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Tour Day 1
You never really travel alone.
The world is full of friends
waiting to get to know you.
 July 22nd, 2019 |  Our fearless, tartan clad tour guide, Colin Mairs showing us how to use our headsets. It takes a very special person, whose just a bit crazy to lead up a group like ours. Throughout the tour he kept us entertained. Singing and poetry, name games and trivia, Drambuie and Gin & Tonics, and so much more. |  Edinburgh, Edinburgh Castle - the most besieged fortress in Scotland. Towering above the skyline of Edinburgh city the castle reminds everyone within earshot of it's important place in Scottish history with canon fire at 1pm everyday but Sunday's. My favorite fact? During WWII the Crown of Scotland was hidden in the loo in David's Tower. |  Edinburgh delights anyone who loves to travel back in time, cobble stone streets have been tread upon for 100's of years beckon the traveler to stroll along or, maybe sit down and have a whisky or two. I'm drawn to the hanging signs, they are artwork and marketing merged together. |  Who knew you could get a room that has a tap-dancing seagull? This was my first tour, not only with Rick Steves but my first organized tour, period. I wasn't sure about letting someone else decide where I was going to stay. As we traveled I fully embraced not having to worry about reservations, check in times and where to stop. I enjoyed unpacking and knowing we would be at our hotel for two nights. And who could complain about a tap dancing seagull on the bathroom skylight?! |
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 You round the far corner of the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert and there it is, the castle above them all. With a spectacular view above it's easy to miss the 'rough sleepers' almost out of sight in the little corners of the park. Edinburgh has it's heart in the right place and has worked hard to reduce it's percentage of homeless over the past 5 years. |
Tour Day 2
Take only memories,
Leave only footprints.
~ Chief Seattle
 July 23rd, 2019 |  And we are off on our first full day of the tour, heading into the heart of Edinburgh to walk the Royal Mile. I love the history of the country I am from but our buildings are infants compared to what I find in this amazing city. |  Day 2 and our fascinating tour guide is Brian May, here regaling us with tales of Wojtek, the soldier bear whose statue stands in Princes St. Gardens. I would never be able to retrace my exact steps as I was too fascinated by Brian's stories to really watch our path. |  Bucket List - to visit the statue of Greyfriars Bobby. A dog so dedicated to his owner he guarded his grave for 14 years. Who can resist such dedication? And just down the road I found Lackdhu, a delightful small store filled with local art at reasonable prices. And then on to the National Galleries museum... |  Dinner and a cold beer while getting to know some of my fellow travelers after a hot but incredibly satisfying day. We regaled each other with our adventures and realized we all wanted more time to explore Edinburgh but we were also ready to head to the cooler Highlands.. |
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 My afternoon free to explore, I chose to wander to the National Gallery, on the way a small kiosk selling iced lemonade caught my eye. If you find yourself in the same place - sit on the steps of the Gallery, enjoy a drink and watch the world go by for a bit. Then go into the museum and go to the right, in the second room.. stop. Sit down and spend some time with the Monarch of the Glen. And then, if you are lucky, you will meet a modernistic, talented painter as you stroll back to your hotel. |
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