Edinburgh!!!

Although we were sorry to leave Glenrothes, we were excited to see Edinburgh. Using Alan's nifty directions and clarification of some of the road signs, we hummed along the highway quite efficiently until we came to an abrupt halt at the Firth of Forth Bridge. Just like in the U.S. there was a giant back-up and it gave us ample opportunity to discuss our game plan for hitting the city.

We all wanted to see the Edinburgh Castle, and a random pub called Sheep's Heid Inn that was made famous on the American television show, "Amazing Race." Once the traffic cleared and we made it to the airport to drop off our car, we took a taxi into the city to find our B&B, "40 Heriot Row."

This row of houses was not the easiest find because within the row house set-up, there spanned houses (much like townhouses) running the full length of the street. As it was, one address appeared to work for three residences (an upper, street level, and lower level). Paying attention to the tiny little letters (A,B,C) were not the easiest to find and made all the difference! So, after ringing the wrong doorbell(Yipee!), we decided to try the lower garden level door. Never count out a Batty! We are always thinking of solutions to the little problems we seem to run into.

After shuffling our luggage down some tiny little steps and into a beautiful plant-filled patio, we rang that doorbell and our very kind, yet somewhat odd proprietor opened the door and welcomed us in! Hurray! But there was one little catch...cats. And, cat odor. Sue wrinkled her nose immediately. I spotted at least four cats scurrying about. Whoops, perhaps someone's quaint abode wasn't the best choice. As usual, we would have to make do. I decided right there that I would be the cat sentry and assist Sue from being assaulted.

The city turned out to be all that we imagined. Hiking to the top of the hill to get to Edinburgh Castle proved to be a bit daunting for Edie and I. Deb and Sue were the wiser and took a taxi to the top. The views were spectacular and there was a wedding going on! The wedding party in their fancy full dress kilts and intricate lace gowns meandered throughout the castle giving every tourist there a reason to take even more pictures. What a treat!

After trying a few watering holes and dropping into the lovely shops, we were pooped. Time was running out on our vacation, so we were scurrying to find those last few souvenirs that seemed so important at the time. Finally, after another bus tour we took a taxi to the Sheep's Heid Inn. At first our taxi driver didn't know where we wanted to go, since we kept saying, "Sheep's HIDE Inn." After looking a bit perplexed he said, "Oh ye want the Sheep HEED Inn." Tomatoes tomatas...get a move on buddy! This quaint restaurant/bar was just what we wanted. It wasn't crowded, but the service took awhile. Fortunately, we were quite used to this by now and enjoyed a terrific meal, followed by a wee dram of 15 year Dalwhinnie Scotch. We figured we couldn't be in Scotland and not try a Scotch at the oldest watering hole in Edinburgh. With a little water, it went down a bit like unleaded gasoline, but we made it. Phew!

On our last morning at the B&B we were asked if we wanted smoked salmon for breakfast. They told us it was a delicacy on Sundays. Not to be rude, we all nodded our heads that it would be fine. Why we didn't speak up is beyond me! The next morning, a GIANT plateful of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs appeared on each of our plates. Just how were we supposed to disguise that??? Smoked salmon has the texture of raw fish and that slimy feel just doesn't do a Batty well. We are from the land of hard cooked eggs and well done steaks. We all tried a few bites, pushed the salmon around and quite frankly left in a hurry. SO embarrassing to leave good food on the plates. This is typically not the Batty way, but we were desperate.

Sadly, our trip finally came to an end. It was a wonderful trip that we all were so excited to share together. Best of all, we had a chance to bond in a way that only families know how to do. Rock on Battys!