We decided to fly Virgin Atlantic hoping the seats would be more comfortable, the staff friendlier and the food better, well the food was better than most American airline companies, but since it was an air bus, the staff was way too busy to really care about the passengers and the seats cramped and uncomfortable. The personal video and tv in the seats were nice, but I was hoping for more space…oh well, someday I will be able to afford business or first class. At least the flight was non-stop to London, then a short hop over to Edinburgh, Scotland.
Edinburgh is a beautiful city, no wonder my friend Alicia is coming to vet school here, it’s green and full of castles and beautiful buildings, plus I’m sure the accents help a bit, for her. My mom and I can’t believe how HOT it is here, well hot is a relative term but it’s warm and sunny here, I hope it lasts; haven’t needed a sweatshirt at all, even at night. Thursday was our first day here, and we got in around 5pm, so we walked a bit of the city then headed to dinner and a pint of Magners cider, then an early sleep, since it was impossible to sleep on the flight.
Friday we were full-fledged tourist, we paid the extra two pounds to have access to all four tourist busses in town, we only used two of the busses, the first the Edinburgh Tour had a live crotchety old Scotsman as the guide, he was full of knowledge but a bit irritable. Was a nice tour of town though; Edinburgh Castle, The palace of Holyroodhouse, Our Dynamic Earth, The Royle Mile, and Scottish Parliament were on route, as well as other hot spots around town, including a view of the original Hogwarts, or at least the school that the Harry Potter books were born from and Arthur’s seat, Nelson Monument and Scott Monument. The second bus was the Majestic Tour that takes you through new town, past the botanical gardens and out to Port Leith and back to Waverly Bridge. Both were informed and educational, but the best part of the day was walking through the city and checking out all the spots shown on tour.
First was Edinburgh Castle, great views but that’s about it. Second was a Textiles factory, too bad our clan was exiled/very small so they don’t have the tartan on hand, you have to special order it, darn. But I did learn that that Hannah’s didn’t know how to spell and there is Hanna, and Hannay as other options, no wonder I can’t spell, it’s in my genes. After the disappointing tartan experience we headed over to the fun, a Scotch Whisky Experience and tour. The tour was a bit Kitschy, you got in a plastic whisky barrel ride, that kind of reminded me of the Haunted House ride at Santa Cruz, but the whisky lesson was wonderful. They put 4 bottles with distinct smells from the 4 main whisky regions in Scotland; the Lowlands, the Highlands, Speyside, and Islay, in front of you to smell, then you decide which you want to taste, since they were all malt whisky’s I opted for the blended whisky “Famous Grouse”, it’s the most sold whisky in Scotland, smooth but, I’m not a big scotch whisky drinker. After the main tour I opted for the extra whisky tasting where I got to try a single malt from each whisky region; the Lowland “Glenkinchie 12yr” had a refreshing mouth with citrus in the finish, the Highland “Old Pultney 12yr” was my personal favorite with a fresh nose, full-bodied taste of light salt and malt, the Speyside “Glenlivet 12yr” was actually appealing as well, I think Nick likes it more aged but I could actually enjoy this one with its peachy and floral nose and well balanced sherry and vanilla sweetness; and finally the Islay “Caol lla 12yr” very peaty and smoky. We topped off the tasting with a taste of a chocolaty scotch and a piece of chocolate, but at 120 pounds a bottle, I deliberately decided to forget the name. Sorry. After the scotch whisky tour it was off to see the Queen’s Scotland summer home, Palace of Holyroodhouse, very historic, and educating audio tour. We wrapped up the day having dinner at the Elephant Bar on George IV Bridge, the place where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter, a very mystical evening full of witches and wizards, pumpkin juice and butterbeer, I wish, it was a normal café restaurant but delicious.
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