Edinburgh is a fairly small city with an abundance of beautiful architecture and scenery as well as a super friendly culture. It also rains a lot, at least when we are there. We visited Edinburgh for just one night over the weekend and spent our time wandering the streets of both old and new town, exploring Edinburgh Castle, hiking an old volcano, and eating/drinking all the Scottish food/beers. Unfortunately it rained, and rained, and rained some more in our short 26 hours, but we were prepared with rain coats and umbrellas, so we still saw everything we wanted to. Plus, Scotland is known for its great pubs… what better excuse to do a pub crawl than a rainy day?! Also, did you know that Edinburgh isn’t pronounced how it looks? When Steve told his co-workers he had gone to Edinburgh, they laughed and told him it is pronounced “Edinburuh.” Ya live and ya learn! (Hint… Edinburgh does not rhyme with Pittsburgh).
After a 4 1/2 hour train ride from London, we started our journey in Edinburgh’s Old Town, which is where the famous castle is located. There is a gothic style of architecture here which was really unique (a lot of pointy topped buildings and old stone siding). The Royal Mile and St. Giles Cathedral are other main attractions here. There were also people playing bagpipes on the side of the road!
Afterward, we walked around the more modern New Town. Here we found some live music, beautiful gardens with views of the castle, and Scott Monument.
On Sunday morning, we hiked to the top of Arthur’s seat, which is a little mountain made of the remains of an extinct volcano. Luckily, we beat the rain on the way up, but the clouds we walked into at the top started to drizzle on the way down. It was still beautiful – all that rain leads to incredibly green surroundings!
Our last stop was Leith, which is near the coast. There is a little river that runs through the town, so it is picturesque. Of course, it rained, so we enjoyed the views through the window of a pub!
I’d say our trip to Scotland was a success! We experienced the Scottish culture, ate the food, drank the beer and saw the sites. Check it off the list!
The Great Fekspedition 
We have enjoyed the updates on your adventure and anticipate your next posting. Glad to hear all is well.
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