Edinburgh.... Via a prop plane?

At Edinburgh Castle

So many of you know I am not a huge fan of flying. It is my least favorite way to get anywhere. I would rather drive 11 hours then fly if I can. So imagine how thrilled I was to be BUSSED out to the Tarmac to our 80 passenger prop plane to Edinburgh. I was actually surprised with how the flight went and we arrived in 1 piece afterall. Edinburgh has a good bus link that took us to the central station near our hotel.
 Now the hotel was only 4 blocks from the station but they forgot to mention they were all up hill blocks. We dragged our suitcases up (remember I've got 7 weeks of stuff with me in 1 bag and a backpack) and found we were staying right on the royal mile half way between the castle and the palace. The royals were actually staying in Holyrood so it was closed to the public.

Olympic Rings in Edinburgh

 We walked down to the Hard Rock so Rob could get some pins and Scott began his 4 day adventure of eating Haggis. He had it every morning with breakfast. Said it tasted like meatloaf. We spent Sunday exploring Edinburgh on the hop on hop off buses and quickly learned there is a lot to see here. This is another beautiful city with lots of hidden glens and well worth exploring. We did the scotch whisky experience learning about how the Scots make it and all decided we like Irish whisky better.

Inside St. Guiles

We went to visited St Guiles, Edinburgh's cathedral. Many old regiment flags hung in

there. The tradition is that when the regiments returned their standards were hung in honor "until they fall". Many were rather frayed and holey but still were hanging. We went to Evensong at Old St Paul's just about 3 blocks further down the street from St Guiles. It was followed by Benediction which is a time of prayer and blessing. I've felt very blessed to have had the chance to make this trip.

 We tried a few places for dinners but found that with the Eurocup final that night everywhere was packed. Picked up some takeout and had dinner in while watching the match. Wasn't even close with Spain crushing Italy 4-0. Turned in early as Monday was a 12 hour bus tour to Loch Ness and the highlands