Cowgirls Vacation in Wonderful Wyoming

This post is written by guest blogger, Coleen McNierney, aka "Oma".

While Matt and Savannah vacationed, Hayden and Anabelle went on their first trip without mom or dad.  How fortunate were the Wyoming grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles, cousins, etc.  The girls stayed with their grandparents, Oma and Opa and Pop and Susan, and I get to be a guest writer on the Wolach blog! 

The girls flew out of Phoenix with Pop, and my understanding is there were many tears shed – by Savannah.  They had a great flight to Denver and then on the road to Wyoming.  Hayden and Ellie then spent the next ten days in Laramie with time shared between Pop and Susan’s house and Opa and Oma’s.  What an adventure it was! Following are just a few pictures during their time with us, but I know Pop and Susan took many more pictures of the girls at the Jubilee Days’ Parade, a trip to the Snowy Range, visits with Great-Grandma Sonya and Frank, and so much more!

Opa and I then accompanied the girls back home to Phoenix.  There wasn’t enough room for both Matt and Savannah to come to the airport, so Matt greeted the four of us.  Wish I had a picture of their reunion, darn it. Both girls ran to their daddy’s open arms.  Priceless! 

I know Pop had a full slideshow as well.

Hayden and Ellie in Wyoming

Savannah Drives on the Left Side of the Road

The entire trip, Savannah had been asking to drive so that she could say she had driven on the left side of the road. However, after seeing the crazy clifftop roads in Dingle, she changed her mind.

But I didn't take no for an answer.

Savannah on the right side of the car.

Saturday was departure day and we were 10 minutes and 4 roundabouts from the airport. Savannah was to drive. She was scared when I told her to do it saying things like, "I don't know, babe. Do you think I can do it?"

Savannah getting ready for the roundabout.

I told her she was fine so she took the reins in the driver's seat on the right side of the car. It was interesting pulling out of the driveway but as she went she gained in confidence. The roundabouts went ok too, though she had to double check each one to make sure she knew where to go.

We made it safely to the car rental drop off and she had done it! She successfully navigated the roundabouts and made it happen. She is an official ambidextrous driver!

Made it!

Dingle All the Way

Our last full day was spent in Dingle, the amazing peninsula on the western side of Ireland. In fact, not only is Dingle the western tip of Ireland, but it is also the western tip of Europe itself.

We knew we wanted to see it so we set out on the loop around the peninsula that is a must. First we saw a beautiful beach that would have fit in well in Southern California. There were shells, and runners, and the whole bit. It was another beautiful day so we spent a little bit of time and stood in the Atlantic Ocean soaking up the sea air.

After that the drive goes around the corner and we caught some great glimpses of the sea and the outer islands off the coast. The cliffs going straight into the water was so majestic that it took our breath away. We made several stops and at each one stood in awe looking out. The pictures just don't truly capture what it feels like when you are there.

The breathtaking views were plentiful.

At one turnoff we saw another smaller beach on the northwest side of the peninsula that looked like the Caribbean. The water close to the beach was a delightful teal and the contrast with the darker blue of the deeper water and the green of the landscape was spectacular. The 30 mile drive took us a few hours with all our stops.

We then had lunch back in town, where we actually found an entire additional part of town we didn't see the night before because it was situated above the rest of the town. Dingle Town was actually twice the size of what we thought.

Colm educated us on Dingle's ancient past.

Then we met up with Colm, our tour guide for the afternoon. He is a local who has lived in Dingle his entire life. He asked us what we wanted to do and we didn't really know, just so long as it was something we hadn't seen before. He knew just what to do and we set off by car. We also later found out from him about his fall off a nearby cliff in the car, which I wrote about in the previous post.

Savannah in a ring fort.

Colm took us to a summit that could see both the north and south coasts of the peninsula. It was an exquisite view from there. Then
we went around to several archaeological spots nearby while he explained what life was like in each area at that period. It was crazy to think of the lives people lived over a thousand years ago. Colm was very knowledgeable and provided great depth to the history which made our experience more rich.

