OK, let me start by saying.... I LOVED THIS CITY! If Edinburgh didn't have such cold climate, I would relocate here in a heart beat! What a fantastic city, so full of energy and history... and so visually appealing. But I am getting ahead of myself.
We left for Edinburgh by 8:15AM and our first stop was the 13th century Blair Castle which was interesting and had beautiful grounds, which as time went by, each castle grounds and gardens got more impressive. But Blair Castle was very nice. We toured the inside of the Castle where we saw lots of weapons on display, as well as portraits, china and armor. There was even a room that you were able to play dress up, with some of the old clothing from that era. We still had our local guide Malcolm, who continued to do a great job. After the tour of the Castle we had some free time to explore the picturesque town of Pitlochry Scotland. So adorable, it reminded me of the village of Hogwarts in Harry Potter, with lots of flowers... There were beautiful potted flowers every where we went in Scotland and Ireland both. Unfortunately it started to rain when we arrived so we stopped for lunch in a local pub for a beer and some hot food. After lunch we had some time for local shopping before the tour continued at the Blair Athol Distillery where we learned about and sampled 12 year old whiskey. Our tour guide at the Distillery was very good and made it fun. She was actually from Poland. I am not a big whiskey fan, but I will say it was VERY good.
We arrived in Edinburgh at 5:15PM and onto our hotel the Marriott Dalmahoy a few miles from Edinburgh City Center. It was a lovely hotel, probably our favorite with an upscale Country Club feel. Beautiful hotel and room also on a golf course and lovely grounds. We meet up with our group and headed to the Heights Restaurant in Edinburgh with gorgeous views of the Castle. Great dinner and very nice restaurant. After dinner we met with our local guide Shelia (also very good), where we did a walking tour of Edinburgh at night. It was great fun and we learned about the colorful side of Edinburgh and some interesting, but true tales. We saw The Elephant Cafe where JK Rowling's wrote Harry Potter as well as visited the old cemetery. Had a fun night.....Could not wait to explore the city by day.
August 19,2011
Edinburgh
We met our local guide Shelia again for a tour of Edinburgh by day where we toured the elegant 200 year old Georgian "New Town"and the compact medieval section along the Royal Mile and a visit to the Castle, which was incredible and the views amazing! This is where the Royal Crown jewels are kept. Could have spent all day here....Had really nice sunny weather too. We had 4 hours of free time so that was great. After the castle tour we walked the Royal Mile and did some shopping, plus there was a festival going on so there was something to see everywhere and so much going on, it was crazy, but fun!
We walked all the way down to Holyrood Castle which is where the Queen resides when in Scotland. Stopped for lunch in a little Italian Restaurant which was good, but the service was horrible. Can not remember the name. Had to catch the bus at 4:00 pm to hotel to get ready for the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle. This had promised to be one of the highlights of the trip and I will say it did not disappoint, however the beautiful weather we had all day changed and while we were at the Tattoo it rained and got very cold, but the display was still good and the changing colors on the Castle were fascinating to see as well as the bag piping and marches, there was a little comedy as well. The whole display was 1.5 hrs long.
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