Oh, There's No Place Like Edinburgh for the Holidays (another big one!)

A big 2015 hello to everyone!  I hope your holiday season went well.  As you can imagine, ours was different from any other one we have had.  And so, the story goes...

Our tree!  The Christmas cards should give you a sense of scale - it may not be big, but it did its job.  After all these years, finally back to an aluminum Christmas tree!!

The first major event was, of course, Heather's arrival to spend the holidays with us.  We excitedly watched a couple of flight monitoring sites to track her journey, which eventually showed her plane circling outside London on its approach to Heathrow, with the information that it was late.  Turns out that they were correct, so Heather missed her connection, but was able to catch the next flight up to Edinburgh.  Oh well, these things happen, and we were back at the computers monitoring her new flight, which kept showing as on its way, even though it was getting to the time it should have been landing.  Rick checked another site, and sure enough, the plane was arriving, so we quickly scooted out of the house and over to the tram to get out to the airport to fetch Heather.  Finally, we met up and made it home, where Dougal was very excited to have some more family around.

We took Heather out to our favourite Italian restaurant, Mia, where we all enjoyed a great meal and Heather got to "enjoy" the overly attentive waiter who, at the end of the meal, even gave her a hug.  Heather said that she never had that Italian male flirting in Italy, and I think we all felt it was a bit...umm...over the top?

Trying hard to ignore the paparazzi.

One of Rick's new jumpers for the holiday season.

The next day was our lunch at Edinburgh Castle, to which we were all looking forward.  We arrived at the castle early (we have passes, and the meal booking meant Heather didn't have to pay either), so had to wander about, which is easy as the castle is more like a wee city.  Unfortunately, the weather was quite dour, causing us to seek shelter under a staircase while we munched on some pre-lunch crisps.  I think others may have wanted shelter from the storm, but we defended our territory like a litter or terriers, so no-one was allowed to pass!  We also found ourselves trapped in a room with Mary, Queen of Scots (possibly not the real one), who had a very big attitude (could have been the real one) and had us all rather brow-beaten - well, until she wanted volunteers to be her courtiers and ladies in waiting, at which point the room cleared very quickly, with us ensuring we were part of that exodus.

Heather and Rick

Heather and Bob

From our hideout under the stairs - they may take our freedom, but they cannot take our crisps!!

The weather may have been frightful, but the sights were sometimes delightful.

Things may look benign, but this weather can turn on you quicker than a cornered haggis!

Finally, it was our allotted meal time, and rather than feasting in the great hall, it turned out we were in a banquet room located behind the cafeteria.  While it was a nice enough room, it was a bit of a let down considering all the wonderful history that surrounded us.  The meal was ok.  Sorry, I wish I could write a more raving review, but it really was a bit of a factory meal, if you know what I mean.  Still, we can say we ate at a castle, and actually, if I had not written all this, we could have had people thinking we dined like kings and queens, so maybe just forget everything I wrote, ok?

Ready and waiting.

Grudgingly and briefly wearing the party hat.

Hardly the grandest dining hall, but it served its purpose.

Christmas Day brought some walking and another big meal, this one courtesy of Sainsburys grocery store, where Rick ordered all of it online.  We had venison, veggies, tatties and turnips, pudding and a selection of cheeses.  The only weak spot, perhaps, were the potatoes, and the fact that someone (H) doesn't like turnips (roasted with a honey sauce, they are really quite good), but really everything was very good.  Would we do this again?  Yes and no.  It was convenient, as most things came with their own cooking pans, but it wouldn't be that much more work sourcing all of it separately.  We were well fed, warm, the slightest of slightly tipsy from the wine, and very happy to be together for the celebration.

On Boxing Day, we met up with Alison and Brian, along with her children, Alistair and Ashley, and their respective girlfriend and boyfriend, at a restaurant in St. Andrews for a late lunch/early supper (lupper? sunch?).  We had a wonderfully convivial time of it!  It was nice for Heather to visit with Alistair and Ashley after not seeing them for over a decade.  The drive up to St. Andrews, taking the scenic route, turned out to be less than scenic when you are driving through dense fog, but we did manage to visit several lovely towns (and one not so impressive place - that's right, I'm looking at you, Kirkaldy!).

