From Ireland to Scotland... We begin our tour of Edinburgh catching the bus from our friend's place in a town outside the city. First things first, we stop for coffee and then are off to see the castle.
Edinburgh is quite an amazing city, being that it has been built up upon for centuries. So although I felt as if I was on top of a hill, I came to realize that it is just buildings on top of buildings that have caused the city to seem so much higher. All the streets are connected through numerous closes, which can take you all the way from the top level to the bottom. So very cool!
The castle was absolutely amazing! It was great in size with many cool things to see inside. We made it inside the castle walls just in time to see (and hear) the gun go off at 1pm. We learned that the gun goes off everyday at this time, except Christmas, Good Friday and sundays. Originally it was to let the people of city know when to set their watches and as ship signal in the harbor.
Pepe stumbled across the statue of Earl Haig and had to get a picture with his buddy.
Here is a picture of the Scottish National War Memorial. Take a good look at the flowers. They were planted because the Queen was just there to celebrate 100 years since WWI. Our guide mentioned that in not too long, they will be taken out and replaced with green shrubs again.
Walking through town, we passed St. Gile's Cathedral.
We stopped for a pint at The Bow Bar. I enjoyed a brew by the name of
Why Kick a Moo Cow, which I picked entirely for the name and ultimately had my first taste of non-cold beer. The beer was good, but the fact that it was warm was interesting to say the least. The bartender took a liking to Pepe and asked if he would like a front row seat up on the bar. Pepe happily obliged.
We then continued down the Royal Mile to my good friend Jennifer's shop... Upon opening the doors, I was immediately overcome with the most wonderful smell I had ever smelled, fresh shortbread!! Her shop was super cute with various types of shortbread including cinnamon and sugar, poppyseed, orange chocolate dipped and just good ole plain. My favorites had to be the plain and the cinnamon and sugar. She also had truffle balls which were utterly fantastic!! I must say that if any of you ever make it to Edinburgh, you MUST get to Pinnies and Poppyseeds, you will not be disappointed.
Not far from her shop we found Rabbie Burns Bar... Robert Burns was a lyricist and poet and is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language. He is often regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and became an inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. Not only that, but he is also a member of my family, well, way back when. Always fun to find some family history tucked into a wonderful city.
After walking up and down the Royal Mile all day, we met back up with Jen and John and went out for a pint. We enjoyed a flight of beers at the Brewdog Bar, interestingly enough it is partnered with Stone Brewing Company out of San Diego. We had an amazing dinner at Devil's Advocate and spent the entire evening enjoying the company of our friends. Jen and John most definitely had to pose for a picture with Pepe before the night was over.
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