Following our tour with Colm we bid adieu to Dingle and headed for our final B&B which was just 10 minutes from the airport. But not before we stopped at Murphy's, which is pretty much the best ice cream place in the world. So good, we did it 3 times in 3 days (once in Dublin, then twice in Dingle - one time after dinner, and once one the way out of town the next day).

Bunratty Castle.

When we arrived a couple hours later, we went out for dinner in Bunratty where our lodging was. We had a nice dinner and reminisced about the great times which capped the trip well. Then we walked a couple minutes to the Bunratty Castle nearby. The castle, which has been kept up and is now a banquet hall of sorts, was lit up and with the late twilight sky it looked stellar. There was a terrific pub right next door but with early flights, we had to pass.

Our last night concluded, and so did our wonderful trip.

2013 Trip - Day 8 - Dingle

Castles and Coasters

We rented a car and departed Dublin with the countryside as our destination. When telling locals our plan they all told us we were crazy to do something so ambitious in one day. So call us crazy.

Kilkenny Castle

Our first stop was the cute town of Kilkenny, a little over an hour out of town. It has been called Ireland's best inland town and we saw why right away. The shops and pubs line the street looking as beautiful as any and they all cluster around the Kilkenny Castle which stands majestically in the center of town. 

We parked and walked around the Castle which was remarkably well preserved. It also had grounds and lawns that were wonderfully well manicured. After snapping some pics we stopped at a local farmer's market that had been set up for the day and grabbed some crepes which were scrumptious. 

The Rock of Cashel

Following Kilkenny we took a quick drive over to Cashel to see that town's main attraction, the Rock of Cashel, which is an old cathedral at the top of a cliff and lies in ruin. There were some great views from the Rock and it was cool to walk through the ruins and feel the history. There was also a decent sized graveyard which was really interesting to walk through. 

After that stop, our plans had then called for us to venture to the cute little coastal town of Kinsale near Cork. However Savannah had other ideas.

She told us that her Grandmother (Shirley) had once kissed the Blarney Stone years ago and that she really wanted to do it. So we adjusted our plans to make it happen.

Blarney Castle

Blarney is just West of Cork and when we arrived we were famished so we stopped at a pub in the center of town to grab a bite (Savannah said it was the best sandwich she had on the trip). We then walked to the Blarney Castle. We had heard that it wasn't a great castle and that you just need to kiss the stone and leave. 

Wrong. We all loved the castle, which is in ruins, and the grounds around it were vast and gorgeous with large trees, colorful flowers and a stream running through the property. The castle is a tall fortress and it is 166 steps to the top in a spiral staircase. It was interesting to see rooms vertically oriented instead of spread out.

Savannah kisses the Blarney Stone!

After the long climb up we stood high above the forest and meadows. It was more precarious than we would have thought but we made our way to the stone on the edge of the upper wall.

To kiss it is no small task. One needs to lie down on their back, then bend backwards while lowering down to reach the stone which is through a hole, one that drops straight to the ground many stories below.

We all did it and by kissing the stone, we are now gifted with eloquence.

The road literally drops off a cliff.

After Blarney we drove to our destination for the evening, the remarkable peninsula of Dingle. Part of the road to Dingle is on the edge of a cliff dropping straight into the ocean and the whole time you drive right on it. I felt good driving and maintained focus during that stretch.

However, if I would have known the possibilities, it may have been more tense. The next day our tour guide told us of a story where he was driving one night and a truck coming the other way veered into his lane slightly. Our guide went off course just a bit and careened down the cliff 200 feet. He broke several bones but survived. Since it was at night and no other cars were around, nobody saw him. He had to climb up and wait for another car to come to help. Amazing.

Our journey was uneventful, save for the amazing views, which we experienced even more of the next day. That is to come.

See the pictures here:

2013 Trip - Day 7 - The Irish Countryside

A Day in the City

This was to be our only full day in Dublin so we wanted to make the most of it. We woke up and had a great breakfast at a cute coffee shop near our hotel.

