We had a spring break trip to the Canary Islands planned for the past year! However, as spring break approached, we realized it was still a little chilly there (60's and rainy). Knowing that besides the beach, there is not much to do there, we decided to go somewhere even colder!!
BUT... it was a major one on our bucket list:
SCOTLAND
Early morning flights are always so fun!
Just landed! The sun was shining! Hopped on a double decker bus to head towards our apartment.
Jeremy and Connor trying to make sense of the public transportation maps
Walking to our apartment from the bus stop
Our apartment. Right across the street from a little grocery store where we loaded up!
Great apartment and even better location.
Exploring Castle Hill
The kids were THRILLED to find a Five Guys for lunch! It's the little things you miss after living overseas.
Edinburgh Castle looks very different from other castles, almost more like a collection of houses and office buildings, but made out of stone. The hill that the castle is built on is called Castle Rock. It is said to have been formed 340 million years BC after a volcanic eruption! The Castle went back and forth between the English and the Scottish for hundreds of years and then was used as a military prison for a couple hundred years. There are many stories of torture and gruesome deaths that took place there and reports of ghosts, including a headless drummer. There is also a pet cemetery on the grounds.
A well-deserved break after a long day!
The next morning I made breakfast with these super fresh eggs!!
Riding the bus like pros! Heading out for another fun day.
Jeremy booked a sheep herding demonstration for us.
This was actually the MAIN thing I wanted to do in Scotland ever since a friend of mine told me about doing this years ago.
One of the dogs immediately came over to greet us.
The dogs were beautiful and soooo sweet!
The dog trainer told us how the dogs were very sweet and loving until it was time to go to work and then they completely transform.
As soon as she started giving directions, the dog immediately changed his stance and never took his eyes off the trainer for a second!
Brotherly Love!
The dog ran up the hill to bring down a group of sheep
After the dog brought the sheep down, another dog joined. The trainer had a dog whistle that had different pitches. The two dogs knew which pitch was theirs. She would blow it once and one of the dogs would move and then she's blow it again and the other dog would move. It was unbelievable!
With just a couple whistles the two dogs divided the sheep - black and white. We were stunned!
The trainer had one dog holding the white sheep back and the other dog taking the black sheep back up the hill - all with her whistle!
She said that when she is blowing the whistle, she is having a conversation with the dogs.
They even tried to herd this cat! lol!
Afterwards we got to have some cuddles with the dogs in a nice, warm cabin with some tea and shortbread. Unreal experience!
Walking back to our apartment
Trying to look like superman
The kids wanted KFC for a late lunch/early dinner - I never thought Scotland would have so much American food! The kids were loving it!
That night the kids stayed in and watched movies while Jeremy and I ventured out to check out the night life!
The Easter Bunny didn't forget about us!!
The kids enjoyed a little Easter egg hunt in our apartment
Somehow these Amazon gift cards from Grandma and Grandpa was inside some of the eggs!!
Breakfast on the patio
Right outside our apartment is Arthur's Seat (King Arthur from Camelot), which is the highest point of an extinct volcano.
We had every intention to walk to the top for the amazing views of the city... we just ran out of time.
AND... it was so cold and drizzly the whole time we were there.
Once again... another American restaurant that we haven't had in years - Pizza Hut! Living in Italy, you wouldn't think pizza was such a find. However, we all miss American Pizza sometimes. PLUS... this was the real deal. All you can eat salad bar, ice cream bar, and bottomless sodas!
Watching a street magician
Really random.... Jeremy's cousin is best friends with a family living in Edinburgh. When she saw Jeremy posting about our trip on Instagram she immediately invited us to her friends house.
It sounded a little weird but we were still curious and thought it would be fun to visit some locals.
After meeting the family, it didn't feel weird at all! They were SO nice and it was a really nice visit.
We couldn't get over their house. Their back yard is on the Firth of Forth river which feeds into the North Sea.
We couldn't help feeling like we were on a cruise boat the whole time.
Apparently, there is normally a sandy beach down here but the tide was really high.
Whitney insisted on a picture of her doing a back bend with the water in the background.
The kids fell in love with Whitney
And they had a blast fighting with Aiden and Connor!
The front of the home
Taking the bus back to our apartment
That night the kids ate in again and Jeremy and I had the best Indian food we've ever had! It was so good I didn't even think about taking a picture until we were halfway finished!
So far we are loving Scotland! The weather could be better but it is so beautiful and the architecture is so unique.
However, the absolute BEST part has been the people.... Seriously, everyone is so nice.
I think we all appreciate it so much more after living in northern Italy for so long where, as the southern Italians say, the people are as cold as the weather! lol!
1 comment:
So glad you got to go to Scotland.
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