Wherever the road (or plane) may take me.....: Edinburgh

Last night I didn't get a solid sleep-there were fireworks at the Smoky Robinson concert in the castle and the music club next door played til the wee hours (don't I sound very old!) Nevertheless it was up and at 'em for a FULL day of exploring Edinburgh. My feet indicate that we did a lot more walking than they are used to in awhile : ) We started at the castle. It was a short walk and then, armed with our audio guides, we were on a mission to see the Crown Jewels before the line got too long. Thanks to a Rick Steves' tip, we went up the back steps and we were there in no time. They were very nice indeed. Then we explored others parts of the castle- St. Margaret's (teeny tiny) chapel, The Great Hall, Dog cemetery, Royal Palace and more. It's a great castle. It's just what you would expect a castle to be like : ) (Check out the website to see/learn more: http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/explore-the-castle/highlights). We ended by having lunch there in the cafeteria before we headed over to the National Museum of Scotland (passing the cafe where Harry Potter was born along the way). The National Museum of Scotland was a huge, never ending (in a good way) building of rooms, hallways, nooks and crannies filled with things from the history of Scotland. It was FANTASTIC! You could have spent multiple days milling around and exploring. They even had an interactive section but I was too busy to try anything there. Our last stop of the day was the Scottish National Gallery. It was alright. Not super big. Not necessarily something I would ohh and ahh over. Saw a Rembrandt, DaVinci and a few others. I don't mean to sound like an art snob but after visiting the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam it doesn't compare. Tonight the streets were full- Tom Jones was playing in the castle. It's fun to walk around and look in the shops. I'm looking for just the right scarf and I'm not sure if I've found it yet. There are TONS. Here a plaid, there a plaid, everywhere a plaid plaid. : )

Random site along the walk to the castle...