It was nearly a mile to get to Edinburgh Castle, which is at the top of the Royal Mile (just over a mile, actually). It was cool to walk and get a feel for the city, and I loved how it all looked so old and unique.
When we came within view of the castle, there was a small farmer's market set up. We wandered around, looking at all of the stalls before moving on.
The castle is set high on a hill, and we had a little farther yet to walk.
Finally, we walked up a set of stairs and we were on the Royal Mile.
Right away, we spotted Camera Obscura, which Jessica had told us about as a fun kid-friendly place. It's an interactive museum with five floors of optical illusions and such. We headed inside, and were told to go to the top floor for a show.
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| Playing in the mirror out front |
We were lead into a dark room for a camera obscura demonstration. It lasted about 15 minutes, and it was pretty cool. The bigger kids even got to go play on the table when the staff member was finished talking. We then explored the roof before going inside.
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| See all of the chimney pots? |
The views from the roof were great, and inside was loads of fun for the kids and adults.
After leaving Camera Obscura, we walked around a bit more before everyone realized how hungry we were.
We chose our lunch location because it was close and we were ready to eat. Matt opted for the full breakfast, one of his favorites, only this time it came with haggis. It was sort of a mealy-textured sausage thing, and it actually didn't taste too bad.
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| That's the haggis |
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| I had some sort of vegetable croquettes |
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| Playing around after not eating much |
We all felt better after food, rest, and a drink, so we continued down the Royal Mile. We stopped here and there, let the kids run around, and bought overpriced water in Starbucks in order to use the restroom.
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| The plaque above Lily's head is shown in the picture below |
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| These little alleyways were everywhere |
At the bottom of the Royal Mile is Holyroodhouse Palace, which is the Queen's house in Scotland. We hadn't booked a tour, so we didn't get to go in. There was a cool wave sculpture nearby, and we let the kids play on it for awhile.
Next to the Palace is Holyrood Park, and the peak of these hills is called Arthur's Seat.
There were two paths to use to get up there - one about halfway up, and one going to the very top. We chose the easier looking one since we'd already been walking all day.
Somehow Miles and Lily had plenty of energy to hike, although we took breaks. Clara, however, was more tired, and Matt carried her half the time.
But these views were worth it. (To me, maybe, since I wasn't the one carrying the toddler.)
The kids played some more on the way back down.
Back at the bottom of the hill, we decided to split up for dinner and do a little family time. We walked back past Holyroodhouse Palace and the Scottish Parliament to find a place to have dinner.
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| The Palace |
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| Scottish Parliament |
We spotted a small cafe at the bottom of the Royal Mile, so that's where we ate. On the way, we had let the kids pick their souvenirs.
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| A Highland cow and great panda of Scotland |
By the time we finished eating, we were tired and ready to get back to the Airbnb, so we just took a taxi. We meet Maillee and family, and the kids played a little bit before going to bed. The adults did try to plan just a little for the next day, then we all went to bed as well.
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