Edinburgh

 Okay, this isn't Edinburgh yet. This is in Liverpool, in northern England, on the way to Scotland. Gord wanted his picture taken with Paul McCartney, outside the Cavern nightclub where the Beatles were discovered. We stayed in Liverpool for one night.

 Next morning we traveled north through the Lake District, and had the opportunity to go on an old steam train ride through the countryside. We thought you would have enjoyed it, Dad!

 The destination of our train ride was a dock to a boat that would take us across the lake. It was a small ferry, about the size of the ones that go to Toronto Island, maybe smaller.

 Proof that we were there on the boat!

 Later we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant that had been created from the stables of an old inn. This courtyard is where the horses were exercised. The double door on the left of the picture is where the coaches and carriages entered.

 We liked this speed limit sign!

 At last we come to Edinburgh. This is the famous Edinburgh castle, on a hill right in the city. Another ancient castle! We had a whole day to spend in Edinburgh, so we decided to pay to tour the castle.

 Just inside the castle gates (on the left). So many examples of amazing stonework.

 Very handsome sentries, too!

 Then, again...maybe not so much. These Scottish caps with attached red hair reminded us of the Anne of Green Gables hats & braids you can buy in PEI. Extra comical on Gord's large head. :)

 Walking down the streets of Edinburgh, we saw this young man playing fiddle tunes (jigs & reels) with great skill, and also accompanying himself with percussion. He has rigged his shoes with duct tape to the foot pedals of the drum kit, and had what sounded like pretty complicated rhythms. We listened to him for quite a while, put some money in his case, and thought of Levi.

 At the other end of the city is Holyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when she is here. We arrived just a couple of minutes before they closed for the evening. They do allow visitors inside, but we decided we'd rather not pay for a much-rushed visit. Plus we were getting tired after a day of walking.

 But we had more walking ahead of us! We were meeting the group for a "Scottish cultural evening", and we had opted for more time in the city rather than meeting everyone at the bus (which was taking a long detour to our hotel, an hour outside of the city). So we got directions, and as we were walking there, we passed the University! This is significant because Hannah absolutely loves Edinburgh, and has plans (in an ideal world) to take her teaching degree here. So we took this photo for her.

The Scottish cultural show was very good. Lots of kilts, bagpipes, Scottish dancing, songs, very well done and no canned music! Gord had a microphone thrust in front of him while we were all singing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" -- he did great! Had a great dinner (so many great dinners...) and the finale was this wee slice of Haggis on a base of "mashed tatties" (potatoes). Oddly, it was served after dessert, so most of us were too full to enjoy it. It wasn't our first time trying it; basically it's a lot like sausage and quite good.