Lovely Scotland

Wednesday, May 16 – Monday, May 21  2012

Without a doubt, Scotland was one of our most anticipated trips over our entire 2-year stay (we know, we say that a lot...).  We’d been planning this one for a while and chose May because on our trip to Tuscany last October, a Scotsman we met told us May is the best time of the year to visit (although every time we told that story to the locals they all looked at us like we were crazy). :)  Regardless, our timing was just about perfect as we ran into only one rainy day our entire 5-day trip.

We took a trusty easyJet flight into Edinburgh (pronounced "Edinbrah", which is harder to get used to than you’d think) Wednesday evening and found our modest hotel just outside the center of town.  We were eager to start exploring and in no time fell in love with this quirky, beautiful, and historic city. 

With not much time left in the evening we hurried over to The World’s End pub, one of the oldest and highest rated pubs in town for dinner.  Luckily we got there in time – we found out that dinner usually ends at 9pm in Scotland – quite early compared to many other European cities where dinner often doesn’t start until 9pm!  Little did we know that this pub would mark the beginning of one of the greatest treasure hunts of our lives – the Edinburgh Pub Crawl!  Here’s how it worked – there were a total of 14 participating pubs in different areas of Edinburgh and we needed to hit 10 of them and get our pamphlet stamped at each in order to get a… wait for it…. FREE T-SHIRT!  Yeah, not that exciting, but we decided that it would be a great way to introduce ourselves to the pub scene around Edinburgh.  Luckily for our health, it didn’t have to all be done in one evening.  You actually have an entire year to complete the challenge – but since we only had about 2.5 days in Edinburgh, we had to get cracking…

After dinner, we walked down to the area of town known as Grassmarket – a classic pub scene with lots of live music (even on a Wednesday).  Before settling into another “pub crawl” establishment, we walked by a pub named The Last Drop.  You may be thinking, that’s clever like “it’s good to the last drop…”  Well, no, if you check out the logo on the sign you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the drop refers to (the Grassmarket area was known as Edinburgh’s site for hangings).  :)

Throughout our first night we’re happy to report that we made it to 4 different pubs on the challenge list (we don’t think we could have handled a 5^th pub that night, little did we know about the half-pint… didn’t discover that until later in our trip). :)  Our favorite spot of the evening was probably The White Hart Inn (Edinburgh’s oldest pub - established in 1516!), which had live folk music and a friendly staff.

Over the course of Thursday we realized that we didn’t allow enough time in Edinburgh as we would have liked.  So many things to do and not enough time to do them!  We tried to piece together our schedule to hit as much as we could, starting with the National Museum of Scotland, devoted to the history of Scotland.  We figured we’d check it out with the extra hour we had in the morning (how can you say ‘no’ to free entry?) and left disappointed that we couldn’t spend more time there.  We learned a bit about medieval conflicts in Scotland and England.  The highlights for us were seeing this huge guillotine (known as a maiden in Scotland) that had a lot of practice over the years as well as these large broadswords.

The reason we had to rush through the museum was to make it to our walking tour of Edinburgh.  Dave’s cousin, Cindy, had just recently been to Edinburgh and recommended this tour as a great way to get an overview of the city when there for only a short amount of time.  We’re glad we took her advice as this turned out to be one of our favorite tours to date.  We couldn’t possibly recite all of the facts we learned over the 3-4 hours we spent walking around the city, but here’s a few interesting highlights…

Here’s our guide showing us the punishment for theft in medieval times – they would nail your ear to this door and you either had to stay there for a couple days, or rip a hole in your ear to escape the public shame (and all the fun stuff that goes along with that shame – like getting rotten food thrown at you).  Of course once you had the scar in your ear you were rarely trusted again, so finding work was difficult and that usually meant the beginning of the end for your prosperity in Edinburgh life.

This heart is the Heart of Midlothian.  We were told that locals don’t step on this heart because people always spit on it as they walk by (and who wants to walk in spit after all?).  The reason people spit is because it used to be the entrance to a tollbooth and later a prison, so not really a town favorite.   

Here’s a cool view of the Edinburgh Castle (more on this later) and the bleachers being set up for the annual Edinburgh festival (called the “Military Tattoo”) that runs for a couple of weeks every August—remember, we were there in May, so talk about early preparation!

This building is the George Heriot's School, and is said to be J.K. Rawling’s inspiration in creating Hogwarts (from Harry Potter). 

