Up somewhat early this morning to hit the road. We have a half hour drive to our final ferry ride, then about 4 hours to Edinburgh. It'll be a long day. We boarded the ferry in Armadale and it was less than an hour to Mallaig on the mainland. Once on the mainland, we drove and drove and drove. It seemed like quite a long day. Our drive did take us through some beautiful places. One place I definitely want to visit is Fort William. We drove through Fort William as it is Saturday and insane with traffic from holiday makers as they're called here (vacationers). It looked like a really nice town on the water with lots to offer. Many people on our journey had mentioned it's beauty, but we were quite happy to carry on through as we just wanted to get to our destination at this point.
Shortly after Fort William we drove through the Ben Nevis and Glencoe Mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The drive was quite spectacular even on a drab rainy day. I felt like an ant on the road through these mountains as the road lies at the base and the mountains tower over either side of the road. Quite impressive. There was also a bit of an erie feeling to them on this particular day because the fog draped itself over the summits and just lurked there. I tried to take some pictures while we were driving, but they don't do the scenery justice. Someday I will revisit.
We finally arrived in Edinburgh around supper time. Holy cow this city is HUGE! We arrived in this massive city without a city map hoping to find a tourist information center - no such luck! So we drove through the city and around it for an hour to an hour and a half. We stopped at a grocery store to see if they had any maps. No go! So we rooted through the touristy brochures and we're lucky enough to find two small maps we could somewhat pin together to get us to our destination. Thank God! By the time we arrived at the University of Edinburgh residence where we were staying, we were pretty low on patience. After a brief relax in the room - this is a new residence and wow, they're like a hotel room - Saint Mary's residence was never like this! - we headed out for some shopping and food. Oh yes, and once again it's raining and the Tattoo is outside!
We walked into town and spent an hour or so shopping getting souvenirs and such. Actually, I got a large portion of Xmas shopping for my family done! Yay! The city was extremely busy due to the Tattoo and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Finding a place to eat was a bit tricky as both events were going on in the same place so we were in the heart of the chaos. We found an Italian restaurant and spent a few hours relaxing, eating, and drinking. The Tattoo wasn't starting until 10:30pm so we had plenty of time to kill. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating so we didn't want to hang around outside. We did walk around the Royal Mile a bit before it got crowded with the line up to the Castle where the Tattoo was held. To try and stay dry I bought us ponchos - yep, we were stylish! I didn't care as long as I was dry. Next stop...another pub for another drink.
It was finally time to get in line. This was insane! Hundreds and hundreds of people packed into the street all in ponchos and umbrellas. Eventually we made it into the Castle and the Tattoo began. It was impressive. I hadn't been to a tattoo before so it was all great to me. Keith has been to the Halifax Tattoo and said it was very similar. What made this Tattoo spectacular was the Edinburgh Castle in the backdrop with the bands marching out of the Castle. The stands are in a U shape with the front of the Castle as the final side of the rectangle. The stands are all uncovered/outside. The Castle has lamps lit all around it to make the atmosphere. Even though it was raining and foggy, it was still great. At the end of the show there was a fireworks display - this is why we chose a Saturday show because we'd been told these shows are the best. The fireworks were really good, but a bit hidden due to the fog. All in all, it was fantastic. We made a long journey back to our room and crashed hard once we were finally dry.
Up somewhat early this morning to hit the road. We have a half hour drive to our final ferry ride, then about 4 hours to Edinburgh. It'll be a long day. We boarded the ferry in Armadale and it was less than an hour to Mallaig on the mainland. Once on the mainland, we drove and drove and drove. It seemed like quite a long day. Our drive did take us through some beautiful places. One place I definitely want to visit is Fort William. We drove through Fort William as it is Saturday and insane with traffic from holiday makers as they're called here (vacationers). It looked like a really nice town on the water with lots to offer. Many people on our journey had mentioned it's beauty, but we were quite happy to carry on through as we just wanted to get to our destination at this point. 
Shortly after Fort William we drove through the Ben Nevis and Glencoe Mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The drive was quite spectacular even on a drab rainy day. I felt like an ant on the road through these mountains as the road lies at the base and the mountains tower over either side of the road. Quite impressive. There was also a bit of an erie feeling to them on this particular day because the fog draped itself over the summits and just lurked there. I tried to take some pictures while we were driving, but they don't do the scenery justice. Someday I will revisit.
We finally arrived in Edinburgh around supper time. Holy cow this city is HUGE! We arrived in this massive city without a city map hoping to find a tourist information center - no such luck! So we drove through the city and around it for an hour to an hour and a half. We stopped at a grocery store to see if they had any maps. No go! So we rooted through the touristy brochures and we're lucky enough to find two small maps we could somewhat pin together to get us to our destination. Thank God! By the time we arrived at the University of Edinburgh residence where we were staying, we were pretty low on patience. After a brief relax in the room - this is a new residence and wow, they're like a hotel room - Saint Mary's residence was never like this! - we headed out for some shopping and food. Oh yes, and once again it's raining and the Tattoo is outside! 
We walked into town and spent an hour or so shopping getting souvenirs and such. Actually, I got a large portion of Xmas shopping for my family done! Yay! The city was extremely busy due to the Tattoo and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Finding a place to eat was a bit tricky as both events were going on in the same place so we were in the heart of the chaos. We found an Italian restaurant and spent a few hours relaxing, eating, and drinking. The Tattoo wasn't starting until 10:30pm so we had plenty of time to kill. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating so we didn't want to hang around outside. We did walk around the Royal Mile a bit before it got crowded with the line up to the Castle where the Tattoo was held. To try and stay dry I bought us ponchos - yep, we were stylish! I didn't care as long as I was dry. Next stop...another pub for another drink. 
It was finally time to get in line. This was insane! Hundreds and hundreds of people packed into the street all in ponchos and umbrellas. Eventually we made it into the Castle and the Tattoo began. It was impressive. I hadn't been to a tattoo before so it was all great to me. Keith has been to the Halifax Tattoo and said it was very similar. What made this Tattoo spectacular was the Edinburgh Castle in the backdrop with the bands marching out of the Castle. The stands are in a U shape with the front of the Castle as the final side of the rectangle. The stands are all uncovered/outside. The Castle has lamps lit all around it to make the atmosphere. Even though it was raining and foggy, it was still great. At the end of the show there was a fireworks display - this is why we chose a Saturday show because we'd been told these shows are the best. The fireworks were really good, but a bit hidden due to the fog. All in all, it was fantastic. We made a long journey back to our room and crashed hard once we were finally dry. 
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