Our apartment was in the fourth building to the left.
Up 64 flights of stairs.
I miss being able to walk to anywhere, from anywhere, with an intricate system of paths.
Miss Finn loves bath time!
We spent an afternoon at Her Majesty's Yacht Britannia, which is now docked at Ocean Terminal in Leith. The royal yacht ran its commission between 1954 and 1997. During this time, the ship completed close to a thousand official trips and over a million nautical miles. In 1997, the new Labour government determined that the expense of a new yacht could not be justified, and HMY Britannia was decommissioned and not replaced.
I highly recommend this attraction; it is probably the most well-kept ship in the world and we really enjoyed this visit.
Mary was interested in the elaborate flag communication system. She decided to design her own flag communication system when we got home.
The project is currently on hold while she finishes her homemade, laminated Pokemons.
This binnacle on the veranda deck was first used in the Royal George and has been since fitted in each successive Royal Yacht. And you will never have a use for that information.
Of course there's a tea shop!
I joked that I wanted to have these napkins at home. Then I saw them for sale in the gift shop.
Mary, the audio guide aficionado.
Pretty much every communal area on this ship has a bar.
Many a state head has eaten in this dining room.
I doubt they used the Britannia paper napkins.
Andrew and I pushed ourselves ahead of small children so that we could take a captain-hat-selfie in the dress up area.
We tried to persuade her, but Finley had no interest in wearing a captain's hat.
Neither did the tweenager.
No trip to Edinburgh is complete without a walk up the Royal Mile.
Every once in a while, I come across something I don't know and probably should.
Here is one example - Adam Smith. Fixed it!
We found a great little pork sandwich place next to this cheese shop. I really wanted to go into the cheese shop, but the large business man wasn't moving, like a cheese shop bouncer.
The hog roast place is called Oink, and they only serve pulled pork sandwiches. You can select from a limited number of additional fillings and sauces. I tried the Haggis and it was delicious!
Finn, sticking to her mangoes.
The line is out the door and there is very limited seating, so it is really a take out place.
At the top of the Royal Mile, Andrew and Mary decided to go into Camera Obscura. Mary and I visited last year but Mary enjoyed it so much, she wanted to go again.
While Mary and Andrew had their fun, Finn and I shopped for a warm baby hat and a toy. On the Royal Mile, this is the ONLY hat you will find for your baby. It would have to do.
Holyrood Park sits in the middle of Edinburgh. The main hill, Arthur's Seat, puts you almost 900 ft above the city. We decided to climb it and get some good panoramic views of the city.
First, we ate ice cream. For energy, you know.
Ew.
Arthur's Seat
We hiked all the way from the city you see behind us in this photo...
...only to find this on the other side. A much shorter walk from a road leading to a bus stop.
Mary and Andrew went on up; Mary's silhouette in the distance.
We walked a little on Princes street and had a park picnic.
My Poundstretcher umbrella, holding up nicely.
We didn't spend much time at the castle, but we did get to see the King's Colour; the flag carried into battle at Waterloo. Apparently, this was the last ever public viewing of the flag as it will now be put into permanent storage so as to preserve the flag. I'm not sure how significant a piece of history can be if it is hidden away in a box forever.
On our last day, we took a walk to the Royal Botanic Garden. It was a long walk because we got lost.
We found a quaint little graveyard
Then, we found a not so quaint little graveyard. We took a wooded path and noticed that a staircase had been bricked off that led down to another, now unused, path. The unused path was littered with old gravestones. It was quite sad, and creepy.
Nope, that's not a botanic garden, that' a cricket field. We're still lost.
We finally found the gardens and loved the place!
Huge, and well worth a visit!
The greenhouses are vast and impressive.
We were there to see the Amorphophallus Titanum begin to flower. This is apparently the only time it has ever flowered in Scotland and it only lasts for one day. The plant is huge and when it flowers, it is the world's biggest and smelliest flower. The greenhouse was buzzing with the excitement of eager botanists who were visiting the flower daily.
On the way out, Mary made some friends.
After the gardens, we ate in a nice little pub then took a walk through new town.
Clever storage solution.
Before heading back to Carlisle, we made a two-day stop to see family in Millom. I guess I didn't take many photos, but we had a fabulous time!
Uncle Joe meets Finn!
Millom beach
Auntie Carly meets Finn.
Cousins!
Stole my sister's Facebook montage.
Some other random things we did on our trip...
Before Andrew arrived for our Scotland trip, the girls and I took a picnic to Bitts Park.
We scoped out the baby food and decided that British babies are more adventurous.
We liked Nana's new car but weren't sure about Mama's new sunglasses from Marks and Spencer.
We didn't get to spend enough time with family.
We found the perfect play area for a baby,
...and Finley enjoyed Nana's toys and fish.
Time to head home!
