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August 1, 2006

Exploring Edinburgh

Jet lag has been tough on the kids. The only good thing to come out of the kids waking up at 4:30 am was the ability to make it to Edinburgh Castle by 8:30, a whole hour before it opened. Andy and Britta waited in line to buy tickets while my mom, Karsten and I visited the weaving factory. When the castle finally opened we were able to join in a small tour group to learn about the centuries of castle history. We spent almost fours hours exploring all the dark nooks and crannies -- although we breezed by the crown jewels a little faster than I would have preferred. Karsten was too busy searching out the dungeons carved into the side of the extinct volcano to be interested in jewelry. The leisurely tour came to an abrupt end when I heard a "thunk" and saw Karsten's head land on the stone walkway from trying to use a chain as a swing. We hopped the bus back to our flat and checked his pupils for signs of a concussion.

Later that night Andy and I snuck out for a Saturday night in Edinburgh. The first stop was at a pub called the Malt Shovel for some whiskey. I ordered mine with hot chocolate, most likely offending the pub staff. Afterward We made our way up to the top of the hill and past the castle. I saw a sign that said "Mercat tours", a company I recognized from my guidebook. I told Andy I wanted to check the place out. He didn't know what it was but assumed it must be a popular pub because of all the people trying to get in. As we approached the moving group I recognized two of the women from our castle tour earlier that day. The women were just closing the door and said, "are you on this tour too?" We said, "no." She said, "you are now." the door shut behind me and the only thing ahead of us was a candle-lit path into a damp dungeon. We had landed on the Ghost Tour. I wondered if this was something I would have opted to go on had I been given the choice. It was too late. We learned about all the paranormal activity from the dead "purrr" (poor) residents who used to live there. Finally at the end of the tour the guide said, "for those of you with the red ticket proceed on to the tavern. For the white ticket holders your tour is done." I thought we were busted for sure but we were able to sneak out unnoticed. Our female partners in crime didn't give us a way. I was disappointed they had bought the red tickets because they seemed like they would have been up for some pub crawling.

Andy and I found another pub with some acoustic guitar and tried more whiskey. We took the long way home so we could explore more of the city. We ran across at least 5 "stag" or "hen" parties where every member of the party dressed alike. We saw the outfits on various groups: matching pink cowboy hats, feather halos, 11 female Elvis'.

Sunday we did the ultimate kid-friendly tourism: a double decker bus tour around the city. We hopped off at Holy rood Palace, the Queen's official residence when she visits Edinburgh. The ladies headed to the palace and the boys opted for a ride in the time machine at the Mother Earth exhibit across the street. Both groups were equally pleased.

I know why Britta was the only two year old on the palace tour. It is easier to leave toddler's with a babysitter! I cajoled her as far as King Charles II bedroom where she decided to cross the ropes and sit on the rug Charles had commissioned centuries ago. Instead of freaking out the guards by charging the roped off area I had to finesse her out of there by letting her think it was her idea to leave.

Next we made our way into the great hall where portraits of 96 Scottish kings zigzagged the walls. Here she decided "poo poo me" and took out the changing mat and a diaper (nappy). Then she took off her pants and shoes. (The story definitely gets more scandalous when telling it to a Scot where the word "pants" sounds too close to "panties.") I picked her up and took her into the room where Mary Queen of Scots relics are in enclosed cases. The darkness and cabinets were my ally and I was able to get her dressed again.

We jumped back on the tour bus and finished the tour. We left the stroller ("buggy") on the bus so Andy had to go back to the station today to pick it up.

And finally, this morning we tried to drug the kids in desperation. When Karsten woke up at 1:30am Andy gave him a half a tablet of Dramamine. When I got up to go to work this morning Karsten told me, "Daddy gave me some candy that made me feel funny." He puked a few times but by the time I got home from work he was back to his old self. Of course this got us thinking that maybe he did have a concussion... We used Andy's crackberry to play Google MD and determined it was probably the Dramamine that caused the vomiting.

In other news, Britta's black eye is almost healed up. Today's color: purplish-yellow. Andy said she hit her eye on our wrought iron bed frame at home just before leaving for the airport. My poor kids should be wearing helmets.

We're having fun on my "working holiday." If anyone else needs a traveling designer let me know!

Posted by jana at August 1, 2006 12:39 AM

Comments

Posted by: becca at August 1, 2006 8:51 AM