We were so excited to see Scotland for the first time! Mike was very lucky to have a work conference opportunity in a different country.
We flew there from London and stayed for the week. There was so much to see, and the city of Edinburgh was so green and pretty. I liked it because it was much smaller than London so you could get around more easily. I found the following description on Google:
Edinburgh is Scotland's compact, hilly capital. It has a medieval Old Town and elegant Georgian New Town with gardens and neoclassical buildings. Looming over the city is Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland’s crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, used in the coronation of Scottish rulers. Arthur’s Seat is an imposing peak in Holyrood Park with sweeping views, and Calton Hill is topped with monuments and memorials.
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| A patchwork of green farm land seen from the sky |
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| And a lot of sea! |
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| Beautiful Scotland countryside |
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| Riding a train to Edinburgh |
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| I loved the old brick and stone castle homes |
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Our hotel in Edinburgh, the Appex Waterloo Hotel
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From my Journal entry on Monday, June 17th:
We are on the subway headed to London Heathrow Airport. We’re excited to see Scotland for the first time! We had a light, healthy lunch at Pret-A-Manger before taking the train out—delicious fresh salads with protein.
We’ll be staying in Edinburgh and plan to visit the castle there.
Now it’s after midnight and we’re ready to sleep!
We boarded the plane to Edinburgh but had to wait a long while before taking off—due to some luggage issue. Looking outside my window, I noticed how green, very pretty, and very populated London is. By contrast, Edinburgh has more farm land, a lot of visible ocean, and less population. Both England and Scotland are beautiful countries.
We were allowed to leave the plane from the back side, which was a first for us. We walked to where the Tram was stationed, bought our tickets, and rode on the tram for about 45 minutes into town. Then we dragged our luggage to the Appex Waterloo Hotel. We are staying on the very top floor, room 1013.
Our hotel is in the City Center within a short walking distance to shops, restaurants, malls, and historic sights. Mike and I ventured out to find a good place to eat dinner. We ate downstairs inside the St. James Quarter mall at a yummy Thai restaurant called Thai Kitchen that we want to visit again. I had a stir-fry veggie and beef dish, and Mike had yellow chicken curry. We also ordered dessert of Mango rice and fried bananas.
Tomorrow Mike is going down to the university early in the morning for his work conference. He’s scheduled to be the third speaker. And on Thursday he’s chairing a session. The conference only goes from Tuesday through Thursday, a short time. And we still get to enjoy being here for the whole week, through Friday morning.
While Mike is at the conference tomorrow, I shall go in search of pretty souvenirs for the girls and cool souvenirs for the boys.
Mike wants me to go down and eat breakfast everyday, so I’ll plan to do that. He also thinks that I should check out the hotel’s amenities like the pool, sauna, workout room, spa, etc.
We will be going to see the Edinburgh Castle on Thursday afternoon, which should be fun.
From my Journal entry on Tuesday, June 18th:
I actually made it down to our hotel’s continental breakfast before closing time this morning and really enjoyed the food choices. I had some scrambled eggs, bacon, a taste of the sausage, a hash brown wedge, fresh fruit, yogurt with some berries in sauce, and juices to drink. I skipped the breads, croissants, and cereals but had plenty of energy the whole afternoon.
I walked through all the levels at the nearby mall, then found my way to the more touristy shops along and around Bridge Street. I got carried away and spent hundreds of dollars on souvenirs for our ABQ kids, grandkids, Vernon, my mom, and even Mike and I. I imagine Mike will be annoyed. I filled up the extra duffle bag that he brought, plus stuffed the rest of the souvenirs into my own suitcase and our toiletries bag! I hope we can get all of it home safely. The problem is that we still have two more countries to travel to and then back to London before we fly home!
Much later tonight—actually after 1am:
I was able to stuff all my souvenirs into the extra duffle bag, plus my suitcase, plus our other duffle bag that we put all our toiletries in! I will need to give some of my clothes to Mike to add to his suitcase when we leave Scotland. I sure went overboard with the shopping today! But I feel pretty good about all my purchases.
