Edinburgh

We made it to Europe!  After a long series of buses, planes and trains, we arrived in Edinburgh.  We got here after dark, so we got to see the city all lit up.  We are staying with our friend Emily, who is studying at the University of Edinburgh this year.  She lives in a cute apartment right on the Royal Mile.  She's been showing us all of the sites!

View from Emily's window

View from Emily's window

Yesterday we went to Edinburgh Castle, which was an interesting mix of time periods.  It was really windy, but there was a beautiful view from the top!  The weather was quite cold and windy, but the air is very dry, so as soon as you get out of the wind, it's much warmer.  Also, room temperature seems to be about 80 degrees here, so as soon as you go into a building, you have to strip off all of your layers.

Edinburgh Castle

View from the castle

All of us at the castle

Today started out very rainy, but cleared up by mid-morning.  We headed out on a long walking tour of Prince's Street, the rest of the Royal Mile, and Edinburgh University.  The city is one of the most picturesque we've visited; everywhere you look is a beautiful view of old buildings and architecture.  The University is large, but has a nice, busy feel. 

After lunch, we went to the National Museum and managed to complete an entire two floors before they closed.  We stopped at Chocolate Soup, a hot chocolate cafe, on the way back and had delicious hot chocolate sitting outside in the cold.  To top off the day, we discovered Rolo pudding cups: the same delicious chocolate and caramel combination as the candy, but in pudding form!  It was something of a chocolate day, all in all.

The Royal Mile

Tomorrow we will be seeing more of the museum and taking in some more sites before heading to the Highlands on Sunday (where we've been told there is already some snow).