A Wee Dram in Weem (Edinburgh, too!)

I need to check my family history, because I could not have felt more in love with a country then I did in Scotland!  I think Scotland gets the 'friendliest people in the world' award.  Plus they have food that doesn't fall in the same category as pasta and pizza.  We left Wednesday night on an easyjet flight for Edinburgh (pronounced like 'Edinbra' with a strong accent at the end!) and had a great itinerary planned.  Thursday we spent the day ambling around the town, walked up Arthur's seat, saw the castle, did a whiskey tasting and tour, and watched the Tattoo at night.  And yes we tried Haggis (if you don't know what it is, don't look it up...remember I warned you!) and it was pretty awesome so we had it twice.  The Scottish say they usually only have it once a year! Ha.

And you could easily get ice in Scotland! yes!! you know how long it has been since I had ice in a drink?!  For those who don't know, ice is really hard to get in Italy.

On our whiskey tour:

 

On Thursday night we had an opportunity to view the Military Tattoo next to the castle.  The tattoo lasts the month of August and it consists of a parade of bagpipes, dancers from Scotland and across the world:

On Friday we spent the day on an all day bicycle tour with Johann of Tartan bicycle company.  I love how you stop even for a second on your bike and you have people asking if you need help with directions.  We love the Scottish accent and we even picked up a few new words.  Here is an example:  We were knackered after that full day bike ride.  One lady told me I had to tell of my American friends that term so we can start using it.   

Do you think that Matt thinks he built this bridge our of steel and brawn?

Saturday was spent on an all day hiking and fishing tour with Duncan Pepper of 'Fishinguide.'  We drove to a small town called Weem about 1.5 hours outside of Edinburgh then we hiked for another 1.5 hours to a remote lake:

Sunday we woke up and had a proper breakfast at a little cafe in Leith called Mimi's (look how cute it is!) and sadly had to fly home.  Yes that is french toast and bacon!