When I last left you, we were about to head to Edinburgh. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and is very much catered towards tourists. It is a beautiful city rich in history but Mike didn't find it as authentic as Glasgow which is why he would tell you he prefers Glasgow to Edinburgh. We got to the city early morning and had a walking tour of the city booked for 11am. There is a company, Sandemans, that does free walking tours throughout most of Europes capitols. These are about two hour walking tours that helps get your oriented to the city and they of course advertise other tours that they do that you can buy. We wandered all over the old town and got some amazing stories told to us about Edinburgh. Our tour guide was incredibly entertaining and did an amazing job showing off the city. For the rest of the afternoon we spent our time walking up and down the Royal Mile stopping at several sites including St Giles and the numerous museums up and down the street. We wanted to have a very relaxing day and managed to do just that.
We headed back to our hotel after our exploration of the city to take a nap before our big night out. I had booked a private evening meal at the Prestonfield House which is a super posh hotel right at the base of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. We arrived at the hotel were greeted by staff in kilts and then shown to one of the many drawing rooms to enjoy a glass of wine prior to our meal. After our drink we were taken to our private room which had an amazing view of Arthur's Seat. We ended up getting a three course meal. We had delicious rabbit as an appetizer then Mike enjoyed what he calls "the best pork he has ever had" and I had steak. We finished the meal with a rhubarb dessert for lunch for me and a chocolate fondue cake for Mike. It was a great evening where we spent time just the two of us talking and enjoying the amazing food and wine.
Thursday was another busy day with our final day tour of our trip. On Thursday we headed to the kingdom of Fife with the big highlight being St. Andrews. We had a very small tour group so our guide took us along the coastal path and then on a local route through the hills that she normally takes when she goes home. It gave us a stunning view of the Scottish countryside and we were about to look across the water and get a different view and perspective of Edinburgh. We stopped in several little fishing villages and Mike was able to taste his first scone and stand on his first Scottish beach. When we made it to St. Andrews we were given two hours to explore so we were able to do the Cathedral, Castle, Golf Course, and beach. Thursday was also our first beautiful day in Scotland and we were so excited to see the sunshine. Mike was getting to the point where he did not believe Scotland has dry days and was planning on moving and opening a windshield wiper company because clearly those would do well in Scotland :)
The last stop of our day tour was one that I was not expecting which was to the small town of Falkland. Here we were given the opportunity to explore Falkland Palace which was a palace of the Stuart Monarchy. It was a lovely little palace to walk around and I wish we had been there in summertime so that we could have seen the gardens when the flowers were in bloom. Overall the day was wonderful and we had a guide who was so full of life and energy which was lovely.
We had the chance to meet up with Lucy for dinner in the city center. It was lovely for her to get to meet Mike before we all went down to Maybole and it gave Mike a chance to see the new town of Edinburgh. After dinner it was another early night since we knew we would be busy for the weekend.
Friday morning started off with us visiting Edinburgh Castle which is one of my favorite castles but aside from the Crown Jewels and Stone of Destiny, I'm really not sure if Mike found it very impressive. I love the history of the castle and the location looking out over the town is incredible. We spent a good two hours exploring everything we could before heading back down the Royal Mile, getting more souvenirs, and then getting ready for our next destination.
Overall it was a lovely couple of days in Edinburgh. I'm glad we started out in Glasgow so that Mike got to see the "real Scotland" and had a chance to really interact with Scottish people aka my family :) more to come soon, I promise!
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