Touring Edinburgh

 This morning we got up and it was raining again (who's actually surprised by this haha its their rainy season, ya can't get away from it). We drove around Old Town and New Town Edinburgh and learned so many things about the area.  Alexander Graham Bell was born here (we saw his childhood home), the lamps that are out front of these town-homes were a testament to one's wealth (they used to use whale oil), and Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish author who wrote Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and many other books) lived here as well.  We drove past the "cottage" where the royal family comes to stay in for the celebration of Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo performance and other events in the area. 

Those town-homes don't have lawns or yards to play in, so there are parks that were not developed (only landscaped beautifully) across the street or down and around the corner from them where they could have exclusive access to for this purpose - its fenced off and you need a key to enter the park, so it's kind of a shared yard with your neighbors.

Then we drove up to the castle (or as close as we could get, because they're setting up the grand-stands for the Military Tattoo celebration that's going to happen in August). We trudged uphill in the rain, trying not to slip on the cobblestone streets and made it to the inner walls and courtyards of the castle.  Our guide stuck with us (it was a different guide that our regular tour guide Marge - his name was Alan) through the rain (I overheard other people saying that their guides cancelled at the last minute because of the rainfall) and gave us a very speedy history briefing of the castle, pointed out what buildings were where and sent us on our way to explore.  We were able to see some beautiful architecture, stained glass windows, antiques and relics dating back centuries, AND we were able to see the Scottish Crown Jewels, as well as the Destiny Stone!  They didn't allow cameras in that room because of security reasons...bummer. 

After that, we made our way back through town to our hotel and were able to rest for a bit.  Chris and I decided to wander around and explore the area while we waited for the next tour excursion we'd go on.  We saw this beautiful cathedral and heard a symphony practicing for their concert tonight (oh how I wish we were able to record that, you guys, it was so beautiful)! Their gardens surrounding the cemeteries were stunning as well.

Last excursion for the day was a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia.  She was decommissioned in 1997 and they decided to let her sit in the harbor in Edinburgh.  It has turned in to quite the attraction too!  They have recordings that you can listen to that guide you through the ship and teach you what each room/place on the yacht was for. This was a very fancy boat, that's for sure haha  The royal family had to take the Roles Royce with them when they went to less-developed countries than Great Britain in order to have something to drive around. 

One of the games the crew played on the yacht involved a stuffed wombat and a soft baseball bat of some kind.  They'd toss the stuffed animal up into the ceiling fan and then start swinging trying to hit the stuffy into someone else.  We had a good laugh over that one.  Also, check out that dining hall!