View from the Grassmarket area up to the Castle:



And then up another steep walk towards our hotel:

For dinner our first night, we found Hotel du Vin, a restaurant and hotel inside a renovated insane asylum. No joke. The atmosphere was wonderful, and the food was absolutely delicious. Instead of a full meal, we had appetizers in the bar area, which overlooks a section of the main dining room. A fire was roaring and the Scotch was delicious!



My daughters are real foodies, so I always take pictures so we can ogle over yumminess. All of our food in Edinburgh was really good; we were quite impressed. This restaurant was featured in the cookbook Relish Scotland, which I purchased while at the restaurant. I wish I had the book previously, as I would have planned a gastro tour of Edinburgh!

Egg White Souffle with Cheddar Sauce (local cheddar, yum):

On our walk back to the hotel, we stumbled up on this monolithic structure, only to discover it is George Heriot's School, built in 1659. How cool is that?

Stunning all of them! Thanks so much for sharing!! Good way to start the day! How cool would it be to walk into that school every day?!


now time to get my son off to his very normal modern school lol

Wow! More fabulous pictures. Thanks for sharing Laura!

What lovely additions! I love the stained glass, just beautiful. Looks like a great trip and I am sure your DD is loving the cookbook.

Beautiful pics Laura! Verra nice.

Looks like you had a lovely trip! Beautiful pictures.

Absolutely stunning pictures--thanks for sharing them! Glad to hear that you had good weather and such a great time. I went in August several years back and it drizzled a lot but we still had a great time.

Suggestion: If you ever get a chance to go to Edinburgh, I'd recommend going in August during the Edinburgh Festival. While it's crowded and can be expensive, it's worth a trip. There are actually two festivals going on at the same time--the Edinburgh Festival which is more high brow and the Fringe Festival which showcases a lot of plays, comedians and street performers (from the really bad to really good). I went several years ago with my sister and brother-in-law and a highlight was to see the Military Tattoo on the grounds of the Edinburgh Castle at night. Military bands from all over the world, pipe bands, lots of men in kilts--what's not to like... The ending was particularly stunning as the lights are dimmed and you see a lone piper walking & playing on on the castle wall with just a spotlight on him. This particular night he played "Amazing Grace" and the audience starting singing along in all of their various languages. Unbelievably cool! My sister and I told my parents about it and they took a trip over to the Edinburgh Festival a few years later. They were so moved by it, that when my dad passed away, my mom had them play "Amazing Grace" at the funeral.

Lamp, I would love to have seen the lone piper. That just gave me goosebumps!

Laura, I am really enjoying your pictures. Thank you so much for sharing.

So glad everyone is enjoying the slide show -- even though it is taking quite a bit of time to upload all of the pictures. The above were all from just Day 1... and I've a few more days to go!

LAMP: if dreams do come true, then I will be in Edinburgh for a Festival sometime. *s* Not a day goes by where my brain doesn't take a few minutes to ponder: 'Hmmm... just how can I move to Scotland, or in the alternative, spend summers there?'

Wow Laura, thank you so much for sharing the photos.
I am jealous, but glad you have a great time!!!

Laura, this is the first chance I have had to sit down and look at your additional pictures! They are stunning. I especially love the last two above; absolutely beautiful!!!

Thank you for sharing!

Oh...and the stained glass pictures, too!!!

I have a TON more of the stained glass from inside St. Giles Cathedral. If you are interested, I can post more or send via PM. Just let me know!