Cue the bagpipes - we're in Edinburgh!

Cary wanted to include this picture for everyone who worked with him at Camp Weed and had to sing a song about emergency train stop handles.

Here I am, reading the newspaper while we wait for our clothes to dry.

Arthur's Seat, the volcano which produced the rock Edinburgh sits on.

St. Giles Cathedral, Royal Mile

Defiant bagpiper.

Edinburgh is a fantastic city! We left York just after breakfast this morning and caught the 10:06 train to Edinburgh Waverly Station. We really liked York, but we were ready to see something new, so we were excited to be on our way. The train trip took a little over 2 1/2 hours, and we got to see some amazing scenery on the way up - more northern English countryside, and then all of a sudden, the North Sea coast! It was really beautiful - we were basically riding along the edge of a cliff or close to it, looking down into the sea. And then after that - mountains! For two native Floridians a mountain is a pretty big deal, and the Scottish mountains are every bit as rugged and imposing as they look in Braveheart (one of my all-time favorite movies, which we have borrowed from our B&B to watch tonight). I wish we had pictures from the train to show you, but we were moving too fast to catch any of the scenery. When we got to Edinburgh, we decided to catch a taxi to our B&B, since it’s about a 20-minute walk from the city center. Definitely money well spent! We walked to and from the center this evening and have decided that it would have been murder with all our luggage – lots of hills.

We are staying at the Priestville Guest House in south Edinburgh, and it is amazing so far. Colin and Trina Warwick are our hosts, and we love them already. Colin gave us a 15-minute orientation when we arrived, including at least four different maps, one of which he had marked with good pubs, coffee shops, laundromats (launderettes here), etc. in the neighborhood, and after taking us up to our room, said to come find him if we needed help. We went to the launderette to wash our clothes, where the lady in charge was very nice in helping us figure out how to use the machines. When we got back and realized I’d left a shirt there, Colin called the launderette for me and the lady said she had my shirt and I could come get it tomorrow. I met Trina while I was waiting for the launderette lady to find my shirt, and we chatted for 10 minutes or so. She was really sweet. Tomorrow morning we are having breakfast at 8:30, and Colin is fixing us a sampler dish of haggis so we can decide if we like it before we order it for breakfast another day or at a restaurant somewhere. So they are fantastic, and we suspect that this will be a great bed and breakfast experience.

We walked to the Royal Mile this afternoon, where the Palace at Holyrood House (the Queen’s residence here) and Edinburgh Castle are. We took the long way around, passing the volcano and crags on the edge of town, Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags. Veeeery impressive. We plan to hike them some evening, as it stays light very late here. The Royal Mile was a fun street. Our friend Andy, who we are staying with at the end of this week, told us that bagpipers had just been banned from playing the Royal Mile, but we saw one bold guy playing outside the Court of Justiciary. We walked home, stopping for dinner and cider at the Crags pub, and turned in early to get rested up for three very busy days here. I think we’re going to like Edinburgh a lot :)

-Emily

P.S. Happy Father’s Day to our dads!