The Real Stewarts: Dublin and Edinburgh (Part II)

Apparently, I am a bear or maybe a groundhog. I experience my first real winter and what do I do? I hibernate from blogging. Now that Spring has ~~finally~~ somewhat arrived, I have emerged from my den and vow to catch up the internet community on our many adventures over the past few months. Here we go.

Last fall we made a quick trip to Edinburgh, Scotland with two of our best friends. Edinburgh is a lively city with castles, cashmere, kilts, and ghosts. Some reports say the area around Edinburgh Castle has been inhabited for 7,000 years. Yep, that might explain the ghosts.

Walking toward the Royal Mile

Our first evening we walked the Royal Mile at sunset. Fortunately, our photographer (Stewart) captured some amazing pictures during this walk as it rained the rest of our trip. The Royal Mile spans from Edinburgh Castle down to Holyrood Palace. The route is peppered with shops, cafes, historical buildings and churches.

The Royal Mile

View from the Royal Mile

Edinburgh is a city that shines at night.

After our jaunt down the Royal Mile we settled at a restaurant filled with locals. The restaurant offered whisky (without an "e") flights. Each flight contained four different types of Scottish whisky. Stewart and I, the only whisky lovers in the group, jumped at the chance to partake in the whisky flight. Our waiter was a burly and intense Scotsman. The man was scary. When we Stewart asked him for assistance in making the whisky flight selection the waiter was totally exasperated...until he realized that he gave us a list of 100 different types of whisky on hand and not the flight menu. Whoops. Believe me, I needed the whisky because the bed in our hotel room felt about as old as Edinburgh Castle. I think I still have spring marks in my back.

On our second day we toured Edinburgh Castle. It was cold, wet and grey - a typical fall day.

A very wet day at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle or Hogwarts? Rumor has it that J.K. Rowling penned the first Harry Potter from a cafe which had views of the castle.

Sounds right.

After getting soaked during our tour of Edinburgh Castle all I could think about was getting warm and dry. Naturally, that meant more whisky! Stewart and I ditched our non-whisky loving spouses to partake in The Whisky Experience. The Whisky Experience starts with a disney-esque ride through the whisky making process.

Stewart on the whisky "ride"

Afterwards, a video presentation taught us about four of the five main whisky producing regions in Scotland (Speyside, Highlands, Lowlands and the Islands). We then tasted whisky from one of the regions and viewed the largest private collection of whisky in the world!