Hanging out in Edinburgh

Sam had to leave at 6 am this morning, so I headed out bright and early to Edinburgh. I took the 6:50 bus, which got me downtown about 9:30, which gave me an unexpected day to poke around the city. Edinburgh is the capitol of Scotland and is quite large. It's also very touristy with many attractions and upscale shopping places. 

The city is technically in the lowlands of Scotland but is quite hilly, and in the center is this huge rocky mountain with a castle on top. It was quite a hike to the castle, but the views were worth it. I ended up not touring the castle because the lines were so long, but a few hundred feet away was "The Scotch Whiskey Experience." 

Sounded like a good experience to me. 

After purchasing tickets, the tour began with a Disney World-esque ride devoted to whiskey, beginning with an animatronic, ride-through tour of the whiskey making process in the style of Disney's Peterpan ride, and instead of mini pirate ship carts they were oversized whiskey barrels. There was even that rumbly thunderous music that makes you think of theme parks. After the ride, there was a brief information session and a tasting. I actually learned quite a bit about whiskey and how it's made. We then got to taste some, and I was quite surprised at how good it was with a flavor quite complex, and smokey.

We then toured the largest collection of Scotch whiskey in the world, which was quite impressive. Too bad I can't bring a bottle on the plane. 

Afterward, I got lunch, went shopping and explored the national art gallery. Their collection was quite impressive. They had several Van Gogh paintings, Monets, but my favorite were those by Raphael. His depictions of biblical scenes are so sentimental and realistic. I especially liked the painting of John meeting Jesus. 

Now I'm chilling at the hotel. My flight is at 7:05 am, so my day of travel will begin quite early. 

ES