Not all who wander are lost.

29 December 2010

We finally arrive in Scotland! Entry into the country was no problem. We were met at the airport by our guides. Our bus had Sheila and the other bus a gentleman in a kilt. We went on a tour that was shortened from the original 4 hours to 90 minutes. She drove us through town and gave us some overviews. We stopped at Holyrood Palace and got out to take some pictures. She had us go down part of the Royal Mile...yadda yadda. She justified my questioning of the fog. Indeed, it was the haar.

Haar - a fog brought in off of the North Sea.

The hills were hard to see. You could see the Castle but it wasn't clear. The top of Arthur's Seat was not able to be seen at all. I anticipate being able to see it.

We were dropped at our hotel and got our keys. Apparently my iPhone doesn't work here....like at all. And I've recently found the internet is spotty.

After getting situated and switching my shoes we were ready to be off. We decided to head to Princes Street to check out the Christmas Village stuff they have set up for Hogmanay. There's a ferris wheel and other random rides. There were cool shops as well. We got a Scottish Mead. It was heated and came in a mug. There were many neat hat places. We got some Smoky Garlic Cheddar Cheese and Vanilla Tablet.

Next we were off to dinner. We headed up towards the castle for dinner at Deacon Brodie's. Dad got a Caledonian 80 and I got a B? Best. Mine had a Guinness-esque head on it. For dinner I decided to jump right in to the culture. That's right.... Haggis! I had Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. That's Haggis, Turnips and Potatoes. It was delicious!!!!! I don't know what people complain about. Dad got Sausage and Mash. We had good times. Our waiter was cool and related to where we were from asking about the Flyers and such.

After that we planned on walking down the Royal Mile. We did so and stopped in at what shops were still open. I saw Mary King's Close and asked if wanted to get to it tonight. They had two spots open for 8:20. So we walked around for a bit and returned. It was one of the neatest tours I've been on. It would be hard to see that view and hear about it anywhere else. The television really does a good job of peaking interest.

Then we went searching for Sandy Bell's for a session and a pint. I thought I knew where I was going...but it was a little strange because the map I'd been looking at was missing quite a few streets and quite a few streets were missing street signs. At one point an Edinburger asked if we needed help. We said sure...but he couldn't figure it out either. Eventually I figured it out. When we went inside it was a hole in the wall. The session sounded good, but our friends weren't there so we decided to head back to the hotel going past (the influence for) Hogwarts.