We took Ryanair from Scotland and the no frills flight was quick and comfortable. Although the flight crew was constanting hawking us to spend money on food and goods and odd things like lottery tickets, this was all okay because the flight was so cheap. If this is what we have to endure to fly cheaply within Europe than I'm fine with that. It cost us 93lbs to fly from Edinburgh to Brussels South airport in Charleroi.
We started the rainy day lingering over our traditional Scottish breakfast at the Abbey Hotel. Bacon, eggs, beans, bangers or sausages and haggis.
From Wikipedia: Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.
As you can imagine I graciously offered my Scottish delicacy to Janet... but I have put a moratorium on kissing for at least two days.....
We checked out of the Abbey Hotel, but left our bags with the hosts and then started walking in Edinburgh. Janet had to buy a warmer jacket because we were ill-prepared for the cold, rainy weather here, so we shopped in a mall near the Waverley train station. Then we headed to the Royal Mile. It's a touristed place brimming with shops and bars and restaurants and much to see...
There's The Elephant House cafe that boasts that JK Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books in their shop. http://www.elephanthouse.biz/
There are closes that are worth exploring:
http://www.edinburgh-royalmile.com/closes/royalmile-closes.html
There are secret vaults of recently rediscovered areas of Edinburgh and the stuff of ghost stories:
http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/vaults.html
But, what do you think the VFH crew did....? We went to Royal Mile Whiskies. Janet had been to Edinburgh 4 years ago when she visited her daughter in Lancashire and bought me a single malt whisky there and so the experience was positive. We decided to go and purchase a couple of bottles and have them shipped back home. The help in the cozy shop is attentive and well versed in all whiskies. We discussed at length what we were looking for and the fellow steered us to a couple of unique malts. But, we were unwilling to purchase a bottle until we had a taste. Afterall, this is an investment and one was a BenRiach Authenitcus 21 year old whisky that cost 63lbs. One shop (we price compared) pitched it for 80! So, we went to the Bow Bar for a taste. He didn't have it, but we got a peaty from BenRiach that was quite good. Later we found another bar that carried BenRiach Authenticus, but we didn't like it as much. So we returned to Royal Mile to opt for a Caol Ila and an An Cnoc and had them shipped to the U.S. Hopefully they'll make it. We spent a lot, but Royal Mile Whiskies did the VAT deduction for us, which covers the cost of the shipping. I'll let you know if the shipment arrives safely! Royal Whiskies will help you with all your needs.
www.royalmilewhiskies.com
We then watched the changing of the guard at the castle before heading off to our hotel to pick up our bags. We sat in the gardens out back to smoke cigarettes and eventually our host at the hotel came back to ask us when we wanted our cab. When it arrived he came back again and we were off to another country.
The taxi cost us 20lbs with a tip.
We started the rainy day lingering over our traditional Scottish breakfast at the Abbey Hotel. Bacon, eggs, beans, bangers or sausages and haggis.
From Wikipedia: Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.
As you can imagine I graciously offered my Scottish delicacy to Janet... but I have put a moratorium on kissing for at least two days.....
We checked out of the Abbey Hotel, but left our bags with the hosts and then started walking in Edinburgh. Janet had to buy a warmer jacket because we were ill-prepared for the cold, rainy weather here, so we shopped in a mall near the Waverley train station. Then we headed to the Royal Mile. It's a touristed place brimming with shops and bars and restaurants and much to see...
There's The Elephant House cafe that boasts that JK Rowling began writing the Harry Potter books in their shop. http://www.elephanthouse.biz/
There are closes that are worth exploring:
http://www.edinburgh-royalmile.com/closes/royalmile-closes.html
There are secret vaults of recently rediscovered areas of Edinburgh and the stuff of ghost stories:
http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/vaults.html
But, what do you think the VFH crew did....? We went to Royal Mile Whiskies. Janet had been to Edinburgh 4 years ago when she visited her daughter in Lancashire and bought me a single malt whisky there and so the experience was positive. We decided to go and purchase a couple of bottles and have them shipped back home. The help in the cozy shop is attentive and well versed in all whiskies. We discussed at length what we were looking for and the fellow steered us to a couple of unique malts. But, we were unwilling to purchase a bottle until we had a taste. Afterall, this is an investment and one was a BenRiach Authenitcus 21 year old whisky that cost 63lbs. One shop (we price compared) pitched it for 80! So, we went to the Bow Bar for a taste. He didn't have it, but we got a peaty from BenRiach that was quite good. Later we found another bar that carried BenRiach Authenticus, but we didn't like it as much. So we returned to Royal Mile to opt for a Caol Ila and an An Cnoc and had them shipped to the U.S. Hopefully they'll make it. We spent a lot, but Royal Mile Whiskies did the VAT deduction for us, which covers the cost of the shipping. I'll let you know if the shipment arrives safely! Royal Whiskies will help you with all your needs.
www.royalmilewhiskies.com
We then watched the changing of the guard at the castle before heading off to our hotel to pick up our bags. We sat in the gardens out back to smoke cigarettes and eventually our host at the hotel came back to ask us when we wanted our cab. When it arrived he came back again and we were off to another country.
The taxi cost us 20lbs with a tip.
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