One of the other patrons was a regular there because he is an official driver for the government. He was waiting for a couple of his people who had business in the Norwegian embassy next door. While we ate and he waited, he chatted with us and gave us great advice on what to do and where to go. He also gave us a map and a guide book! The locals here are so nice and this exemplified it. He must run into tons of tourists and yet he was very helpful and personable. 

We then went to a nearby park called St. Stephen's Green which was beautiful with vibrant flowers and ducks dancing on the tranquil lake in the delightful weather.

The Trinity College Library

After walking around a bit we made our way to Trinity College which is in the heart of the city. It is a famous college with 2 famous parts: the Book of Kells, which is a super fancy book from around the year 800; and the Old Library which is astonishingly beautiful and was the inspiration for the Jedi Library in Star Wars episode II (2002). 

Following Trinity College we took our hop on bus to the Guinness Storehouse at the Guinness Factory. We had heard that the tour was disappointing so we had low expectations. The rumors were that they don't actually show you the beer being made. 

The rumors in that sense were true, they don't show the beer being made which happens in another area of the giant complex. However, the tour was still great by all of our accounts. They went through the process in great detail with many terrific visual effect on both TVs and live items you can touch. It equates to a terrific modern exhibit at a science center or something of that nature. There were many levels and each he enjoyable. 

Vinny Pours His Own Guinness

The tour was capped by us going to the learning center and learning how to pour a perfect Guinness. Vinny was one of the volunteers so he was the first in our group to do it and he did great. It is funny how much art goes into the process. We then had a great lunch on the 6th floor overlooking the city before going up to the 7th floor which is a round room/bar overlooking the entire city. It was a great time and we really enjoyed it. 

Then we took the bus back to our place where we changed and got ready for dinner. Vinny had arranged for us to hang out with his buddy and former roommate who had moved to Dublin. He met us and took us on a pub crawl all over the city to some of the best spots. It was a great night and a fun way to cap our time in Dublin. 

See the pictures from our day below.

2013 Trip - Day 6 - Dublin 2

Dublin

Yesterday we woke up really early in order to get on the road and drive down to Edinburgh to catch our plane to Dublin. It was a nice drive that felt like it went quicker than the 2.5 hours it took. We caught an Aer Lingus puddle jumper across the sea to Ireland's capital city.

Once here, our cabby turned into a tour guide and gave us some great info on the city and Irish culture. His name was Patrick Duffy. Um, yeah, that's pretty Irish. 

We are bunking at Buswell's Hotel which is in a great location in the center of everything. It's is the only non bed and breakfast that we are staying at and it didn't turn out so well initially. Our room had no wifi signal because it was at the back which was no good. Then the water in the room had no cold. You read that correctly, no cold water. That's worse than no hot because you can't even get in and be strong. So Savannah almost got burned and we couldn't shower which was not good. Fortunately they had another room available to which they moved us and everything is all good. Plus it has wifi access so we can keep up. 

O'Connell Street in Dublin

After we got in we headed out to see the city. Our cabbie had told us that if we get on one of the 'hop on, hop off' double decker bus tours it would be a great way to see much of the city quickly and get a good idea of what we want to do. So we did.

The bus had no roof on the top and since the weather was perfect we sat up top. The gentle breeze felt great and we got to see a lot of neat things we wouldn't have seen otherwise including 2 cathedrals, an old prison, the Jameson whiskey distillery, lots of statues, and the largest enclosed park in Europe, Phoenix Park (yay Phoenix!). 

Following the bus ride we went to the Gaiety Theatre where we had tickets to Riverdance! As with earlier times on the trip, we figured "when in Rome/Dublin." Riverdance came from here and is part of the culture so we were excited. 

We were lucky as we were able to get 5th row seats just a week prior to the event. The theatre is very old and looks marvelous with majestic chandeliers lighting 2 balconies and many boxes. The dancers were very talented and the show was really good. 

