Since Northern Ireland

I have seriously neglected this blog. But I think everyone that reads this is also on my FB, so there is not much you have missed. My last entry was about Northern Ireland, therefore I am not sure what was in between that and Scotland. Robert and I went to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days. Oh, and before that (I do remember this, because it was painful), Robert and I decided to head down to the Brazen Head for a few drinks since it was our last night in Dublin before the kids arrived. Bad idea. I am getting old and my body has a hard time metabolizing any alcohol it consumes--especially alcohol of the Irish variety. It would have been fine if Robert didn't pick up all the strays at the pubs. He went to use the toilet (as they say here) and brings back some Irish guy that wants us to join him at his table. After a pint(s) and some  unintelligible (not to be mistaken with intelligent, I am not real eloquent after 12am) conversation, it was time to go home. Unfortunately our subtle exit was not soon enough, I had to let Colum know that there was no way I could be coherent the next day. Low point. But I suppose I had to initiate myself to a slight hangover before I headed home. Well, I did it right.

The next day, we jumped on a pre-sunrise plane to Scotland. Once we boarded the plane it took less than a hour to land in Edinburgh. I love Europe. Edinburgh was extraordinary. It had to be, hands down, the most gorgeous city I have visited thus far. We did some sightseeing the first day, smiling the whole time--even when we got lost trying to find our hotel. We hopped on the bus tour, our first stop being Holyrood Palace, the residence of Mary, Queen of Scots. I was so excited to go in and see it, but my excitement was quickly squelched as the palace was closed for a royal visit. Queen Elizabeth was about to arrive for her annual garden party. Oh well, how many times to I get to see a royal palace up close. We decided to hop back on the bus and go to Edinburgh Castle. Beautiful. Then Discovery Earth. It would have been something we would have normally saved for the kids, so we felt a little incomplete in that tour, but it was fun nonetheless.

Our apartment was right next to Holyrood Park and to my relief, it was full of runners, hikers, and bikers. Something I don't see nearly as much of in Dublin. I was able to get my runs in in the morning. That always keeps me on an even keel and made me love Edinburgh that much more.

I wanted to make sure we got out and saw some of the Scottish county side while we were there. What are two things you have to see while your in Scotland for only three days? Yep, the Highlands and Loch Ness. Phenomenal tour. The Highlands were wonderful and since we got to see the ruins of Urquhart Castle on the lake (or the loch)--it made the long trip that much more worthwhile. Did I mention we got to take a cruise on Loch Ness as well? We didn't spot Nessie, but it was not for lack of trying.

We did some more sightseeing on our final day. We headed up to Carton Hill which is incredible. We heard music coming from Holyrood Palace and we headed that way to see what was going on. We caught the tale end of the Scottish military rehearsing for the Queen's arrival andgot to visit with a nice older Scottish man who was happy to explain to us what we were seeing. He inquired about our heritage and when I told him that I was told I was part Scottish, he said "Aye, you have Scottish eyes". I took it as a compliment, because we left Scotland loving it. 

We flew out of Edinburgh wishing we could divert Carl, Melissa, and the kids' plane there. But since we could not, we were on pins and needles flying back to Dublin, because we were about to be reunited with the kids. I will stop here and let you know how it is going later, but you can probably guess.