We just had the greatest weekend! Our family and the Kirschemann family (neighbors from our old, old neighborhood and now live in England) wanted to find a place to meet for the weekend. With their expert travel advice and experience, we decided on Edinburgh, Scotland. What a great decision! It completely exceeded our expectations, and it was even more fun sharing it with great friends. It was REALLY hard for me to narrow down my 400+ photos, so here are some of my favorites.
This was our first European train ride. We flew to Scotland, but we took the train into Edinburgh from our hotel. The kids really enjoyed getting reacquainted with Morgan and Madi. Allison was in teenager heaven. They even took her shopping on Sunday. :)
We journeyed up and down the Royal Mile numerous times. There was so much to see and fun places to shop. Sadly, no one left with a kilt! Can you believe that?!?
Beautiful sites all around!
The mamas! Christie and me. :)
We were able to tour Holyroodhouse. This is the home of Queen Elizabeth in Scotland. This was SO COOL!!!
My beefeater. :)
A family pic inside the castle. This was the last spot you could take pictures. Okay, I illegally took one more inside. You know me!
The remains of the abbey behind the castle.
This is William and Kate's china pattern. It has a C on one side with a delicate W behind it. Then, a W on the other with a C behind it. Personally, I feel it is perfect for Chris and Wendy, so I just had to buy two coffee cups and two tea towels. It was actually buy one get one free. How could I resist?
There's nothing like walking down the streets of Scotland and listening to bagpipes. It was surreal really!
A favorite stop...thank you Kristi Yarcho for the recommendation. This is The Elephant House. A darling cafe with great food, and just happens to be where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter. She was inspired by her view of Edinburgh Castle. In the bathroom, the walls were covered with notes to her and thanking her for Harry Potter. For a fan like me, this was awesome!
Our view of the castle at lunch. It would be rather inspiring. Hogwarts anyone?
We couldn't ask for better company!
Beautiful!
Based on the blog title...my husband LOVES the movie Braveheart. It was getting to the point that if he quoted the movie one more time, he was back on a plane to Belgium. We were walking up to the castle, and look who we found...."William Wallace". Oh my word, you would have thought Chris spotted Rob Pattinson...oh I wish! Here they are saying, "Freedom!" Chris had this guy cracking up because he kept asking him to say lines from the movie. I have other pictures of the actor laughing with Chris. What a good time.
You can't leave Scotland without souvenirs. And, who doesn't go to Scotland to get an Angry Bird hat?! We did an underground tour of Mary King's Close, and the tour guide referred to him as "Duck Boy". Mr. T said, "I don't care that everyone is staring at me...I love my hat." Whatever makes you happy. :) He also got a couple of sweatshirts.
And, then there is this cute little Scotland hat, bling, some sparkly European high tops, and sweats from H&M. She received some shopping inspiration from the lovely Kirschenmann girls.
Edinburgh Castle at night.
My handsome hubs. Loved this hat, but it wasn't the right color. At least I got a nice shot of it!
St. Giles Cathedral....We walked in while the organist was still playing. Christie and I were actually moved to tears. There are no words to explain what it was like to stand in that beautiful cathedral, listening to the amazing music, and the presence of God. Wow! And, this is the cathedral where Queen Elizabeth worships when she is in town.
There it is...Edinburgh Castle. We actually went in both Saturday and Sunday. We all enjoyed exploring it, and we were in awe of how old everything was.
Amazing views!
Holy cannonballs!
A shot of one of the windows in the cathedral. Sorry...out of order.
This is taken from one of the windows in the tower in Edinburgh Castle.
This was, by far, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. We had a beautiful, sunny weekend which doesn't happen in Scotland. Thank you to the Kirschenmann family for a fantastic time together. We can't wait for our weekend together in May... in London!!!
I'll upload to Shutterfly if you would like to see the complete album, and I'll have more on Facebook as well.
Until next time,
Wendy