At Quay's in Temple Bar (the Party District)

After that we were hungry but as it was 10pm, most everything had stopped serving and moved onto the drinking part of the evening. Fortunately, we found an Italian spot which was still serving. Even though none of us really wanted Italian in Ireland, it was really good and actually had true Italians working there. 

We then headed off to a true Irish pub in the busy Pub district called Temple Bar. The pub, Quay's, was great and had a band playing some great Irish tunes. It was wonderful to soak up the local flavor.

Another cool thing from this day was that Savannah tried Guinness for the first time and loved it! She is a true fan now.

We were wiped after that so we went back to the hotel and crashed. 

Enjoy the photos below!

2013 Trip - Day 5 - Dublin

Scotch, scotch, scotch. I love scotch.

Just like Ron Burgundy in Anchorman, we love scotch. And by 'we' I mean Vinny and I. The girls? Not so much. But we give them tons of credit for trying.

In Scotland, scotch is just whisky (with no 'e', in Ireland it is "whiskey" with the 'e'). Of course they dont call it scotch like we do. Just like how in China it is just food, not Chinese food. Or in France, it is just toast, not French toast. or in Hamburg they just call it an 'er'. 

Today we went on a private guided whisky distillery tour hosted by local expert John Alasdair MacDonald. He picked us up from our B&B this morning and we headed out at 9:30. Nothing like drinking whisky at that hour. 

Our first stop was Cragganmore. A smaller distillery near where we stayed. 

Our tour guide, Stuart, explained the process in a conversational way. While he lacked a plan of how he wanted to educate us, his charm and the quaintness of the facilities made up for it and we enjoyed our time there. At the end we got to sample their 12 year and 13 year distiller's edition. They were both good and I was pleased that Savannah really liked the distiller's edition as I was scared she wouldn't like any of them. Actually it was more like she didn't hate it, which is a positive step. Vinny and I also got to sample their 21 year old whisky which was good, but I too like the distiller's edition most.

We were then off to the next place. Also, it should be noted that this was our last full day in Scotland and the weather once again was amazing. Everyone kept mentioning how rare it was so we felt lucky. Our guide, John, said they get a full great week like this once every 5 or 6 years. Great. See you in 2018! 

Next up was my favorite, Glenlivet. Immediately we saw a difference in scale as the facilities are more grand and much newer. The visitors center is quite new, large, and with a cafe. It was clear they see a lot of visitors. 

We agreed the Glenlivet stop was the best.

Also our guide, Rebecca, was more experienced and had a plan and a script she followed. Not that it was better or worse because Stuart really cared, just different, which was good for us to see differences amongst the brands. They also had some props there for the tours which made our eduction a little easier. She said the same things Stuart said on the whole, but this time we got it. 

Then there was the scale. The distilling building was huge with giant mashers and distillers all computerized so that one person can operate the entire thing from a central hub. It was quite impressive. 

At the end of the tour we got to sample the Glenlivet 12, 15, and 18 year old whisky. They were all good, most of our group preferred the 15 while I preferred the 18.  She also gave Vin and I a taste of the 30 year which was dark and tasted really smooth. 

Then I did something really special. They have a deal where you can bottle your own 18 year cask strength whisky. That means they don't add a little water like they do with most bottles.

I talked with Savannah and we decided that you don't go to Scotland every day and the 18 is my favorite scotch so I did it. Plus it was only a little more than a regular 18 year old bottle so I thought it would be worth it.

It was a thousand times over.

I got to get a new bottle, pour the whisky straight from the cask, cap it, mark it, label it, and box it. It was so much fun and something I will remember forever. I was bottle number 146 from cask 2, so this is something they just started and I am so glad I did it. We will have a drink on special occasions for years to come.  Click the link to see the whole process. 

My Own Personal Bottle

After Glenlivet we went to lunch in Aberlour, a cute town in the middle of the distillery region. John recommended a great spot called the Mash Tun (named after a machine in the whisky making process) and we had some great soups and sandwiches.

