Edinburgh

  We are now in Edinburgh, the capitol of Scotland since the fifteenth century. It is the home of the Scottish Parliament and the seat of the monarchy when in Scotland. Because of its cultural and historical attractions, Edinburgh is the second most popular tourist destination in the United Kingdom, after London. Our apartment is ideally situated within the "Old Town", just below Edinburgh Castle. The annual Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes place later this summer at the castle. This event evolved from an ancient act of signaling local taverns by means of pipes and drums to stop serving drinks to soldiers so they could return to the base at a reasonable hour. In Scottish, this was called the "Doe den tap toe" or "close the tap" and was the last duty call for the day. This eventually turned into a ceremonial form of evening entertainment.

Situated part way up the hill to the Edinburgh Castle (a climb of approximately 39 steps), our apartment is lovely. We find it quite comfortable and pleasant. This living room is on the side of the apartment facing the castle.

This very comfortable one bedroom apartment is used by the landlord's daughter during the "off season" while attending a local university.

There is plenty of storage and closet space.

This typical European style kitchen has the one item we absolutely need during our travels; a clothes washer.

The full bathroom serves our needs.

This view of the castle is from the living room window. One of our children told us the if we were any closer, we would "...be tenant farmers."

Another view of the castle from Grassmarket Square, just below our apartment. The center of the square was used for public executions until the mid-1700's.