A Day Playing Tourist in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the most Interesting and Beautiful Cities in the World!

 Dear Family & Friends,

Today was a great day... Notice the photos, blue sky and no rain!! YEAH...

We spent the day playing tourists in the city of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is a very old city with a lot of history and it is a beautiful city too! 

First we walked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle and spent half they day viewing the castle. The Royal Mile used to be a street where the Royals presented themselves to the locals, but today it is full of shops, restaurants, and pub.  In the afternoon we took a 1 1/2 hour bus tour ride of the city. I know this sounds corny but these tour bus rides have excellent guides and you actually learn a lot.

While Edinburgh is very old and the buildings date back from hundreds of years to thousands of years it is a living city. Full of energy and excitement and every old building is put to use, not just a display or museum. There is also a great selection of street entertainers doing all sorts of acts..

The castle was amazing. So much history. We actually stood in the same rooms that Mary, Queen of Scots lived in.. You don't do that every day. We saw the Royal jewels but were not allowed to photograph them. 

We also viewed the "Stone of Destiny".. This stone has been used in the coronations of Scottish and English Kings for over 1000 years... Funny how superstition and symbols grow. "The Stone of Destiny" sounds impressive but just looks like a large garden rock....very unimpressive looking compared to its title.

The castle is full of war memorials. I did not realize what a big military history Scotland has.. I guess you have to build these glorifying memorials to motivate the next generation to volunteer for the next war.... sad.

Tomorrow we ride south to the city of York which is also a very historical city so I am looking forward to it.

I can't believe we are heading home in two weeks!! This trip has gone by so fast..

I also learned something new today,,, "Tatties" are Scottish slang for potatoes... 

Jason

Now this is something you don't see every day... A Bag Pipe Factory, all done by hand..

Castle Edinburgh

An Old but very vibrant city.

Long before Beverly Hills had Melrose Place Edinburgh had Melrose Close..

The home of Adam Smith and many other greats..

Edinburgh city hall.

On the main tourist road called The Royal Mile every other shop sells kilts and plaids. Who buys it all? Also kind of funny that most of these shop were maned by Pakastanis and Indians, not native Scots...

We just missed the last public execution...

Duane finally found someone he could talk to..

This used to be a large church. Now it is a cafe and event hall. Even though it is a very old city, it is still a living and lively place..

More castle views.

This knight statue looked just like the night from Indian Jones and the Last Crusade.

This was the original Royal Flush.... where the castle sewage left. You did not want to be standing there when that was flushed...

One of the very welcoming gates..

Manning the guns!

I wish I could dress like this...

Scotland has a long military history. I am afraid I could have never served with no rhythm or dancing ability..

Alcohol has been a long time curse to humanity..

This was an impressive room where the royals used to meet. Photos below.

This room and the following are the actual rooms where Mary, Queen of Scotts actually lived! What history here.

Note the sophisticated aiming system, a wedge of wood..

This tiny chapel is the oldest standing building in Edinburgh.

This tower is where the royals keep their sweaters... ;)

Lots of street entertainers.

A rather clever Invisible Man street entertainer.

How could it be Scotland without Bag Pipes?

An actual running 2CV.

Duane enjoying shopping for some good Cuban cigars..

They are not suttble about smoking being bad for you..

This pigeon has no respect for this literary giant!

Not something you see every day... a street harp player.

OK this is not even a translation problem, just rude... :)

OK here is another bit of James Bond trivia. In the original book series about Bond he was kicked out of Eaton school for bad behavior so he went to Fettes School in Edinburgh !

The birth place of Sir Arthor Conan Doyle the writer of some of  my favorite stories growing up... Sherlock Holmes.

The current Royal Palace where the Queen stays when she visits Scotland.

Again?

PLEASE NOTE THE SUNNY SKY!! :)

Off to Edinburgh Scotland and Finally a Day of No Rain!!

Dear Family & Friends,

Today we woke up to quite a shock.... The sky was clear and blue and it was actually warm out!! Yesterday I wore heavy jeans and rain paints, long sleeve shirt, sweater, electric inner jacket, electric gloves, and a heavy duty jacket... Today I wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a light jacket.. What a relief!