Supposedly this wall has human remains in it.  The story is this: back in the witch hunting days, most of the trees were cut down for the purpose of burning “witches” at the stake (Edinburgh was a hot spot for this ritual…no pun intended).  Since mortar requires ash to mold, and most of the wood ash was mixed in with human remains, it’s likely that these remains were included in that mortar mix.  Delightful…

We visited this graveyard close to George Heriot's School, where we learned about the importance of these cages to prevent bodies from being dug up by grave robbers (they would dig up freshly buried bodies and earn a pretty penny by selling them for medical research).

Another notable thing about this graveyard, for you children’s story fans, is Greyfriar’s Bobby – from the 1800s, the tale of the dog who was inseparable from his master.  When his master died of tuberculosis, the dog faithfully stayed by his owner’s grave for over 14 years until, he too, died.  Apparently he’s the most photographed statue in the entire U.K. and ironically the graveyard is now off limits to dogs. :)

Here are some other cool sights from our walking tour and beyond…

Sir Walter Scott Monument
(although looked like it
belonged in a sci-fi flick)

A glimpse into the once dark
and narrow streets of Edinburgh

These alleys (aka a close)
were all over the city

After the tour we quickly made our way back to the Royal Mile (the center of old town that stretches from the Castle to the Royal Palace) and made a brief visit to Edinburgh’s most famous church – St. Giles’ Cathedral.  You can tell by the photos that it was gorgeous inside.   

One fun fact about this church is that the great reformer John Knox is buried there, but not where you would expect.  Surprisingly Knox doesn’t have a huge statue or a significant gravestone commemorating his burial spot – no, he’s buried right under parking spot number 23, marked by the small gold plaque.  Our tour guide had mentioned earlier that people wanted him to stay there because of his popularity and the significant role he played in this church over his years.

After our church visit, we quickly popped over to Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop to get some real Scotch – not that watered-down, sugar-added, color-enhanced stuff you find in most stores. :) This is 55% alcohol and puts some hair on your chest – good thing Ang doesn’t like Scotch… :) 

We followed the Royal Mile up to the prominent Edinburgh Castle.  We were greeted by the two most famous Scotsmen – Sir William Wallace and Sir Robert the Bruce, whom we would learn more about later in the trip.  Another notable feature of the entrance is the Latin inscription “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit” which roughly means “No one attacks me and gets away with it.”

Once inside we caught a tour with one of the nicest and most welcoming guides in all of Europe (‘great people’ was a consistent theme for Scotland – granted, Scots have an accent that is sometimes impossible to understand, but so very friendly nonetheless).  He gave us a brief walk-through of the castle grounds and told us the spots to hit in our limited time available. 

This is the 'Cemetery for Soldiers' dogs'

The castle has stood here for over 1,300 years and is the pride and joy of all Scotland.  Besides offering amazing views of the city below, it’s home to the Stone of Scone (more popularly known as the Stone of Destiny), which has sat under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey ever since the English took it from the Scots in 1296.  It’s a complicated story and somewhat tied to the complex relationship between Scotland and England.  Basically the stone was taken and never given back until 1996—700 years after it’s original capture—in an effort to appease the Scots who continually long for their freedom from England.  While it lives in Edinburgh Castle, it will still be returned to Westminster Abbey for future coronation ceremonies.  I’m sure you can guess that we weren’t allowed to take photos of the stone, but once again, Google Images came through for us:

Besides the famous Stone of Destiny, Edinburgh castle has Mons Meg, a huge 15^th century cannon, which was known to shoot up to 2 miles in distance.  On the same topic, the castle also has a large gun that fires daily at 1pm (instead of 12pm… that way they save money by only needing to fire 1 shot, instead of 12). :) 

The castle has a military prison that most notably housed American Revolutionary War soldiers.  Below you can still see the American colonial flag that they carved in the wood door.

Of course the castle had a whiskey shop, and the shop sold a special brand for just 8,000 Pounds.  It is 60 years old and was bottled in honor of the Queen’s Jubilee… but still…(!)  We’re curious if some sucker has bought it yet…

We finished off our castle visit at the National War Museum of Scotland to learn more about national Scottish pride and their military history.  You can see some of the recruitment posters from across the years.  The most interesting part of this museum was an exhibit at the end about amputees.  It’s amazing to see the lives that disabled soldiers can live these days because of the technological advancements in recent years.  Unfortunately, we were kicked out before we were ready—closing time. :(

After the castle we moseyed back down the royal mile to walk through some of the old cemeteries.  As we were trying to find our way into one in particular, we ran into a couple from New York who were both aspiring actors.  We spent about an hour wandering through the cemeteries together before we parted ways – we needed dinner and they were interested in doing a ghost/poltergeist tour (not really our thing...).  They were really nice and we wrote down the names of a couple of their recent movies so we’ll try to keep an eye on them over the years. 

