The day started off pretty well. We headed into the city centre to visit the Lothian Bus office to get day bus passes and directions. We found out that one of the attractions was way out of town (and the Lothian did not travel there) so we settled on Lauriston Castle (it's a mini castle). We arrived there to find out the castle only does one tour a day and we were 2 hours early! The grounds however were open and they were gorgeous! So we enjoy a bit of fresh air and country sights before heading onward to the Botanical Gardens.
The botanical gardens a worth a visit. Several glass hothouses contain foliage from the desert plains to the rain forests. My personal favorite were the giant lily pads from the tropical room. We also took a stroll around the grounds which contain a pond and many other gardens and walks. Very English!
Here is where things start getting frustrating. We could not figure out how to work the bus system! It is so confusing! And the thing is Edinburgh is not that big (at least where all the attractions are) so we ended up walking a lot today. "A lot" being a huge understatement! Anyhow, we ended up walking to the next place.
Next stop was the Georgian House at Charlotte Square. It's a beautiful home from the 18th century. Sadly, no pics allowed. Anna did however try her hand at using ink and feather quills. Let's just say calligraphy is not her strong point ;)
After, we couldn't find a bus that would take us to a street not far from the castle entrance :/ so we walked again! (Great use of our bus passes - I think not!) We wanted to take the Literary Pub Crawl Tour. When we got to the meeting point there was no schedule. Just says wait. Well after waiting for half an hour and no one coming by we left to find some food before the show at the castle.
So here is a piece of advice. Do not purchase an Edinburgh Pass. Even though they are not that expensive you aren't getting the value for your money. A lot of the tours are often changed or canceled and not all the attractions are easy to access. Better to do your research and just visit the places you'd enjoy :) And unless you plan to leave the city center you won't need bus passes either. If you plan right you can just walk to a section and see the sight in that area before walking back! That is, if you have a close hotel :)
The best part of the day was The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo! It was a 1.5 hour show set against the backdrop of the castle. It contained military regalia, music, marching, choreography, and lots of cultural dancing. They have army units from all over the Great Britain commonwealth and even guest performers (this time from Norway). The show also included fireworks! Anna and I loved all the culture and history of the event, the colorful kilts and the bagpipes! The Australians definitely stole the show when they broke into a jazz/pop number and got the whole stadium fired up! (the gandpa sitting next to us exclaimed "leave it to the Australians to be different!" :D Our other favorites included the drumming team and, also, Norway's brigade (especially the electric guitar!). The show finished with fireworks and the lone piper playing a mournful time from atop of the castle.
Spectacular :) Thank you Pastor Briggs and Elaine for recommending it!
We ended the day walking back to the hotel. Again.
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Your thoughts are always welcome! ~ Natalie