Then John took us to an old bridge over the River Spey, the river which provides the water for all the distilleries in Speyside. It was a great old bridge with medieval looking turrets. Then John showed us a little spot under the bridge which you could wade into the water. Vinny really wanted to touch the River Spey so he did. Then we felt like we had to as well. It was such a beautiful day and having our feet in the river felt great.

Our last stop was Macallan. The grounds were vast and beautiful and the estate sat overlooking the valley and the river. Going in, this was Vinny's favorite and the one he looked forward to most. The tour was done by Angus, a nice young lad of about 24. Like the Glenlivet tour, there was clearly a plan. Plus on this tour, there were even more props and items setup, making it much like a museum in the presentation. 

The famous Macallan House.

The depth of information was the most of any tour, which was nice as we learned more even though it was our third. However, the tour ran long and some of the buildings were hot (not their fault since nowhere out here has A/C) and after a full day of drinking we were wiped and we almost fell asleep. Poor Angus. Lastly the whisky they gave us was not the best as they gave us their lowest levels of stuff. So Vinny was pretty disappointed and didn't even buy a bottle. Very sad. But we still enjoyed the place as we went to take a picture in front of the famous house that adorns their bottles. 

It was time to return home. John delighted us on the way with some authentic Gaellic (his first language as it turns out and one of just 60,000 who can speak it). He also talked about the history of Scotland and the clans. He also loved that I have Clan Donald heritage like him (MacDonald) so he told me of that history too. It seems we MacDonalds were the leaders of the clans and quite rebellious. Then we went bankrupt. Oh well.

We returned back to the inn, had dinner, and now came to bed. It was another long terrific day filled with great memories. Tomorrow we head to the Emerald Isle. 

Click below to see our out of order pictures from the day. :)

Our Day of Scotch

Highlands Drive

After breakfast this morning we said goodbye to Sheila's sister, Emily, as well as Edinburgh itself. We rented a car and went out on our drive to the Scottish Highlands. Now this was my first time driving on the "wrong" side of the street so I was a little leery going into it but I was optimistic.

Driving on the "wrong" side

The others however were not so optimistic and they took it upon themselves to "help." In one instance we were going around a roundabout. Now I knew the the UK loved their roundabouts and I had seen European Vacation so I was prepared. 

On our third roundabout I was doing well thinking, "this is easy, what is everyone whining about?" When everyone in the car shouted, "RED LIGHT!!!" There was a red light I almost blew through completely and had to slam on the brakes. Who puts a red light on a roundabout anyway? That's the whole point of a roundabout is to avoid a light. 

But we continued on well after that. Other than a few curbs, almost driving off the side of the road a few times, forgetting to set the car in park while getting out, running the front fender into a guardrail while trying to unpark, and almost killing a nice Russian family while parking at a lookout, I did great.

So back to the journey. After doing tons of research, I had picked the places we should see and plotted out a nice course. Fortunately once again it was another picture perfect chamber of commerce day.

We started late since the breakfast this morning was later than expected, that put us behind the whole time but the best part of vacation is that nobody cared. Except me a little bit which amused the others. 

The first stop was Stirling Castle. This is where Mary Queen of Scots lived and ruled. It was great and some of us even preferred it to Edinburgh Castle. The views of the surrounding countryside are spectacular and it was easy to see what it must have been like to live there back then since they had a lot of it set up with the medieval furnishings and actors. Plus it had some garden areas which were delightful. 

Stirling Castle Stands High Upon the Cliffs

After a fun time there, we headed West to Glencoe. We instantly knew we would be further behind schedule when the road was small and the cars were slow. But fortunately the drive was beautiful. We passed many cute little towns with adorable cottages and shops. And coming closer the Glencoe, the mountains rose and imposed their will upon our gazes. The colors were striking as the blue of the sky contrasted with the green of the mountains and the dark gray of the rocks. 

