Hello again from Edinburgh!

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Yesterday afternoon was the initial meetup for the tour.  Our Scottish guide, Brian,  really knows his stuff!  But I have come to expect that from RS guides.  It looks like a fun group with lots of single women.  

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After introducing ourselves, Brian took us on a walking tour of New Town.  We strolled in and out of both residential and commercial areas and I saw lots of new things.  We ended up at a pub not far from the hotel for our first of many dinners together.  

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Today we were out and about as a group to discover the castle and Royal Mile in Old Town.  Our big stop was the Edinburgh Castle that I had been admiring from afar.  The panoramic view was spectacular!  Great to see up close the stone buildings and imagine what it would have been like in days gone by.    Now, of course, it is full of  people with cameras! Brian oriented us and gave us tips on things to check out and then we were on our own for a while in the castle.  

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When the group met back up again Brian walked us on the main street downhill from the castle.  In the Middle Ages the protected village would have been along this street and it is now called The Royal Mile.  I had been there on my own but it was great to have Brian explain more about the area as we walked.  

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We were set loose at the National Museum of Scotland for a free afternoon.  I chose not to tour the museum but to catch lunch across the street at the Elephant House.  This is famous as the restaurant where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book.  As I looked out the window at the cemetery below I wondered if this was the chair where Harry was born.  

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After lunch I walked further downhill and toured Holyrood Palace.  I enjoyed the official royal residence in Scotland and daydreamed about visiting the Queen here one day. 

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A group of tour members  met in a pub in the late afternoon for drinks and a chat.  The ladies in the group were pleased to see some local men dressed up for a formal occasion--in kilts!   

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Martha