We settled into a pub that night and got another taste of the relaxing folk-music that’s known in this part of the world.  We ended up buying a couple of their CDs for our road trip we were embarking on the next day.  Here is a quick video to give you a taste. 

Of course after dinner we continued the pub crawl mission, marking another 3 off the list.  There were a couple of highlights, the first being this bar with a little person’s section – it felt kind of like Alice in Wonderland.  The second highlight was the bartender at this swanky club/karaoke bar.  The bar was deserted on a Thursday night so he was able to chat it up with us for over an hour—great young guy.  Knowing we had a busy morning ahead, we decided to put our pub-crawl on hold until we got back into town a few days later.

As much as we loved Edinburgh, we were also really excited to get out of town and explore the Scottish countryside.  Of course driving in Scotland meant driving on the opposite side of the road, on the opposite side of the car (our first time doing this!) and driving a manual transmission on top of that.  It was tricky at first but over our 3-day road trip we each got the hang of it.

We didn’t get too far out of town before our first stop – Stirling Castle.  We’ve seen a lot of castles in our time over here, but it was still fun to get to know one so important to the Scots.  Because of its geographic layout (perched high above the valley that connects the lowlands and highlands), it has been a key stronghold for Scotland.  Additionally it was home to the Scottish royalty, the Stuarts, but it eventually lost its importance when Scotland was ruled over from England.

The self-guided audio tour was a little quirky, but helped breathe a little life into this 12^th century castle.  The interiors were also nicely decorated and felt like we were walking around in medieval times.

You could see our next stop just across the valley from Stirling Castle – the William Wallace Monument.   This funky looking thing was built in the 19^th century after a slew of donations were collected with national pride and identity in mind.  We hiked up to the base then climbed up into the monument, which is 220 feet high with 3 different levels inside that had facts about Wallace and other famous Scotsmen.  The highlight was seeing what is believed to be Wallace’s actual sword – you can see why experts believe he was at least 6’6” tall by just looking at the sheer size of this sword. 

THE sword

Of course right before we traveled to Scotland we watched Braveheart to catch up on our Scottish history. ;)  Yes, we knew going into this trip that the movie was quite a bit different from the actual facts, so it was fun to learn the more accurate story.  One of the most notable differences in the two stories was that Wallace wasn’t quite the inspirational leader that the movie made him out to be.  He did lead the Scottish to a pivotal win at Stirling, but it was in more of a guerrilla warfare effort than a head-to-head battle like the movie depicts.  Also it is said that Robert the Bruce did not betray William Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk (or betray him at all, for that matter); in fact most sources say Robert the Bruce wasn’t even present at that battle.  When Wallace lost that battle, he went into hiding in France and then Italy, and tried to rally support but nobody wanted to follow him at that point.  He was eventually betrayed and caught by the English, and was hung, drawn and quartered like the movie portrayed.  Regardless of the historical differences, we can all agree that Braveheart is an awesome movie and the legend of William Wallace clearly lives on to this day.

Before leaving, we braved the blustery wind on the top of the memorial to get some views of the surrounding area. 

Next stop – the Scottish Highlands!  We are suckers for road trips and the freedom to travel by car, fortunately for us this is essential to truly experience Scotland at its best.  We drove toward Glencoe and up to Fort William where our B&B was.  

While modest, the B&B was clean, comfortable, and positioned right on the shores of Loch Linnhe (loch = lake).  As an added bonus, the large window you see on the back of the house was our room – a perfect view to greet us in the morning.  Before we ended our evening we drove into town for a delicious dinner at The Grog & Gruel.

The view from our room the next morning

The next morning we got another taste of Harry Potter by driving the same route as the Hogwarts Express does in one of the movies.  While this sounded exciting on paper, the drive wasn’t as breathtaking as we thought it would be (it was nice, but nothing special).  The end result of our drive that morning was arriving in the town of Mallaig to catch a ferry to the Isle of Skye. 

The ferry ride was great – a perfect way to approach one of the most scenic places in Scotland. 

Once on the island we felt like we were taken back in time.  Our first turnoff took us west past the Cuillin Hills and out toward the town of Elgol.  Once we were out on the one-lane, narrow and windy roads we were immediately surrounded by herds of sheep along with their baby lambs.  There were sheep EVERYWHERE and they roam wherever they please, which includes walking down the middle of the road.