The Mountains at Glencoe are Phenomenal

By the time we arrived in Glencoe (which is a quaint little village at the bottom of the peaks and on the water) we were famished. We arrived at 2 pm which was two hours behind schedule so we needed lunch. Luckily we found an unassuming little cafe called the Glencoe Cafe that was perfect. We each had soups and sandwiches which hit the spot and we topped them with glorious desserts including cheesecake, carrot cake, and Rice Krispie treats. Yum!

We were then ready for more driving so we set off again. This time we went past Fort William, one of the larger towns on the western side of scotland, and up the west coast, of Loch Ness, the largest lake in Great Britain. We visited the scientific themed Loch Ness Exhibit and thought it was interesting, but those of us wanting to believe in the monster were hoping for more solid evidence of Nessie. But we looked ourselves and didn't see anything. Shux.

In Front of Loch Ness

After Loch Ness we went into nearby Inverness, the largest town in the northern Highlands. We briefly saw the Inverness Castle (nothing special) and then went to the Castle Tavern (really special). The waitress loved us because all four of us ordered the special: Sunday roast beef. It was amazing: roast beef with succulent brown gravy, carrots, broccoli, 2 kinds of potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding. Incredible. And perfect British food. We all crushed it. 

Then we went to an archetypal Scottish pub which had a band playing traditional Scottish music. It was lively and filled with locals who sang along to patriotic Scottish songs we'd never heard yet instantly loved. Even the ladies danced.

Dancing to Traditional Scottish Music!

Following the pub it was time to head to our next accommodation, Dunallan House where Jayne, our cheery host, welcomed us with great hospitality. She also recommended a nightcap at the pub across the street (how convenient) which turned out to go well as it was a lot of fun. 

Click on the link to view pictures from today. And, we can't organize our pictures so they're a little out of order. Oh well!  Enjoy!!

https://picasaweb.google.com/115801770226275645289/2013TripDay3ScottishHighlands?authkey=Gv1sRgCKmAs7zHiOqhowE

Walking Through History

Today was a fun day. After breakfast Vin and Sheila arrived finally! It was great to see them at last. They were tired for their crazy journey but they are troopers so after a quick freshening, they were ready to go.

We head to Edinburgh Castle. Perched atop a cliff, the castle has a lot of history. It is extremely imposing and looking at it as a possible attacker would have been daunting. We saw lots of great things including an extremely big gun called the Mons Meg.

The cannon is so big that it took 100 men to move it around the country and it traveled only 3 miles per day. But it was devastating as it could level city walls when used in a siege.

They also have a smaller, more modern gun. One that fires at exactly 1pm every day. We watched it. It went boom.

The castle is also the home of the Crown Jewels. We saw them in a case along with some swords and a necklace or something.

After the castle, we ate a quick lunch and guess what? I ate fish and chips! I do not like fish but I figured "when in Rome/Edinburgh". Check.

Surprisingly it was pretty decent.

We then went on a tour of the Royal Mile directed by a friendly, true Scot with red hair and authentic accent named Sam (female...news flash to me when we met her as I had only corresponded by email and she only went by Sam).

Sam was extremely knowledgable as she led us to some of the more unknown parts of the city over the course of a couple hours. We learned about Half hangit Maggie, the way they emptied their sewers, and all kinds of other stories. It was fascinating.

After the tour we headed back to relax then we went out to dinner at Reverie which was a cute place. Then we went out to a pub, which we think was an "american bar" (you know how we have "irish pubs" I guess they have american bars. We didn't mean to it just happened that way. But it wasn't a good american bar because Savannah ordered a chocolate milkshake and it was not good. It was basically like chocolate milk. Oh well. We were going to go to another place, but everyone was really tired so we went back and crashed. 

This was our last day in Edinburgh, tomorrow we head up north.

Click the link below to see pictures from day 2:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115801770226275645289/2013TripDay2Edinburgh?authkey=Gv1sRgCPrEqvf2_Pvy-QE

Edinburgh

Yesterday was a long day. A very, very long day. Thursday morning, we went to the airport with the girls and Pop who took a plane to Denver on their way to Laramie. Then we took our own plane to Philly, to then get on the next one to Manchester, UK.

