Scotland the Brave

Those of you reading this blog who have known me the longest know that I went to McLean High School, home of the Highlanders.  Our tartan was a little different (MacLean, I think), but we had bagpipers in the marching band and played Scotland the Brave at every halftime show. Thanks to a full day in Edinburgh, I have will have bagpipes stuck in my head for at least a week.  This lad was actually quite good and seemed to be following us around the town as we ran into him on more than one occasion, which meant more than one tip for him.  More amusing than seeing him on the street was watching all the other tourists pose for pictures next to the funny man in the skirt who was torturing some pore animal stuffed in a leather bag. But this guy was "well good" as they say. 

We started our day with a trip to the decommissioned Britannia, the Queens last yacht.  Sniff.   Apparently she wasn't using it much anymore and often took a plane to wherever the boat was to entertain on it.  It was still pretty impressive.

From there, it was back into the city for some more tourist attractions, but first, we needed some lunch.  We've had our fair share of fish 'n chips on this trip (well, not Sharon, she is not a fan), but the ones Emma got today might just take the prize for taste and presentation.  It was a nice lunch.

From there, it was on to Edinburgh Castle, built on the volcanic rock in the city.  What beautiful views.  It was a nice way to see the entire city.  At this point, I have to mention how lucky we have been with the weather.  The last two days have been absolutely beautiful--sunny and highs of about 72F.  To hear the Scots joke, this kind of sunshine is pretty rare.

We ended our day with a bus ride around this entire city and then some souvenir shopping for the kids. But wait, that's not all.  At Eli's urging of his tired family, we ventured out for one more short tour, the comical and not too scary Edinburgh Ghost Bus Tour. They give the tour in the old Necrobus that used to be used to transport funeral parties (and the casket) around the city until the bus depot burned down in the 1960s.  Only two buses survived and have been refurbished for these fun ghost-themed tours of the city.  The other bus is in London.

Tomorrow we head back to Sheffield.  This was a rather short post-ALA holiday, but it's time to get back to work. We still have much we want to do and only a few weekends left in which to do it.  Stay tuned for our next adventure.