Christmas in Scotland, Day 3

This was our day to tour around Edinburgh.  We had originally planned to take the train in, but when we got to the station we found out that they were running reduced schedules and had just missed our train by 20 minutes or so.  We decided to go ahead and drive the 1 hour in, instead of waiting for the next train.  We only had a little bit of trouble finding a place to park, what with Christmas only 2 days away, but we found our spot.

We first walked up to Edinburgh Castle.  It sits on a pretty big hill and has a commanding view of the city and surrounding countryside.  It is a pretty sprawling fortress - now a barracks for some Royal Scots Dragoons and home to loads of museums.  We took in several of the museums there - it was all pretty fascinating.  I even had a look at the "Royal Honours" of Scotland - their Scottish Crown, Sword, Sceptre, and some jewels.  Their Royal Sword was enormous!

Below is a shot of a street in Edinburgh as we made our way to the castle.

This is probably my favorite shot of Edinburgh - those famous British (heresy to call it "English" in Scotland) red telephone booths.  They were lined up three in a row just for Leah, Ian, and me!

And these were just inside the castle gates, after crossing the "moat".  These phone booths were literally everywhere - including our sleepy little Oldhamstocks!
After the castle it was down to the park to ride the Christmas "train" - which Ian and Leah just adored.  Then it was time to head home.

Next day was the absolute highlight of the trip for me - a swing into the Southern Highlands.  Let me just say that they lived up to the romanticized notion of the Highlands that has been circling in my head for many years!

Cheers,

Marc