See the Firth of Forth with Edinburgh in the distance?  No?  Neither did we!

Burntisland, which we liked (not Kirkaldy, which we didn't).  What we don't know is if it is pronounced "Burnt Island" or Burntis Land."  There is a wee island off the coast.

Sage advice, particularly if you are like Rick and have a shellfish allergy!

The town of Crail.  We love Crail (unlike Kirkaldy)

Crail harbour.  You can't get much more perfect than this.

Believe it or not, there are actually many things to see in and around Edinburgh, so another day brought another adventure, this time to visit the Kelpies.  The what?  The Kelpies!  What are the Kelpies?  Well, funny you should ask.  The Kelpies are two very large, very wonderful sculptures of horses heads, located near Falkirk, along the canal ways that meet up at the Falkirk Wheel.  According to our friend Wikipedia, a "kelpie" "is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. It has usually been described as appearing as a horse,"  So, there you go. We met up with Alison, Brian and Alistair for a sunny afternoon of wandering about, photographing and general goofing about.  I could try to describe the Kelpies, but really they need to be seen, so have a look!

Not the Kelpies, but Alistair, Brian, and Alison.

First good view of the Kelpies.  Notice snow on the distance hills.

Taking a "selfie" at the Kelpies.  Perhaps a "skelfie"??????  Their dog was too embarassed to be in it!

Our next big event was the arrival of Grace and Chloe from down Norwich way!  Grace is an exchange teacher from Ontario and Chloe is her daughter, both of whom we had met in York earlier in the year.  Unfortunately, in our wee flat, we couldn't put the up, but they were able to find a B&B in what was a tight market, as the Hogmanay celebrations tend to fill up the hotels very quickly.  Fairly early one morning, we picked them up at their place, squeezed all 5 adults into our Toyota Yaris, and headed off to Craigmillar Castle, which is within the city limits.  Personally, I would have thought that Edinburgh was only big enough for only one castle, but no!  Being early, we had the place pretty much to ourselves, and so set off exploring what turned out to be a lovely old ruin of a castle - the best kind.  What was great about our little party of explorers, as was the case in York, was that we all just kind of branched off to snoop in different parts and would occasionally run into each other to exchange tips on where to search next.  Heather and I both had our cameras at hand, so we were also focussed (ooh, a pun!) on that activity, which we enjoy so much.  Unfortunately, someone who, it would seem, shouldn't be driving a Land Rover, dented our car in the parking lot but, fortunately, owned up to it, so their insurance is covering the repair.  It wasn't serious, just annoying - we rather like our little car, so to see it with grievous bodily harm was sad.  Still, it is getting a shiny new rump as I type, so it will be good as new, which is odd as it is a 7 year old car.

Craigmillar Castle, on a frosty but sunny morning.

The entry through the outer walls.

"Hewn from the living rock."  I'd like to say that is snow, but it just could be salt to stop us from slipping and suing Historic Scotland.

The main hall.

Heather, dreaming of the past perhaps.

Edinburgh from Craigmillar Castle.  Arthur's Seat is on the right, and Edinburgh Castle is on the mound at the left.

The Pentland Hills rise up in the distance.

A view of the outer walls.

An outbuilding.  Can't really tell you more.

The family name is "Preston."  Notice the press at the bottom left and the barrel, or "tun" on the bottom right.  Clever.

The horror!  The horror!  Ok, it could have been worse.

