Scotland

For the first weekend of half-term, which also happened to be a bank holiday, we took our first family trip (since arriving in London) to Edinburgh, Scotland.  It was great fun, and good training for the kids for all the other trips we have booked for the remainder of 2015.

We opted to take the train rather than fly, which was not too bad; although on the way out, it was a VERY crowded train, since it was a bank holiday.  Thankfully, we were able to get seats close together, but there were some people sitting on the floor and standing in the galleys of the train.  Since Drew is under 4, it is not necessary to purchase a seat for him, but he ended up sitting in Brad's lap almost the entire journey which was not the most comfortable, but we made it!  It took about 5 1/2 hours door to door.

We arrived at the airbnb place we had rented whilst they were still cleaning it, so we were able to drop our things off and explore a little bit.  The kids were pretty tired after the journey, but we tempted them with ice cream and off we went.  We found a beautiful old church, and as we were walking back to the flat, we came across a wedding.  There was a bagpiper outside the church playing as all the guests were arriving.  The coolest thing was that all the women were wearing hats to the wedding and a lot of the men were wearing kilts!!  I love that tradition!

Alison has become quite the treasure hunter, so she collected a bag full of treasures as we were walking the streets of Edinburgh all weekend.

Sunday morning, Brad and I got up and went for our runs, and then we were off to the castle.  

We sort of figured out the bus (no city mapper in Edinburgh!), and got our tickets to go see the Edinburgh Castle.  The kids really enjoyed seeing all the different parts of the castle.  We went into this chapel which is the oldest surviving chapel in Scotland.  It was VERY small, but beautiful stained glass windows inside.  

We also saw the Mons Meg, which is this HUGE cannon that could shoot cannonballs over 2 miles and required 8 people to move it.  

The crown jewels were also quite stunning.

We went a got a bite to eat at a cute little cafe and then we went to the Camera Obscura Museum.  

The kids were very reluctant at first, but they perked up once we got into the museum.  It's quite hard to explain, but they have all sorts of different optical illusions and game type things to learn about how your brain works with your eyes.  The favorite thing was this tunnel that you walk through that makes you feel like you are falling to the side.  After I did it couple times, I couldn't do it anymore because it made me feel sick to my stomach (getting old!), but Alison walked through at least 10 times I think.  They also enjoyed the computer morph where it took your picture, and then morphed you into a chimp, an Asian, and eastern European.  The final presentation was on the top floor, where they have the "camera obscura," which is a mirror in the hole on the top of the building which allows for 360 degree views of Edinburgh.  It was pretty amazing to see.  At the end of the presentation, the guy asked if anyone had questions and Lauren asked "How old are you?"

After the museums, we walked down to the St. James park and played for a bit .  Alison wasn't feeling great, so we took the bus home and she had a slight fever, so she went to sleep for a bit.

Monday, we got a bit of a later start because Alison still had a slight fever.  So, we opted to just do a bus your around rather than go to a museum or something.  

The bus tour was pretty interesting, just to see some different parts of Edinburgh.  We could have spent another day going to a couple of other museums, but we will just have to go back again! 

Things we saw in Scotland I haven't ever really seen anywhere else: a kilt shop where you can get a custom-made kilt starting at £365!!!!!

 Bagpipers and men wearing kilts in a pub on Sunday afternoon.

The train ride home was not as crowded as the train ride up to Edinburgh.  And we got seats with a table in the middle, which made it a little easier.  Drew was being really funny, using Brad's headphones to listen to music and pretend like he was singing along.  

We were all cracking up!  By the time we got home, it was nearly 9:00!!!  Thankfully, no school the next day because it was half-term!

All in all, it was a successful trip. Brad and I realized this trip was really the first trip the kids have taken to see the sites.  Most trips we have taken have been to the beach, so this holiday was different than what they have done in the past.  I think the enjoyed it, and were able to learn something.  Next trip: Dublin!