During the drive we stumbled upon these old church ruins, which were built in the late middle ages.  It was perfectly situated in green pastures surrounded by sheep and with the Cuillin Hills in the background. 

The final stretch of our drive out to Elgol was equally scenic – it’s easier to show than to explain…

After our detour to the coast, we headed north toward the Trotternish Peninsula, probably the most visited area on the Isle of Skye.  What we loved about this road trip, and especially driving this peninsula, is that we weren’t on a tight schedule – which was unusual for our travels, and refreshing.

We stopped first at Kilt Rock, which apparently looks like a kilt?  We dunno, maybe?  The falls in front of it made for a great picture though. 

We’ve heard mixed reviews about hiking in Scotland.  It’s known as some of the best scenic views in the world, but there are those pesky “midges” (which are basically small gnats that bite) that take over the hills in the summer.  Fortunately for us we were early enough in the season to where the bugs weren’t out yet.  This allowed us to take unbridled advantage of Quiraing, a set of hills where we hiked around for a good couple of hours.  The views here were incredible and with so few people around we felt like we had the whole area to ourselves. 

Before ending our hike we decided to climb as high up as we could (our original intentions were to hike on the top of the hill’s plateau, but we missed the normal trailhead and ended up taking an unorthodox route upward).  The higher we went, the more we found ourselves in an even more isolated and unique landscape.  Unfortunately, we knew we needed to get back on the road so we had to abandon the rest of our hike to the very top. 

We continued our drive and eventually stumbled across the ruins of Duntulm Castle sitting beautifully on the edge of a cliff.  Of course we went out to explore.

The rest of the sites we saw on the peninsula were non-descript but equally scenic.  Here are some of our favorites, including this video of a mama sheep calling for her young that we happened upon…did we mention that we enjoyed all the sheep? :)

Saturday night was definitely one of the highlights of all of our European trips.  We stayed at some random B&B pretty much in the middle of nowhere.  When we arrived, our host, named “Ocean” invited us in.  Her husband Scotty sat on the front porch admiring one of the best days of the year so far (normally it’s terrible weather that far north most of the year).  We couldn’t agree more.  After seeing us to our room, we were introduced to the B&B amenities, which consisted of dated music CDs, movies, books, and board games (and no TV of course) – this was truly a place to relax.  We decided to try out the game of Othello partially for sentimental reasons (Othello is one of the closest towns to Ang’s family farm), but primarily because of Ocean’s suggestion.  We played for an hour or so (a great two-person game!) while Ocean whipped up some homemade “rainbow salad” (all sorts of delicious and unique dips and veggies).  It was so simple, but so delicious!

What topped the night off for us was a trip out to Neist Point, which was one of the most peaceful places we've ever been.  Here sat a lighthouse and as we were told by Ocean and Scotty, the best place to sit and watch for wildlife was the rocky cliffs below.  We hiked down to the cliffs and walked out on the top of them; it was quite the unique rocky structure – all uneven surfaces, almost like an aerial view of a city full of sky-scrapers.  We got out toward the edge and didn’t expect to see much, but literally within seconds we heard the sound of a whale’s blowhole!  Sure enough there was a Minke whale making his rounds, at times swimming just 50 feet offshore from where we sat.  If that wasn’t enough, we saw countless Gannets dive bombing into the water for their late night dinner.  Throw in a gorgeous sunset and we could have stayed there for days.

We tried to capture the gannet action with our FlipVideo, but this clip on YouTube shows their behavior a bit better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2IhK15mbfM&feature=related

We ended up sitting there for over an hour, until about 10:30 when it was starting to get a little too dark for comfort.  Apparently this didn’t phase the sheep because on our hike back up to the car, we saw some that made their beds right on the edge of a 100+ foot high cliff (with the ocean below)!  We couldn’t believe it.  We said our goodnights and headed back to our hippie B&B and off to bed. :)

We reluctantly left the next morning after another wonderful visit with our hosts.  The plan was to head east, back to the mainland.  On the way we drove by the ideally situated Eilean Donan Castle and more amazing scenery in general.  We needed to keep moving so we opted not to take the tour and just snapped a few photos.

"Where's Nessie?"

