Greetings from sunny and beautiful Spain, great weather here in last couple of days! Blue skies and mid 60s, yes that’s freezing to the Spaniards😜
Let’s check in on team C&K who are in Mighty Scotland
Cindy’s talking now!
Halò from Edinburgh, Scotland! We had a lovely stay on the Isle of Skye and our hosts Gloria and Willie were so welcoming. We thoroughly enjoyed our fires! 🔥
We left yesterday morning under heavy rain and dark clouds to our new destination here in Edinburgh. Arrived safely to our new Airbnb and planned out our next day.
We are staying out of the downtown area and took a double decker bus into the city center. Always fun!
We arrived into the city and look at the first thing we see…
The Johnnie Walker Experience! Well too early for that so on we went.
St Cuthbert’s Kirkyard (church and cemetery) with the Edinburgh Castle in the background. We hiked up to the castle and enjoyed the vibe.
I’ve toured the castle before and Kate said she’s okay without the tour so off we headed down the Royal Mile (also known as the Whisky Mile). Also known as the Royal Mile for ya Tea Toters😜
Yes, I’m beginning to see why they call it the Whisky Mile. They could have also called it the Cashmere Mile. Dozens of shops specializing in Cashmere and Lambs wool apparel.
We are thoroughly enjoying the sunshine we are having (and don’t mind the wind). We continued our walk down this historic road and came to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This is the official residence of the British Monarch of Scotland, since the 16th century. Still used as a working palace and is used for state occasions, etc.
The palace is surrounded by Arthur’s Seat which is an ancient extinct volcano, well known for its hiking trails. Stories about this area relate back to King Arthur.
We decided not to partake, but instead went over and hiked up Calton Hill. Beautiful views and lots of history. (The tour groups were out in full force now.)
Next up, we headed to the Edinburgh Christmas Market, which is located in the West Princes Street Gardens, right below the castle. A very popular annual event and filled with people on a Wednesday afternoon, one week before Christmas!
They had an array of food booths (German sausages, French crepes, French Fry booths and then there was the Roast Sandwiches!) We shared a roasted turkey, stuffing and cranberry wrap. It was pretty tasty!
They had a lot of unique gift booths but nothing jumped out at us and said “Buy me!”
Well, we still had time to stop in to a fun little pub right on the Whisky Mile and enjoy a pint. (A little side note, we had a group of men all dressed in their full Scottish regalia next to us. One at a time they would disappear out into the street and 15-20 minutes later would reappear and another one would disappear doing the same. As we left the pub, there one was, out in the street playing the bagpipes for the people passing by. So funny, after each shift they would go and enjoy another pint with their bros! We contributed to their fun! 🤣🍺🎄
That was a full day, so we headed for our bus and back home to get reorganized for tomorrow’s journey. Heading back into jolly old England!
Slainte (cheers in Gaelic) for now!!
Wow, that’s a full day, TGC reports over 28,000 steps, sure glad I missed that!
Happy to report all is well and looking for to the ladies joining me late Sunday night!
Stay tuned, more to come! From sunny Cadiz,
God save the King,
Adios Amigos
Trafton’s European Tour 2024-2025 