We heart Scotland!

We are staying in a bed & breakfast, so B wanted the full Scottish breakfast (fried eggs, sausage, bacon (ham!), mushrooms, and beans), and K had some sort of Scottish cocoa cereal and fruit. K always loves continental breakfasts at hotels, so she was ecstatic!

Dada had to work today, so we stopped by to see him and then we were off!

Our first stop was the Edinburgh Castle, of course! We walked up just in time for the (free!) guided tour. We learned all about the age of the castle, its many uses over the centuries, and all of the different buildings and additions. For example, St. Margaret’s chapel is the oldest building in the castle, and in Edinburgh, and is taken care of by St. Margaret’s Chapel Guild, all of whose members are named Margaret, and any Margaret can get married there free of charge! 

K’s favorite part was learning about the 7 gates of the castle, and counting them on our way around. B’s favorite part was the canons, some of which were ordered by the Queen for purely decorative purposes. She thought that one of the walls needed canons, but those that were installed were meant for ships, not castles. B was also interested in the cellars where prisoners of war were kept during the American Revolutionary War, among others.



“Let me out (of the bathroom!)!!!”

















A few of the gates and old hinges...



We had a little lunch at a pub outside the castle and then headed over to Camera Obscura, a museum filled with optical illusions. There were all kinds of crazy things to see and do, like a mirror maze and a light vortex. At the very top, there were incredible views of the city, and the Camera Obscura, a sort of giant telescope that could project live photography of the city onto a wooden bowl-type table. The kids loved it!





After, we headed down the hill to shop for souvenirs (the kids would not stop talking about it!!!), and stopped to ride the Ferris wheel! The views were spectacular!