Within a couple of hours we made it to the western tip of Loch Ness, the home of the infamous Loch Ness Monster (aka Nessie)—an exciting myth known around the world.  Did you catch that?  Yes we said “myth."  As much as we hate to admit it, while we love the idea of Nessie, we were convinced otherwise after visiting The Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition.  To be fair, the museum wasn’t out to disprove the Nessie theory, it just gave a complete story of historical facts around the infamous lake and let us visitors be the judge.  After learning about multiple in-depth studies, debunked hoaxes, and looking at the environmental evidence, it’s hard to say with a straight face that we still believe in the myth.  Regardless of facts, the museum takes full advantage of the Nessie craze and we each took home our own Nessie t-shirts as souvenirs. :)

Before we hit up the museum we took a quick tour around Urquhart Castle, which is also ideally situated on the edge of Loch Ness.  We couldn’t decide what we liked to look at more – the aging ruins of this impressive castle, or the mysterious Loch Ness in the background.  Fortunately the camera could capture both for you to see… :)

Another quick note about the castle – they had a trebuchet on display (a type of catapult which was advanced weaponry at the time), which is what King Edward I of England used to sweep through Scotland, destroy all the main castles, and enforce his will upon the Scots.  This thing was HUGE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDzzgkpIHnQ&feature=related

We said goodbye to Nessie and Loch Ness and made our way to the town of Inverness.  We stuck with the B&B theme and found ourselves in yet another sleepy town in rural Scotland, which was just fine by us.   We tried to hit up Fort George, but got there just as it was closing.  We were interested in seeing this one just because of its sheer size and to learn about its functionality (it’s still used today by the British military).   Oh well, next time!

We went for a walk along the ocean and found a few golf balls in the water.  We settled on dinner nearby and headed back to our B&B early to enjoy the oversized living area that came with our room.  It was a perfect night to snuggle up at the fire with some of that 55% scotch (and water for Ang)! :)

Monday morning we started off with a visit to Culloden Battlefield to learn more about the complex history behind Scotland and England.  The easiest way to set the stage for this battle is to work under the assumption that for centuries Scotland and England were sometimes friendly, sometimes at war, and often somewhere in between.  This battlefield was the site of the last violent attempt to separate Scotland from English rule back in the 18^th century – and it ended in a decisive manner, which sealed the fate of Scotland for centuries to come.

Back in those days it was all about royalty and who laid claim to the throne.  In fact, at surface level the battle of Culloden is incorrectly seen as a clearly-drawn Scotland vs. England affair—it was a lot more complex than that.  At that time the majority party in British power was the Loyalists under the ruling House of Hanover (in this story, thought of simply as the “English”) and it was the Jacobites under the challenging House of Stuart (thought of simply as the “Scottish”) that wanted to reclaim the throne.  This revolution of sorts was lead by Charles Edward Stuart, known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie" (because of his feminine features).  Long story short Bonnie Prince Charlie mustered support mainly in the Scottish highlands and, after a series of improbable victories, felt he could make a military statement at Culloden.  Unfortunately for Charlie and his outfit, the loyalist troops were better-trained and equipped, and the battle quickly ended in a massacre of Jacobite troops (1,500–2,000 killed or wounded vs. only 50 dead and 259 wounded from the Loyalists).

As we mentioned earlier, the unfortunate part about this battle is that Scotland was associated directly to the Jacobite rebellion and as a result Scottish culture (their language, rituals, and dress) was abolished as a result of the Jacobite defeat.  The crazy part about this is that some of those same Scottish highlanders that were as a result persecuted, were actually part of the Loyalist movement and had served the “English” house of Hanover!  That’s the tricky part about this rebellion; it divided families and villages—and we were told that once the rebellion ended it was a lot easier for people to think of it as a “Scotland vs. England” affair and bury the family and township subdivision under that layer.

You could see that artificial division in the way that the battlefield was preserved.  In one section, where most of the Jacobites fell in battle, were different stones outlining the different clans represented on the “Scottish” side.  On the flip side there was a special section for the “English” troops.  It was only in more recent history that people started to recognize the complexities of the battle and that it wasn’t as simple as Scottish vs. English.

The battlefield was also marked with flags showing the positions of the opposing forces before the battle started.  It’s always surreal to set foot on ground that so many people lost their lives on.  We noticed a wall monument that has raised bricks – one for every fallen soldier in the battle.

At the end of our tour, we happened to start chatting with a couple in their 50s who happened to be from… the Tri-Cities!  They even knew about the “Connell (Ang’s hometown) National Forest”—which is a single tree randomly growing alongside the highway (there are no other trees anywhere in site).  Small world… gotta love that.

