Scotland: Edinburgh

On the Sunday of our trip to Scotland, we got going fairly early and drove the hour-plus east to Edinburgh. Before leaving, we got a few books in and saw a friendly snail on the driveway :)

After finding a place to park, we walked partway across the city to Edinburgh Castle! The castle is located high up on the hill in the city, and is therefore a bit of a hike (especially with a stroller). But the views are more than worth it. There was quite a long line for admission to the castle, even early on a Sunday morning. We had planned to use our English Heritage cards to get discounted admission, and lucked out to have a line monitor notice our cards just after we entered the queue. She said "oh, you can go to the tourist information desk to get your tickets." Score! 

We got into the castle just as a free tour was starting up. We followed the guide through the castle to learn about the history. I've (somewhat) come to terms with the knowledge that I'm only going to hear/read about 10% of whatever information is presented at any museum/historical site we visit... Charlotte-chasing is a full-time job. I say this not looking for sympathy, but rather to explain why I won't be including too many historical details in my blog. If I do, know that I probably "remembered" it with a little help from Wikipedia :) I do my best to take in the atmosphere and remember the beauty of each place. 

Despite my almost-constant attention to Charlotte, she still gets into some scrapes (as all active kids do). As the tour guide discussed the history outside the main church at the castle, Charlotte was climbing all over the steps of the church. Up, down, and everywhere -- she is becoming a little billy goat. Once we got onto the almost-flat surface of the slate courtyard, however, she saw Granddad again and got excited. She started running and BOOM -- face-planted on the slate stones. My mom quickly went into the cafe located adjacent to the courtyard and requested some ice. We spent the next fifteen minutes or so trying to ice her forehead in short bursts (she was only mildly tolerant of our efforts). She had a red "bulls eye" in the middle of her forehead which looked terrible (to me, full of guilt) for the next couple of hours. But amazingly, it really didn't bruise at ALL. 

Looking up at the castle from our walk up the hill.

Just inside the castle walls, heading for the entrance.

Fooling around in a telephone booth near the entrance!

Beautiful panorama from the top!

Within one of the rooms at the Castle, famous for its ceiling.

Views of and from the top of the castle

My little billy goat

A few minutes before the epic face-plant

About 45 minutes after the face/slate competition... note the circle shaped goose egg on her forehead.

Despite goose egg, ready to explore the rest of town!

After we left the castle, with lunch in our tummies from one of the castle's cafes, we tackled the famous Royal Mile. This is the name of the street that leads from the castle to Holyrood Palace, which is where the British monarch stays when she is in Scotland. There is some history of Mary, Queen of Scots there as well... go ahead and research that one on your own if you'd like. Ha!

We followed Rick Steves' tourbook's self-guided tour of the Royal Mile, which is excellent (as always). Love Rick. There are several churches along the route, and you can really get a sense of how the street must have looked a few hundred years ago. The trick is, if you follow the Royal Mile from the Castle to Holyrood, you are heading downhill the whole time. Then... you have to go back up. Unless your husband is awesome with maps, then he can route you around town back to the parking lot with minimal uphill. Paul for the win!

By the time we reached the base of the hill, Charlotte had passed out in the stroller. We sat for a bit, checking out the unusual architecture of the new Scottish Parliament building, and trying to decide if there was anything else we were dying to see in Edinburgh. We would have enjoyed climbing Arthur's Seat, which is a high hill that starts from the base of the Royal Mile. However, having climbed it back in 2003, I knew it wouldn't be appropriate to take a stroller, or Charlotte without her stroller either. So we ended up calling it a day and heading back to Bishopton.