A trip to Scotlands Capital

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We drove to Edinburgh on Wednesday 18th for a three day visit.

The trip started by Karla and Alex being dropped off at the spa for a pampering afternoon. Our pleasures included a hot stone massage for Karla, which was totally fantastic, Alex getting a Swedish massage and then both of us getting a manicure and pedicure.

The boys went into the town centre and they went on a tour of the Edinburgh Dungeons and John Knox House which was built in 1470. They had a great afternoon learning about the history of Edinburgh’s criminal system including being sentenced, torture techniques and jails during the ages as well as a ride that simulated getting hung!

We then all met up and the hotel and got checked. We unpacked and relaxed while the rain fell then we ventured out to Hard Rock Café for burgers and cocktails. Once our bellies were full we walked to Opium which is the nightclub Karla and Alex went to for 7 years but we haven’t been in for 5 years so it was a real blast from the past to be at the old bar. After a few drinks we decided to head to the hotel for an early night to be ready for our next day.

So after a great sleep we all were up in good time and walking the streets of Edinburgh in dry weather. We wandered till we found somewhere to have a late breakfast and after eating we walked up the Royal Mile towards the great Edinburgh Castle.

Earliest evidence of humans living on the massive castle rock were dated as 900 BC, then the village was recorded on the rock in 600 AD. The buildings we see today were built in 1093 and the St Margarets Chapel is the earliest of the buildings. The castle has been added to over the years and it is very grand. We went into the vault room for a glimpse at the Crown Jewels which are worn by the Queen on special occasions. We also saw the Scottish National War Museum which contains various war memorials to honour men and women during battles and wars. We were not able to take pictures of the memorials but they were stunning to see. The great hall was completed in 1511 and it was intended to serve as the chief place of ceremony in the castle and there were many grand features to this huge room. We visited the stables where we saw a very interesting battle talk and demonstration of fighting techniques buy two guys in costume with working weapons and they fired a 1600 musket with a lead bullet. Another highlight of the castle was hearing the 1 o’clock gun, this is a modern day cannon which is fired daily at exactly 1pm. We were next to it to watch and it was loud!! Very cool to see. Edinburgh Castle was truly a military fortress which was never over thrown by any army it was only ever surrendered due to famine and disease.

After walking round the great castle we hit the shops for some retail therapy. We found some unique gifts for family and friends in PEI and a few things for ourselves too. We ended the shopping by going to a Mexican restaurant for dinner and a drink. Then after dumping our bags in our rooms we were back out to visit a few pubs, have a few drinks and chat about our day Later that evening we wandered back into Opium for a few mor drinks and Karla and Alex both danced their hearts out. At 2am we thought we should head to bed so we stoped at McDonalds on the way for a late snack.

On Friday 20^th we were up to pack and once again head for breakfast. The boys took the bags with them to walk around some stores and play AC/DC pinball while Alex and Karla took the bus to our favourite underwear store to visit a friend and look at some new bras! A few British Pounds lighter we met up and Alex and Chris went to get the car while Shane and Karla visited St Giles Cathedral. It was a masterpiece of stone masonry and carpentry, many types of wood and stone were used to create the huge arches and windows. There was also a full pipe organ playing during our visit which was unbelievably large.

We all met up and drove down the East coast to our next adventure.

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