The idea of flying overnight to Europe is to sleep on the plane. Nice idea. Didn't happen. Savannah barely slept and I didn't sleep at all. So we were quite tired when we got there. 

Then we got worse news: Vin and Sheila's plane had been cancelled. They got on one plane and had to get off for mechanical failure. Fortunately United got another plane for them! Which also had mechanical failure. Boo. 

So they still aren't here. But they should be landing soon. It sours the beginning of our trip but hopefully it won't impact the overall vacation. 

As for us, our timing on everything went perfectly well. From Manchester we took a train to Edinburgh, then a cab to our bed and breakfast, 23 Mayfield. 

This place is great. A very old stone house, it is much bigger than it first looks from the street as it has 10 rooms, all themed. Ours is the Tudor room and is delightful. Many of the furnishings including the blankets and drapes are homemade just for the inn. 

Soon after we arrived, Sheila's little sister, who recently moved to London, arrived and met us. She had planned on doing Edinburgh with us since it was so close for her. And since she looks and sounds like Sheila, it almost felt like Sheila was here with us. Now if we could have just gotten Vinny's dad then we would have had the bizarro Vin and Sheila instead of the real things. 

We needed lunch. Our innkeeper, Ross, suggested a great lunch spot, Salisbury Arms. Even at 3:30 it was busy. We had a great lunch outside on a terrific day. Wait, that's really newsworthy:

The weather here is spectacular!!  It has been sunny since we got here and all the locals keep telling us  how lucky we are. We told them they need to thank us, we just brought some to share from Arizona. 

After lunch Ross had told us to go on a wee (yes he did say "wee", woo-hoo, Scotland!) little walk to see the city. He directed us to a side road that went up a little hill so we could see the town. So after we ate we set off for the little hill. 

It was not wee. It was a giant mountain.

We got nervous at seeing it but remained determined. As we got closer it got bigger and more imposing. But we did it with very little whining, which all came from me. 

We were not prepared to hike up a thousand feet as we were in flip flops. But when we got to the top it was amazing. The view of the town was spectacular. We could see in 3 directions and get a good view of everything. But the highlight of course:

Edinburgh Castle

The castle dominates the skyline and is very regal perched on a hill in the center of town. We will tour it today so stay tuned tomorrow. 

We then walked down, went by Scottish parliament and up the Royal Mile, so named because it is the basis of the mile: it Is one mile from the castle to parliament. We tour that today too. 

We then walked back to the hotel and our total walk after not sleeping was about 4 miles so we were hurting, or at least our feet and legs were.

Following a quick rest (in which I almost fell totally asleep) we headed out for dinner. We didn't really know what we wanted so we walked a little bit and couldn't find anything that was still serving dinner at 8pm. We were shocked that places stopped serving food so early but that is the culture. They all switch to drinking but we needed some grub. So we took a cab back to the Royal Mile where there are lots of places. We stopped at one and sat outside, but they didn't act like they wanted us and after waiting for a long time for our drinks, we left and found a place that did want us, Ranjab Indian restaurant. 

We were the only ones in there so we were nervous. Plus Savannah didn't know how to feel about Indian food. But we had the waiter/owner recommend some items and he chatted with us most of the time giving us some local insight. 

The food was terrific! And Savannah loved it so that was nice to see. And even though we wanted something local, we do not have good Indian food in Phoenix and it is considered amazing here in the UK so we did sort of do local. 

After dinner we went home and crashed hard, but not before we got to do FaceTime with our little girls and see their smiling, happy faces which made our day. 

This morning we woke up to another amazing day. We had breakfast with Emily in the beautiful breakfast room and then Vinny and Sheila arrived! After they clean up, we will head out for the day. 

Click on the link below to see pictures from our day:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115801770226275645289/2013TripDay1Edinburgh?authkey=Gv1sRgCMK958i12oLOUw