 Another sunny day dawned, so Heather, Rick, Bob and Dougal headed off to visit another castle along the east coast.  We took the smaller A and B roads, as you get to see much more than on a motorway, and stopped off at one point to meander along the shoreline where once there had been a working harbour.  We weren't in a hurry, as we had the day to ourselves, but eventually reached Tantallon Castle, which is precariously perched high on a cliff overlooking the North Sea.  The car park was located right near the road, with a 1/4 mile walk to the castle.  We weren't really sure about leaving Dougal there, but Rick noticed a sign that said there was a bit more parking near the castle, so he and Dougal drove up there while Heather and I walked, as it was still a lovely day.  Much to our surprise and delight, Dougal was allowed to wander the castle with us, so off we all went.  My oh my, Tantallon is a lovely castle!  I tend to like my castles ruined and, if possible, along the water, so imagine how pleased I was.  Of the castles we have seen, Tantallon was second only to Dunnottar, further up the coast near Alison, for location.  We explorers explored, we photographers photographed, and Dougal proved to be a real trooper, ascending and descending narrow spiral staircases, walking along ruined walls, and basically peeing on everything he could.

Prestonpans,where we stopped to take Dougal for a wee walk.  There used to be a harbour here.

Looking back toward Edinburgh

Heather sees the sea.  (Actually, it is still the Firth of Forth, but that doesn't sound as good.)

Tantallon.  Now THIS is a castle!! 

The passageway to the castle.

The cliffs over which Tantallon looks.

The dovecote, with the North Berwick Law, a volcanic hill, in the distance.

King of the castle....and his owner!

Dougal quickly takes to his role as guard dog of the castle.

Bass Rock, home to a lighthouse and, I read, a tremendous amount of bird poop.

Gosh, who doesn't like a good ruin?

Remains of the first floor of the main hall.

From high on the ramparts, a view of the castle, the cliff edge, and Bass Rock in the distance.

Dougal visits the ramparts and surveys his domain.

Yes, we are up quite high, as the people below might indicate.

The standoff, as Dougal ponders yet another set of ancient stairs.

And then, there was Hogmanay!!  New Year's in Scotland is a much bigger deal that Christmas, and we wanted to be part of it, so we had purchased tickets to the street party along Princes Street - the main shopping street that overlooks the gardens at the base of the castle.  We met up with Grace and Chloe, who had purchased tickets as well, and entered the excitement.  Well now, it was popular indeed!  Insanely popular.  Now, I may like a nice party, but I don't think I have ever been at one with 75,000 of my close friends!  Trying to stay together mainly involved one of us - usually Rick - bulldozing through the throng with the rest of us stringing behind, often with the coattail of the person ahead of us clutched in our hands.  We had agreed ahead of time on a rendezvous spot in case someone got "misplaced," but fortunately we didn't need it.  Eventually, we found a stage playing more folk/celtic music, so stayed put and enjoyed.  Every hour, on the hour, there was a mini fireworks display set off, just to whet your appetite for the midnight display, and while they were nice in their own way, nothing could have prepared us for the New Year's fireworks extravaganza!!  We all doubt we will see a display as impressive at that one.  Our spot gave us a great view of one of the two displays - ours had the castle in the background, while the other one was fired off from Calton Hill, at the other end of Princes Street.  It was a wonderful way celebrate both the New Year as well as our year in Edinburgh.  The partying continued until about 2am, but we didn't continue until then - we fought our way out and enjoyed a much quieter walk home.

Chloe, Rick, Bob and Heather in front of a sign that proves we were actually there!!

Bob, Chloe, Heather, and Grace at Hogmanay.  Edinburgh Castle is barely seen near the top of the photo.

I don't know if this video will play for everyone, but it gives you a small idea of what the fireworks were like.  As you might see, there are high and low fireworks a'blazin'.  I doubt this will really do it justice!!  (Taken with an old Samsung phone, so the video and sound are a bit rough.  Sorry about that.)


Sadly, the next day was a day of goodbyes, as we saw Heather off for her flight down to London and then home, and met up with Grace (poor Chloe wasn't feeling well) for supper, as the two of them were heading back to Norwich the following day.

We had a great, interesting, tasty, unusual blast of a holiday season, and wouldn't have missed it for anything.  Oh, and kudos to Rick who not only drove us all around, but is getting so used to driving that our GPS gets to stay home - sometimes.