh festivals are drawing massive crowds!

After our visit to Scotland last year, we've been itching to get back. We actually bought our tickets to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo right when they went on sale last December, and we've been looking forward to this trip for a long time. The Tattoo takes place in the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, and it includes performances from around the world. We saw groups from Tonga, China, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia and, of course, Scotland and England. In this setting the word "tattoo" comes from a Dutch phrase from when British soldiers were battling in Flanders in the 1700s.

The castle as a backdrop for the performances was dramatic and beautiful; and some of the acts projected images onto the castle in really cool ways. One of the Swiss acts projected this photo of an Alpine tram (left), and the Tongan group projected a palm leaf pattern.

Here's a video of part of the performance, but it's a little long; if you fast-forward to about 1:10 you can get some good bagpipe action.

The other highlight of our time in Scotland was the deep-fried Mars bar. We also had a deep-fried Snickers and a fried pizza (they put the whole pizza in the fryer), but the Mars bar was the most delicious! They used batter similar to the fish batter (as in fish & chips), whereas at the fair in the US they'd use something more like funnel cake batter. (For those of you who don't know what a Mars bar is, it's like a Milky Way bar, only galaxies better.)

In love with Scotland!

We're extremely excited to have Jacob's brother Joel and his wife Emily here for a visit. Last Friday morning we drove to Scotland and had a wonderful weekend there. We can't wait to get back to that beautiful country, and we're already talking about what we want to do next time we're there! (We're pictured above with a beautiful Scottish Highland vista in the background.)

We started in Glasgow Friday night where we visited the Kelvingrove Museum (in the photo above). I had always wanted to see the Salvador Dali painting "Christ of St. John of the Cross," and it didn't disappoint. We were also amazed to see a Monet, several Renoirs, a Degas, and many other works by renowned artists. We then ate an incredible meal at a local pub.

Saturday we spent the day in Edinburgh, and I can definitely speak for all 4 of us that we absolutely loved Edinburgh! We visited The Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is the Queen's official residence in Scotland. We were impressed by its beauty and magnificence, and we also enjoyed the historical stories of past royal figures.

Another highlight of Edinburgh was a place called Chocolate Soup (recommended by Emily when she visited Edinburgh in high school). We ordered some shortbread and scones, which we dipped in our "chocolate shots." If only I could convey how delicious that chocolate was! I think this photo of Jacob licking every last drop from the cup reflects the sentiment. The scones and shortbread were tasty too, but we could have dipped anything in that chocolate and it would have been amazing.

Sunday we drove to Loch Ness. The drive was breathtaking! We enjoyed our visit to Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. We've reviewed all the photos we took there, and we never spotted Nessie in the water. It's quite a large lake, so she was probably in other regions...

On our way home Monday we stopped in York. We visited the York Minster, which is both a minster and a cathedral. We also enjoyed walking along the city walls. York has more miles of intact city walls than anywhere else in England. Some sections of the wall are as old as Roman times. We also enjoyed a great pub meal in York, complete with Yorkshire pudding! We hope you enjoy the photos!

(in Edinburgh)

(The ruins of Holyrood Chapel, adjacent to the Palace of Holyrood House. The plan was to pose as if we were entombed there--with our eyes closed. That's why my eyes are closed. Ask Jacob why his are open!)

(Jacob drinking from Loch Ness. We had plenty of water; he just wanted to drink from Loch Ness.)

(Part of the massive York Minster)

(An adorable street in York.)

(A half-devoured giant Yorkshire Pudding. Yum!)

(Joel & Emily at Urquhart Castle)