A Couple of Days in Edinburgh

The last couple of days have been a blast in the most beautiful city we've been to so far. Edinburgh would be best described as a city with many levels. The current city is built upon foundations of underground caverns which were the homes and work places of Edinburgers hundreds of years ago. The city has managed to maintain a close link to its amazing history while at the same time providing it's inhabitents with a modern city full of cosmopolitan bars and eateries.

The first day we managed to climb the Scott Monuments (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Monument) 287 steps to reach to top viewing platform which gave spectacullar views of the city. It was a little tight walking up the last part of the monument and when we reached the very top platform, you couldn't even make your way past people as the platform was too narrow. After the Scott Monument we walked around the city and took in all we could (including a few pints). Just on dusk we went on a "Ghosts and Gouls" tour of the city which explained some of the darker history of the city. We learnt about the effect that the black plague had on the city, the methods they used to eradicate the disease by placing victoms into "quarantine" and the haunting results of these methods. As part of the tour we were able to visit some of the underground vaults which was a great experience. Andrew got a shock when he picked up what he thought was a rock to throw into the corner and scare Jamie, but it ended up being a bone! The tour guide assures us that it wasn't human.

The second day started with Andrew climbing Arthurs Seat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat,_Edinburgh) which was a great way to start the morning and see Edinburgh from its best view point. We all headed into the city centre for a big breakfast (AGAIN) before walking up to the castle. We got our tickets and headed in to check it out. 4 hours later we came out for lunch at a shop called "The Whisky Experience" where we had some soup and funnily enough... Whisky... They had over 330 bottles of whisky to choose from behind the bar (all of which were visible). Sam and Andrew had two single malts, a 25 year old Highland Park and a 12 year old Oban.

The next day we caught the train back to Kilwinning and headed to John and Margargets for dinner and drinks. They live in a several hundred year old church that has been converted into a house. They've done an incredible job with the transformation. Photo's to follow.

Over the next couple of days we're off to the highlands at Dunoon which by all reports is a beautiful part of the country. Hoping to catch a few distilleries on the way through. :)

A&J