LISA

Edinburgh Day 1

Our first night in Scotland was ungraciously disturbed by some noisy Frenchmen, but as they weren't natives, we decided it would be ungracious to judge the country by them and, after a bit of a sleep-in, headed off to buy our 48hr Royal Edinburgh Tickets. These got us entry into Edinburgh Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse (royal residence in Edinburgh), and the Royal Yacht Britannia, as well as 48hrs of sightseeing bus passes on 4 different tours.

The now decommissioned Royal Yacht Britannia provided an interesting window into life as a British Royal. She hosted four honeymoons in her time (including Charles and Dianna) and was used in the Queen's yearly holiday. We saw the wheelhouse; the bridge; the royal deck (where the royals spent their time); the veranda deck (used for functions); the royal quarters (rooms larger than my land-based room); officers' quarters; 3 fully stocked bars; and the super shiny, chrome and brass engine room. While quite overwhelmed by the size of the boat considering the number of people that would use it, it maintained a nice, light, almost homely atmosphere which is apparently down to the personal decorating choices of the Queen and Prince Phillip.

Feeling a little chilled and windswept we jumped back on the bus to finish our tour, and then proceeded to get on another one with a live guide. Much hilarity ensued. As well as this, we got a pretty good feel for the city, its history, and its people.

I then decided that we should spend some time in Holyrood Park because it was the first piece of rugged landscape that we'd seen since entering the UK. The park is the largest public park in Europe, and is a lovely mix of gentle, grass-covered slopes and craggy cliffs. Of particular interest was the path that wound up the hill, underneath the Salisbury Crags (cliffs) and the highest point in the park - Arthur's Seat. Of course we had to climb to the very top, which was harder than it sounds with the very relaxed Scottish approach to public health and safety. We were however rewarded with a fantastic panoramic view of the city and surrounding areas. Well worth it I reckon (Paul's still questioning this).

Thinking that we'd earned it, we wandered to the Royal Mile looking for our very first, and much anticipated, deep-fried mars bar! Interesting side note: I think the Royal Mile has the highest concentration of tartan-selling, tourist-gimmick shops in the country. It also has more than its fair share of chip shops, but surprisingly, only one shop on the entire Royal Mile sold our mars bars. Take our word for it, we walked the whole thing, twice, because Paul didn't want to buy it from the first shop we saw (they called it a 'battered' mars bar and he wished his to be quite intact). Mmmmm. Yum. Very satisfyingly gooey with a crunchy coating - could feel my arteries clogging up at the sight of it - delicious. A great first day in Scotland.