UK Vacation: Day 6

Our second day in Scotland started with breakfast in our room. This was the first time we had stayed at a bed and breakfast and what a delightful little perk to not even have to get out of our pajamas to eat breakfast. Our host was a very good sport about bringing us coffee instead of tea.

I had purchased tickets for Edinburgh Castle in advance (which I highly recommend) and our scheduled entrance time was between 10:00 and 11:30 am.

This was the moment I fell in love with Edinburgh. I had never in my life felt so powerfully connected to a city as I did this one. If I could move there tomorrow, I would do it without question.

Scotland agreed with us!

This is the building where the Scottish Crown Jewels are housed. It took quite awhile but we were able to view them. Unlike at the convention, I obeyed the "no photos" policy.

Scottish National War Memorial

St. Margaret's Chapel

Immediately outside of Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile was our second stop of the day: The Scotch Whisky Experience. This place was absolutely mad. Not only could you tour a distillery but they must have the largest collection of whisky in the world. Two floors of some of the rarest and most expensive whisky ever produced (and also reasonably priced ones too). My one regret from this day was that we couldn't spend more time here.

Image not mine

Image not mine

Our next stop was St. Giles Cathedral where we also had lunch. Lunch here was adequate but definitely not as good as what we had at Westminster Abbey. The cathedral was absolutely spectacular but unfortunately you could not photograph the inside without purchasing a permit.

Here's an interior shot I snagged from Wikipedia
For any Outlander fans, there was an episode filmed in this space.

Next stop was Greyfriars Bobby. This little terrier became famous in the mid-1800s for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he, himself, died. It is believed that if you rub his nose, it is good luck. This was also the site where Hubby and I had the most interesting encounter of our entire trip, one that has resonated with us since that day.

We met an old man, we never got his name, but he came up to us and explained that he was originally from Scotland but had lived in Australia for the majority of his life (his accent was amazing!). He had been traveling the world, by land, air and sea for months, because he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness. He said he didn't know why he felt like he needed to talk to us, as he pushed one of us under each of his arms, but he felt compelled to bestow upon us his wisdom: "Don't wait. Do the things you want to do, while you can still do them. Forget work. Forget finances. Just enjoy life and see as much as possible." I think about this man, literally, everyday and wonder if he has returned home, if he has gotten sicker, or worse, if he has already passed away. You never know who you will run into that will change your world forever. I wish him peace.

The next part of the day is honestly a bit of a blur. We walked by so many things. We went to the University, we found a cute little nerdy store called "Galaxy," we went into the library (but weren't allowed where the books were because we didn't have a library card), we went to the Scott Monument and walked through the Princes Street Gardens. Hubs even let me go into a yarn store where I was able to find some real Scottish wool yarn and I am currently knitting him a scarf.

University Campus

Scott Monument

Princes Street

Edinburgh Castle is right above my head

The owner, Kathy, was wonderfully sweet and absolutely loved all the
photos I showed her of my completed knitting projects.

That evening we had dinner at the Cumberland Bar. Hubby had nachos with some really great guacamole and I had macaroni and cheese which tasted extraordinary.

Photo not mine

Photo not mine but I couldn't resist because this was the exact table we sat at!

Step Count: 25,700