Back in the car we started making our way back east toward Edinburgh – but first we wanted to swing through St. Andrews and take a look at the infamous Old Course.  Before the birthplace of golf, however, St. Andrews was famous in a different way.  Its namesake came from Jesus’ brother Andrew’s bones being housed here, which started a pilgrimage around the 12^th century.  In fact, St. Andrew is Scotland’s patron saint, which their flag reflects with a large white X (the shape of the cross Andrew insisted to be crucified upon saying he was not worthy to die on the same cross as Jesus).  

We started our visit at St. Andrews’ Castle - yet another scenic placement of a castle in Scotland.  This one was notable for a couple of reasons.  First, the reformer John Knox was serving at the castle’s church when it was invaded by French Catholics in 1547 and upon capture he was condemned to be a galley slave for 19 months before his release.  

The second notable piece was a series of mines that were dug under the castle – one by troops trying to lay siege to the castle and the other was a countermine aimed at thwarting that siege.  Lucky for us the mines were open to the public so we got to crawl around like it was 1546.

Even more stunning are the ruins of St. Andrew’s Cathedral.  This church was built in the 12^th century and was the pinnacle Scottish church until the reformation started in Scotland, around the 16^th century.  Eventually the church was picked apart until the impressive and unique ruins remained that you can see today.  It really is an impressive site to see. 

We decided to climb the to the top of the tower for a view of St. Andrews.  In the distance we could see our next stop…

The Old Course!  The birth of golf was here in Scotland and many refer to the Old Course as the official beginning in the early 1400s.  At a glance there’s nothing special-looking about it – it’s less like a traditional golf course and more like an open lawn.  We couldn’t resist the urge to walk right through the middle of it, too. 

Just beyond the Old Course is West Sands Beach, the site of the famous running scene from the movie Chariots of Fire.  Today there were no runners, just a couple of horseback riders wading in the water – alas no Fabio though. 

Overall we decided that St. Andrews was a pretty town, but a little bit on the ritzy / snooty side.  It just didn’t have the same kind of charm we felt in the other cities we visited.  We’re glad we stopped by to see it nonetheless.   Here are a few other shots from around town.

Back to Edinburgh for our last night in Scotland.  We started our evening off with a hike up to Arthur’s Seat, the top of the hill located at the western end of town.  The views would have been stunning if it wasn’t for the fog/mist.  Regardless we were glad to get out there and burn off some of the hefty Scottish breakfasts we’d enjoyed all weekend.

Flowers that smell like Dave's
"My Little Pony" doll... don't ask

We also got a nice view (through a gate, that is) of the beautiful Palace of Holyroodhouse (aka Holyrood Palace), which is at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from the Edinburgh Castle and has stood here since the 15^th century.  Apparently the Queen stays here for just a week each year, in the summer.  We unfortunately didn’t have time to go inside the palace while in Edinburgh… something else to add to the ‘next time’ list.

The rest of the evening was devoted to finishing off our pub crawl!  With 4 to go we had to get busy right away.  Having the car was to our advantage as many of the establishments left on the list weren’t within reasonable walking distance from the center of town.  A couple of our proudest moments of the evening involved 1) a parallel park for the ages (check it), 2) walking by a seafood establishment called “The Codfather”, 3) once again the friendliest bartenders in the world, and 4) a surprise from home – Papa Johns Pizza!  We kid you not, as we were driving to find our first bar, Ang was reminiscing on her love of Papa Johns and how great it was going to be to have it at our beckon call when we returned to the U.S. since we had not come across a single Papa Johns during our entire two years overseas.  Out of nowhere – Bam!  Papa Johns!  Of course we got our favorite – Pepperoni and Pineapple.  YUM.

So the moment you’ve been waiting for, after having read nearly 6,000 words in this post… we completed the Edinburg Pub Crawl with success and each earned a FREE T-SHIRT, which we will wear with pride for the rest of our lives. :)

Before we close, we wanted to note a few random fun things from Scotland.  The first is this blue-canned drink produced in Scotland called "Iron Bru".  It tastes like bubble gum and outsells Coke in Scotland - we're thinking that's out of national pride because the taste was something one would need to get used to (more sugar than you can imagine).  The second was this funny sign that was posted in a sword shop - apparently this is a recurring issue??  The last picture is pretty self-explanatory - just an awesome name for a bag pipe band.  Speaking of bag pipes, we did see a few players throughout our trip - below is one from Edinburgh.

Thus ended our time in lovely Scotland.  We hated to see it end, as it truly was one of our favorite places in Europe.  We had one more over-the-top, delicious Scottish breakfast before catching our flight home Tuesday morning, then back to work later that day…