Scotland in three parts

New Year's resolution underway here. I've resolved to actually start blogging after fits and starts. And what better for a first post than our recent trip to Scotland. (I'll actually be breaking this up into 3 posts so as not to bore anyone.) Natalie has been there since August and we decided to take the rest of the family to see her and Aidan. Emmie has a good friend who's from Tobermory on the Isle of Mull and soon we had a full itinerary. So off we went after having a brief Christmas here in the states. We left on the night of the 23rd, changed planes in Amsterdam and landed in Edinburgh on Christmas Eve where we met Natalie and Aidan.

The view from our apartment

Elizabeth found us a great hotel apartment in Edinburgh right on a canal. It was terrific. Full kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, washing machine, good location. We ordered 2 breakfasts that were stocked in the fridge and pantry waiting for us. The only trouble we had was not being able to operate the oven. 

Matching PJ's and Christmas cracker hats

Christmas day we spent with Christmas crackers, mimosas, presents and just enjoying Natalie and Aidan. We then went to one of my favorite pubs, The World's End, for Christmas dinner. We had ordered this prior to our arrival since so many places were closed on Christmas. The World's End has been in the same spot for God knows how long. The name comes from the location. Located on the Royal Mile, the Flodden Wall (Goodle it for the history of the wall) ran through here and the pub uses part of the wall's foundation. This was where the world ended and Edinburgh began. There are brass markings outside the pub where the wall and gate stood.

After dinner Conrad escorted the girls in a cab while Aidan and I walked back. Edinburgh Castle at night is lit and quite beautiful.

Boxing Day was bright and cold. Aidan left us to head back to Glasgow for work and we headed off to the Royal Yacht Brittania,one of the few attractions open on Boxing Day. To get there we took one of the ever present double decker buses. They are great for sightseers, just head upstairs for a great view. I'm always amazed at how the drivers can whip the buses around the small streets. 

The tower holds an elevator used to get between decks on the tour.

Brittania is a fun thing to tour. The audio tour is easy to use and informative and they provided Elizabeth with a script because of her hearing impairment. Some of my favorite parts were the binnacle, the Queen and Duke's bedrooms and of course the bars.

My kinda people. I found the bar.

Good seats, good soccer, but freezing!

 After a lunch of fish and chips we took a cab to Easter Road to watch Hibernian FC take on Ross County. Aside from the cold it was a terrific match even though Hibs lost 1-0. We had ordered the tickets ahead of time and had great seats, so close I had to deflect an errant clearance before it hit me in the head! The cold took a toll on us though and we left early taking another cab back to the apartment. Cabs are a good way to get around town if you don't want to wait for buses. Since we were there on holidays the buses were running a reduced schedule and with the number of us it was almost as cheap to take the cabs. I wouldn't recommend cars in the cities simply because of parking issues. 

The next day we packed up, picked up the rental car and headed out across Scotland on our way to the Isle of Mull. But that will be part 2.