Finally Seeing the Sites

Woke up to rain that had finally washed away nearly all of the “Quik Trip Slushy” that we had been walking through for days.  It was a good start to the day.  The Castle was open.  We started our day there.  Then headed down the Royal Mile (stopping for more shopping along the way).  We found a great, quiet pub on the way and nearly the entire group ordered haggis, neeps and tatties.  From what I could tell, there were two items on the plate (meat and potatos).  I wanted to know that the Neeps were.  The server said they were mashed turnips mixed with the potatos.  We eventually got to Holyrood Palace.  After that the students broke into smaller groups, with some going to Mary King’s Close, some to the Museum, and others for more shopping.

I was determined to find one more bottle of specialty scotch that a friend had requested.  I finally located it, after stopping in the same shop three times.  The first time was with the students on the first day.  It was a small shop and I didn’t think about asking them if they knew the brand.  The second time I returned after some of the other shops said I should try this particular one, but my photo wouldn’t pull up and I couldn’t remember the right name.  After getting to a wifi zone, and saving the photo, I returned once more and the very helpful man had what I was looking for – success at last!

All my travel finally caught up with me on the last night.  With a scratchy throat, I decided I’d better not go out again.  I stayed in, packed, and went to bed while the group enjoyed one more team dinner.