The large mall with its pricey stores had nothing in the way of Scottish souvenirs. But there were plenty of shops on and around North Bridge Street and especially on the famous Royal Mile. That's where everyone finds great souvenirs. The items I saw most were cashmere scarves and lambs wool scarves, which are made in Scotland; plus lots of tweed items made from wool such as kilts, berets, bagpipes, purses, wallets, coin purses, etc; Celtic jewelry; Scottish shortbread cookies; mugs; t-shirts and sweatshirts; and rugby and football shirts/jerseys. I bought a nice variety of everything and have quality souvenirs for everyone including ourselves.
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| Loved these authentic bagpipers on the street corners |
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| I think this tour would have been really fun for me and Mike |
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| Back at Thai Kitchen for dinner |
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| While Mike was at his conference, I went shopping in town |
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The best place to shop was on the Royal Mile,
which had plenty of different types of stores along the road |
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Souvenir t-shirt for Mike
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We hiked up to Arthur's, a must see! The views from the top were spectacular, with pretty wildflowers along the way
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| It was cold and windy at the top of Arthur's Seat |
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| Edinburgh seen from Arthur's Seat |
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| Weird looking apartments! |
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| Lunch at Five Guy's |
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| Awesome cathedral |
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| There were lots of little dogs like this one, in Edinburgh |
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| Another cool cathedral |
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| Beautiful owl and its trainer |
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| Going to the Edinburgh Castle |
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| Inside the grounds of the castle |
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| Views of the city from the castle |
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| Look at these old stone streets and walkways |
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| We loved our time at the Edinburgh Castle! |
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| Last chance to do some souvenir shopping |
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The mall where we found our Thai food restaurant
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| Last meal in Scotland |
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| Mike's favorite--yellow curry with chicken |
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Pad Thai with pork for me, plus an egg on top
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Mike's poor fingers! They got smashed in our hotel bathroom door
From my Journal entry on Wednesday, June 19th: As I was walking back to the hotel with my four large bags of souvenirs, I struggled to carry them up the hills and especially up many short steps to the upper part of the city! It’s so easy to get lost here, especially when Google maps keeps rerouting us. My fingers and feet were sore before I finally made it back to the hotel.
Mike got back from the conference shortly after I returned. He brought tons of snacks from the store and from the conference stuffed into his pockets! We went to Thai Kitchen at the St. James Quarter mall again for a yummy dinner of stir fry Ginger with beef and veggies, pad Thai noodles with chicken, two fried eggs to add to our meals, and chicken pot stickers for our appetizer. It tasted so good after not having had any since breakfast.
Mike wanted to do his foot stretches during part of our TV series. He had his fingers tucked inside the bathroom door where the hinges are when I closed the door to use the bathroom. He cried out in pain and agony when the door broke the skin of three of his fingers below his fingernails! I had no idea that his fingers were in the door hinge area, and both of us were a bit in shock. My poor hubby whimpered like a wounded animal. I gently ran cold water over his bleeding fingers and wrapped a clean face towel around his throbbing fingers and hand. I tried my best to calm him down and have him elevate his hand on a large throw pillow in bed. This was a very traumatic experience for Mike. I’m grateful to Heavenly Father that his bones were not broken and that the pain subsided rather quickly.
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| Saying goodbye to our hotel |
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| The cool train ride to the airport |
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| Pret-A-Manger salads and croissants at the airport for dinner |
From my Journal entry on Thursday, June 20th:
Mike and I had a late lunch of yummy salads at Pret-A-Manger and walked along North Bridge and the Royal Mile. We found the perfect little black Yorkshire/Scottie puppy for Sofia’s souvenir. Our main goal today was to see the Edinburgh Castle, which Mike had purchased tickets for in advance. There were lot of people going to the castle, and the tickets were sold out when we arrived at the entrance to the castle.
The castle was pretty amazing! We went to the basement and climbed stairs to the top. The medieval castle has a lot of history. Everything is made of old stones including the streets. And naturally the basement rooms and stairwells smell old and musty. Kings and queens, soldiers, religious reformations, art, battles—all were a big part of the culture and history here.
I took tons of photos! We had a nice meal at Tai Kitchen, our favorite eatery in the St. James Quarter mall.
Goodbye to beautiful Scotland
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