So we took of for a couple of days in Edinburgh.. An easy couple hour ride...

First we had breakfast at our hotel and Duane genuinely enjoyed his plate of eggs and haggis.. Good for him.

We took off down a nice country road all dry and warm.. 

Of course things never stay easy for long in this country. Once we reached the main highway the winds kicked up to a gail force 9! Fun on a motorcycle.....not!

 There were a couple of very large high bridges we had to go over and the wind was so strong it was really hard to keep the motorcycles going straight.. After this trip I think we will qualify as Master Motorcyclist!

We got to Edinburgh around noon and wound our way through busy downtown streets looking for out hotel.. I actually liked it. The action and excitement in a big city is infectious and on a motorcycle you really feel like you are part of it.. Duane not so much. By the time we reached our hotel he was quite ready for his "Amnesia Beer" as he calls it.. One large beer puts an immediate smile on Duane's face...

This afternoon we finally did some much needed laundry. Not exciting but absolutely necessary. 

I walked around a bit and I can tell this is going to be a fun city.. We decided to spend two nights here and I will post lots of photos of the city tomorrow night. 

Until tomorrow.

Jason

Look how happy Duane looks with his Haggis & Eggs!

Edinburgh is a beautiful and vibrant city..

That is Edinburgh Castle on a hill just above our motel.

The oldest pub in Edinburgh, continuously operating since 1516!

Haggis, Tatties, & Neeps... I have no idea what any of that is.. Only the Scottish could invent that dish.. :(

A Quiet Day,,, From Inverness Riding to Blairgowire Sctoland

Dear Family & Friends,

Today we decided to ride south and try to get away from the rain... the key word is try...

We headed south out of Inverness with a weather report of clear and cold. So we started out the morning fully prepared with all our electric riding gear on. For those of you not familiar with motorcycling you can now purchase electric gloves and under jackets that plug into the motorcycles electrical system and they act like an electric blanket. They work great! I have ridden in sub freezing weather and still been warm...  So we were well prepared.

We rode into a national forest. Our goal was a town called Spittle Glenshee. We were told this is a must...( I am not sure by who or if they had ever actually been there. )

As we entered the forest the highway went up into the mountains and it got colder and colder which was no problem, but then the rain came!! There was not supposed to be rain.. We rode on and the rain kept coming and coming. We stayed nice and warm if not nice and dry.. We finally got off the main highway in a very quaint town and started our ride to Spittle Glenshee. The road there was great. A narrow twisty lane that crossed another mountain range that was DRY!! The views changed around every bend from barren mountains loaded with sheep and goats to dense green forests with beautiful stone farm houses. The ride was great.. There were also lots of motorcycles on the road and an assortment of sports cars so we knew we were on the right path.. After about an hour of fun riding we saw the turn off for Spittle Glenshee. We planned to spend the night there. What a disappointment!! It was nothing more than an short loop off the highway with two buildings, one a cheap bar and hotel..

So we decided to ride south and see what we could find... 

We were pleasantly surprised by a nice little town called Blairgowire. It is right near Balmoral Castle... We decided this would be a great place to spend the night.. We checked in to a nice hotel and waited for a call from the Queen. I knew she vacationed at Balmoral Castle in August and I figured once she heard we were in town she would invite us over...... the phone never rang....

So the next best move was to go to a local pub that had two TVs, one playing British Football (soccer) and the other playing the Moto GP motorcycle race from Sivlerstone England.  Sometimes you just luck into the right spot..

So tonight we are relaxing and making plans to go further south. I know eventually it will stop raining,,,, right??

By the way last night in Inverness, Scotland we stayed right downtown in the entertainment district.. Every other building was a pub or bar and the town was completely full of drunks! The Scottish sure like to drink.. I guess if I lived in this cold harsh climate I might too.

Good night,

Jason

Scotland has a great feeling of age. Most of the buildings are old!

Looking down the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland

Along the banks of the River Ness

After a cold, wet ride south we stopped in Blairgowire, Scotland and found a great little pub with both English Football and the British Motor GP on the TV.

Even a traditional dart board...

The roads around Scotland vary so widely from green rolling hills to very start mounts..

Where we are staying tonight..

Our hotel tonight