Edinburgh: Day 1

Sorry for my absence!  We've had a four day weekend and we soaked up every minute of it.  But now we're back to reality and I've got bloggin to do.

Like I mentioned, we went to Edinburgh this weekend!  The plan was for Susan to be here with us and head over there together, but then she went and jumped out of an airplane like a crazy person and cracked her ankle in half.  So she couldn't come and we were very sad.   :(

But all that to say, despite missing Susan...the trip was so fun!  The city is old and beautiful and the weather was surprisingly sunny (but freezing) and we saw a lot of cool things.  

I also found the city to be...a little...creepy.  Anyone else been there and gotten that vibe?  Maybe it's because creepy Macbeth took place there (which Mere reminded me of)  Maybe it's the book about witches and vampires I'm currently reading.  Maybe it's the dark alleyways ("closes", they're called) and cobblestone streets.  Maybe it's because it was Halloween weekend and kooks were all over the city.  Who KNOWS!  It was still creepy.  But beautiful.  More on that to come tomorrow.

Let's begin the scrapbook, shall we?

Walking to our tiny ass plane.  This was even smaller than the France plane.  It had PROPELLERS for cryin' out loud!  The flight wasn't long enough to justify a Xanax but God knows I wanted to.  So I did breathing exercises and gripped the armrests.

The left propeller (outside my window) wasn't starting at first.   I tried to remain calm while  chuckling to Drew that the plane was probably broken.  Broken plane jokes are hilarious!
This was just a cool shot of the propeller in action over Scotland.  They were moving so fast that the naked eye couldn't see them but the impressive lens on my iPhone did!

We landed and got to the city centre via bus, got the keys to our apartment Suz rented us, and headed straight to a fun restaurant called Oink!

They roast a whole pig every day and just serve pulled pork sandwiches, and when they're out, they're out.

Piggy.

Ohhhh yeah.  Pulled pork with sage and onion stuffing.

Then we walked up the Royal Mile (the name given to the succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city, according to Wikipedia) to take some pics of the Castle!

Pretty old building.

I don't know what this is but it was amazing and cute.

The gorgeous Castle!

Hook em.
The first of many pics like this you'll see.  He can't help it.

Lovers.

Arthur's Seat!  A huge inactive volcano/highland/mountain thing that overlooks the city.

Scottish Highlands!

More pretty Castle.

View from the Castle looking onto Prince Street (which is considered the "New" part of the city.)

This is a building called "The Hub", or Tolbooth Kirk, which used to be a church, a meeting for Parliament, and now a festival gathering site.  Hmm.

One of a gazillion Scotch/Whiskey/liquor stores on the Royal Mile that Drew fell in love with.

We then walked over to the aforementioned Prince Street to stroll along the busy sidewalks full of shops and more old things, before Afternoon Tea at the Balmoral Hotel!  

The Scot Monument, honoring Sir Walter Scott, a playwright and poet and literary genius in his time.  Evidently.

The Prince Street Gardens.  Beautiful.

Pretty view of the Old Town with the fall leaves!

Just another lovely view.

Sexy.

I'm sorry, I have no clue what this building is or where I took this picture.  But it's pretty and old and gothic and that's what counts!

Drew was clownin in a couple of shops.

The Balmoral Hotel!  Impressive!

Inside the picturesque tea room.

This was our amuse-bouche before tea was served - some sort of mango/passion fruit sorbet stuff.   Delish!

Really yummy food and desserts and teas!  Pinkys up y'all.

We then headed back to the apartment to rest our weary bones and get geared up for the evening.  We found a pub on Grassmarket Street (an old town square/area near our apartment) called the Beehive Inn (that had free wi-fi!  Woohoo!) and went there for a couple of drinks before dinner.

Scotch in Scotland!  Drew was pleased as punch.

Then we headed off to Under the Stairs for our dinner reservation, thanks to our recommendation from my pal Liza.  It was a cute restaurant with a cool hipster vibe - kinda like The Cedars Social in Dallas, if anyone's been there.

And it really was UNDER THE STAIRS of a bridge/street!  Cool!

Our drinks!  I had a cocktail called "Go Figure"  which had rum, fig liqueur, chestnut liqueur,  lime, mint, and sugar.  So so so good!  Drew had a beer.  Snooze.

We started with some Duck Quesadillas...

And I got a juicy Gorgonzola Burger with sweet potato wedges!  

Drew got a Honey Mustard Pork Chop with cous-cous.

We dragged our tired bums home and got in bed...only to be woken up every 30 minutes the rest of the night by some loud drunk person at the bar directly behind our apartment.  Or loud music.  Or groups of girls yelling "Woooo!"  Or guys walking their drunk dates home (to our apartments, presumably).  

We had a great first day in the city!  More pics and posts about Edinburgh to come!