Edinburgh: Day 2

On our first full day in Edinburgh, we decided to go into the city center, called Old Town. Fortunately, our hotel was a two minute walk to a train station, and just two stops away from the city's main train station.

Our first impression of Edinburgh was that it was HILLY! When you are pushing a stroller, you notice that right away!

Our second impression was that the city is so unique in its geography. As we continued walking uphill, we were able to see Edinburgh Castle. This castle was built on the top of an extinct volcano, and was just stunning! We decided to go there first. As we approached the castle and looked around, we were able to see a large mountain off to the east. This mountain, as well as much of the Scottish countryside, is a glacial formation, and the very top of it is called "Arthur's Seat." You can hike up there, but we decided to save that for our next visit! Also from the castle, you can see a body of water to the north of the city called the Firth of Forth. The Firth of Forth is a fjord (glacially formed) and flows into the North Sea.Here are a few shots of the front of Edinburgh Castle.
A castle was first built here on Castle Rock back in the 1100s, by King David I. The only part of that castle that remains today is the chapel that he built for his mother, called St. Margaret's Chapel (below).Since then, the castle has changed hands between the English and the Scots a number of times. Parts of the castle have been destroyed and rebuilt over time. What you see in our photos was rebuilt and renovated in the 15-1600s.On our tour, we were able to admire the views of the city,see the Honours of Scotland (which included the crown jewels, sword, scepter, and "stone of destiny"),and see the Great Hall. While in the great hall, we watched a demonstration by a tour guide on how to fold a kilt. I learned that traditionally, a kilt was actually a rectangular piece of cloth that was used as a sleeping bag by night, and clothing by day. The guide demonstrated different ways of tying the kilt so that they could wear part of it over their heads to keep warm or use it to carry things on their side. I never knew kilts could be so purposeful!

When we left Edinburgh Castle, we headed down the "Royal Mile" which is the main street of Edinburgh. The street is cobble-stoned, and lined with souvenir shops. The shops had a lot of wool products and whiskey. The kids each got a t-shirt, and Tim got a Scottish rugby ball.

Our next stop was the Museum of Childhood. We chose this because... well, it was full of toys, and admission was free! This museum had a wonderful collection of toys, mostly from the early to mid 1900s. Maddie fell in love with a horse while we were there, and I actually found a doll that I had when I was a kid! I recognized it as soon as I saw it. It was a little red riding hood doll, that when you flipped the skirt over, the other side was her granny. I had mixed feelings about seeing it, to be quite honest. I was thrilled to see a toy that took me on a trip down memory lane, but not so thrilled that something I played with is in a museum. What does that really say about how old I am??

Anyway, after our time in the Museum of Childhood, we looked for a place to eat. Finding a place that serves beer and welcomes children isn't always easy to find. But, we found a restaurant called Decon Brodies that had a family friendly restaurant upstairs above the bar. The atmosphere was very pub-like, and I could even hear a person playing bagpipes from out of the open window! For dinner, Ethan ordered the "Haggis, Neep, and Tatties," the kids shared a bangers (sausage) and mash, and I got a Scottish steak pie.

So... Haggis. I remember a friend telling me once what haggis was, and I remembered that it was something really gross, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was. So, I told myself that I would try it first, and then look up what it was later. This is what Wikipedia says about haggis:
"Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours."
Yeah... I knew it was something gross. To be honest though, it didn't taste too bad. It was kind of like meat loaf. By the way, the "neeps" were mashed turnips, and the "tatties" were mashed potatoes.

Dessert, thankfully, was not as questionably made. We ordered something called "Chocolate Bumpy Lumpy." It was made with chocolate sponge (cake), topped with chocolate mousse, topped with cheesecake, topped with chocolate sauce. It was good. Tim even said it was his 3rd favorite food ever (#1 is NY pizza, and #2 is Reece's PB cups)! I thought that was cute!

So, that was our second day in Edinburgh. It was full, as you can tell. Next time, I will blog about our third day and our tour of the Royal Yacht Brittania.