On April 3, the McNamara family boarded a plane and headed back to the States, and the Glenn sect headed off to Scotland! The week in Ireland went by too fast, but Evan and I were excited to see our good friend Keeley, who's living in Edinburgh as a missionary.
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| She'll kill me for posting this, but we were so thrilled to see her! |
We arrived in the mid afternoon, so after driving to her flat, we started our trek to the Elephant House, because the Harry Potter nerds in us are automatically drawn to the place JK Rowling wrote her novels.
There were some gorgeous sites along the way, but as you can see, we're not the most graceful or coordinated...especially when wind is involved. And it's super windy in Scotland!
The next day was spent trapsing through the city...
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| The Edinburgh Castle in the background. Keeley has a pass, and regularly visits for afternoon tea |
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| A look down the Royal Mile, a street starting at the Edinburgh Castle filled with shops |
We stopped in a cathedral on the Royal Mile, I can't remember the name of it. But I wan't the most skilled at sneakily taking the inside photos.
There was a statue? fountain? stone sculpture shaped like an upside down turd near the cathedral. The child in me had to take a photo and share with you lovely people.
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| The side of the Scottish Parliament compound |
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| The entrance to the Scottish Parliament compound |
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| The business 'Oink' buys a pig in the morning, sells the meat (pulled pork, etc) during the day, and closes shop when the pig is gone. Seems to be doing well for themselves, and it smelled delicious. |
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| A market inside an old church; I felt quite sacrilegious entering due to the whole Jesus-toppling-a-market-in-a-temple thing |
Hidden in a courtyard not obvious to the oblivious passerby is the hand imprint of the wonderful lady Jo Rowling herself!
Along the Royal Mile, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting Hazel, this wonderful owl who was patient and kind, and also scared Keeley a little. But Keeley was a trooper...
Although Hazel did become a tad concerned when we tried to make a move...
After meeting Hazel, we ventured up to Edinburgh Castle
On the way back down, we stopped by the Chocolate Cafe which, you guessed it, specialized in everything chocolate! We had the most amazing crepes!
After lunch, Keeley and I went galavanting off to do some thrift store shopping (called Charity Shops there) while Evan finished some homework. Downside of us both working on our Masters Degrees is that we have homework even while on vacation.
After a couple hours on the town, we met Keeley's boyfriend and went to dinner at a local restaurant...cant remember the name, unfortuantly. But I tried my first real haggis, and actually enjoyed it! Had a faint taste like chicken noodle soup. I'd definitley order it again.
All too soon, we were on a train the next morning to Leeds, UK.
