All of Scotland in 2 days

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I just returned from Scotland and had an amazing weekend. Edinburgh is by far the most gorgeous city I have ever seen. I have never seen a medieval city before. There are lots of cobblestone streets with secret passage alleys and stone staircases. Also the Edinburgh castle is stunning and sits at the top of the mountain so you can see it from every point in the city. We arrived late Saturday night and woke up early Sunday morning to catch a bus tour that went from 8am to 8pm. It took us around all of Scotland (we drove 600 miles!) and we saw the Three Sisters, Loch Ness, and many other castles and towns. At Loch Ness we took a boat ride across the lake to see if we would be the lucky or unlucky group to see Nessie (the Loch Ness monster). We did not see Nessie, which may be a good thing because legend has it that Nessie does night like visitors crossing her lake. Also on the tour we stopped for breakfast in a little town on the West coast of Scotland where we met Hamish, the highland cows. Highland cows are different from cows in the United States because they are very hairy and also legend says they can speak Gaelick. Then after our tour we had a 9:30pm ghost tour of the underground tombs in Edinburgh. BBC describes these tombs as the scariest place in the UK. I had no paranormal experience but it was really scary. The tour also ended in a graveyard, where the Economist Adam Smith is buried. Saturday was a long day but a great day.

Then today we again got up early to do sightseeing in Edinburgh. We had breakfast at the Elephant Cafe where J. K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter! Then we went to the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle, saw the Scottish Crown Jewels, tried some Haggis (I did not enjoy it but I am glad I tried it), and saw the statue of the Greyfrier's Bobby who was the most famous dog in Scotland who was honored by the Queen. Bobby was a faithful dog who would not leave his owners grave. Families began taking turns feeding Bobby at the gravesite since he would not even leave to eat. A rule in Scotland was that all dogs needed to be registered and have a license. Bobby did not have a dog license and was almost killed. Once the Queen found out how faithful Bobby was to his dead owner she rewarded him with a royal collar and dog license. Then we ended our day with a trip to the Whisky Distillery. It was an action packed weekend and I loved every minute of it. Also we stayed in an old church that was converted into a hostel about 15 years ago.

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