Week 2: Scotland

After all of this, we finally made it to Edinburgh, Scotland! We staying in a wonderful Bed & Breakfast that my in-laws had been to before. It was beautiful and the room we stayed in was HUGE! (They really know how to pick 'em.) The day we arrived all we wanted to do was eat and go to bed since we had driven from York and stopped at Hadrian's Wall on the way, so that is what we did. After walking for a while, we finally found a restaurant that was wonderful. The next day we rode the bus into Edinburgh's city center and toured around. The first place we went was Edinburgh Castle. It was like a little town inside the city.

After the castle, we made our way down to Holyrood Palace (the Queen's Palace in Scotland). It was really beautiful. While we were inside this awful woman kept taking pictures with her flash off after she had been specifically told that no one is allowed to take pictures while inside. I got really fed up, so once we reached the Great Hall, I went to the security guard at the end of the room and let him in on her little secret. I felt proud of my observance of history. :)

Next we explored a few castles outside of the city. First, we went to Craigmillar Castle.

It was especially cool because there is a tree growing inside of it. Here are Bryce and I by the tree.

I think Bryce is trying to figure out how to get one of these into our future house.

Here is a view of Edinburgh from on top of the castle. Very cool.

Next, we ran to Tantillon Castle about 30 minutes before they closed. We were sad to have to go so fast through it because it was so cool.

It was in such a beautiful setting, right on the water. There was this huge rock formation out in the water. It is called the Bass Rock. There is this really cool lighthouse on it. It is that white thing in the center.

Bryce and I on our way out from touring.

The next day we left from Scotland and drove back to my in-laws house in Twyford. We stopped and got some food on the way back (KFC sounded good) and then we finally got back in. That evening I ate dinner with Bryce's parents, but Bryce wasn't feeling well, so he just went to sleep. Later that evening (Bryce had actually thrown up by this point) I decided it was time for bed. I woke up at about 3:30 in the morning because I was not feeling well. Next thing I know, I spend the next 14 hours throwing up and can barely hold anything down. By this point I had not gotten my teapot for the trip (I collect them) and that had been our plan for the day. I finally started feeling well enough to take a shower and get dressed, so we went into town and got my teapot. It was totally worth it, even though I had to lay down with my eyes closed for the entire car ride. The next morning I woke up feeling just fine, which was good considering we were flying home that morning. After our nearly 14-hours of traveling we got home and slept.