Edinburgh, Scotland

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We had an amazing time in Edinburgh and can't wait to plan another trip there! We purchased a cheap flight on easyjet.com, booked a hotel and were on our way. We left early from Luton Airport, one of London's smaller airports and only 45 minutes from Windsor. After the flight and a short shuttle to Edinburgh, we met up with Barb...Jake was attending an open house at his almamator, George Watson's school. We got tickets to bus tour around Edinburgh, in typical tourist fashion, and hitched a ride to the Royal Mile, a famous street stretching from the Edinburgh Castle to Hollyrood Palace (a royal residence). After a little shopping, we met up with Jake and his youngest brother Sandy (by this point we had already met the rest of the MacKenzie clan in Windsor). After one of our many Starbucks breaks we finished off the bus tour and hiked back to our hotel for check-in. That night, while Barb and Jake were at the school reunion, we headed out for a night on the town with Kaitlin's cousin Joe Howe, who just got his masters at University of Kent in England and was ironically in Edinburgh at the same time. We started at Hard Rock Cafe for dinner, and then went to several bars to hear live music and drink with the locals...vodka bar, jazz club, and local pub. A great night thanks to our tour guide Joe. The next day we spent all day at the castle, which has amazing views of the city as it sits on atop an extinct volcanoe. There were many great sites to see at the castle, our favorite the Honours of Scotland - Scottish Crown Jewels, Sceptor and Sword of State. We learned about the amazing stories of it being lost, buried, hidden and recovered many times. Kaitlin thought the dog cemetary was particularly touching. We finished the day with a tour of the University Club at Edinburgh University, a place Jake remembered well from his school days. Our trip concluded with a wonderful dinner and a quick goodbye to our first visitors.