scotland trip report- 8-3 to 8-10 with two pre nights and a post night.

[Rapunzellover]

Made it to Scotland!!

So different than Spain. But wonderful so far...

Pre day 1- transfer from Barcelona to Edinburgh.

This was mostly a travel day. I slept late, napped, and didn't do a thing till leaving for the airport. Didn't make it to Casa Mila or Casa Batillo. Next time... I gotta make sure I have energy for Scotland!

Arrived in Edinburgh late (8pm), and went to the hotel. Smooth pickups to and from the airports in Spain/Scotland.

Pre day 2 coming later. Currently in the midst of it, and will post more later.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Pre-day 2- waking up to Edinburgh was great. Slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and strolled around town. Spent hours at the national gallery. I love the free museums in the UK. Window shopped at the various shops around, and had lunch a pub by the train station called the Booking office. Fish and Chips baby!! Was going to go down to St. Giles, but changed my mind cause it started raining. Called it an early night. Dinner in my room was the perfect end.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Meet my guides tomorrow- Robyn and Mike.

 

[carpenta]

ROBYN and MIKE??????? If they are the same as we have had on a couple of our trips than Rapunzellover you are in GREAT hands. Thanks (again) for taking us along with you on your second trip.......you must be exhausted? Waiting here by my screen.

 

[calypso726]

Yay!!! Looking forward to reliving the Scotland ABD with you.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Carpenta-- Robyn is fab...she's probably the one you're thinking of; she has been doing this nine years, and seems to have done many different trips. Mike is a nice guy too, though quieter. He's Scottish. Is that who you meant?

 

[TXTransplant]

Robyn is getting around this summer! She was with us in Italy, went to Copenhagen, then to Alaska, and is now in Scotland!?! She's fabulous, and I thoroughly enjoyed having her as a guide!

 

[sayhello]

I love Robyn, she was one of the Guides on my Med Cruise ABD add-on. She's wonderful! Say "Hi! for me"! And you have a Scottish Guide? Excellent! *LOVE* the accent! He and David may have a fight of the accents!

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

sayhello-. What name am I saying hi from -I'm assuming your real name isn't sayhello ?

 

[Rapunzellover]

Txtransplant- yes, it seems like she gets around. She just flew in from Alaska!! Jetlagged, but still so perky and ready to go! She is gonna be fun, I can tell.

 

[sayhello]

sayhello-. What name am I saying hi from -I'm assuming your real name isn't sayhello ?

She should know Sayhello, but it's Tobi. Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[carpenta]

It sounds like the same Robyn. She is a model ABD guide in my opinion. The "Mike" I am referring to lives in Fla. so I assume not. But Robyn will make your trip fabulous.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Carpenta- this Mike has a Scottish accent. You'd know if it was him.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Day 1- Met Robyn and Mike. They gave plenty of details about the evening's welcome dinner. Then, it was breakfast and time to explore on my own for the day. Walked the Royal Mile. All of it. First, I strolled to Edinburgh Castle. This took awhile cause I kept stopping to look at various shops. Also spent about an hour in St. Giles cathedral. Outstanding place. But I was a little peeved they charge for photo
permits. I didn't buy one. I'm sorta of the mindset that a place should allow or not allow photos. Charging seems wrong. Plus many folks didn't listen (at least that's how it seemed). I didn't even try snapping a pic and you know what? It's enjoyable to just look. I forget that sometimes.

 

[Rapunzellover]

To finish day 1, the welcome dinner was pretty decent, as far as these things go. Small group of 26 total. They showed us a cute little video of the Brave crew researching Scotland, since this is the Brave tour. Got me excited.

 

[Rapunzellover]

Day 2 - in Edinburgh. Great tour around the city to get started. We stopped at #6 Charlotte street. This is where the Scottish PM lives. It's their equivalent to the white house.

Then we ended up at Holyrood Palace. Sooooo lovely. No pics inside, but fun place to see. It's the Queen's actualt residence. On occassion. She spends most of her time in Scotland at Balmoral Castle.

After that, we went to Edinburgh Castle. Now, most times, the ABD has it's finale dinner at the Castle. However, when the Tattoo is on, they go to the Signet library. We will be going to the Signet library. It's actually a nicer venue, according to the local guide. So it's cool. However, when the ABD goes to the Castle for dinner, they apparently get a private showing of the crown jewels. I'm sorry to miss that, especially since it meant spending most of my free time at the castle in line to see the jewels. When the finale dinner is at the castle, the group doesn't need to waste time doing this.

 

[calypso726]

Day 1 - in Edinburgh. Great tour around the city to get started. We stopped at #6 Charlotte street. This is where the Scottish PM lives. It's their equivalent to the white house.

Then we ended up at Holyrood Palace. Sooooo lovely. No pics inside, but fun place to see. It's the Queen's actualt residence. On occassion. She spends most of her time in Scotland at Balmoral Castle.

After that, we went to Edinburgh Castle. Now, most times, the ABD has it's finale dinner at the Castle. However, when the Tattoo is on, they go to the Signet library. We will be going to the Signet library. It's actually a nicer venue, according to the local guide. So it's cool. However, when the ABD goes to the Castle for dinner, they apparently get a private showing of the crown jewels. I'm sorry to miss that, especially since it meant spending most of my free time at the castle in line to see the jewels. When the finale dinner is at the castle, the group doesn't need to waste time doing this.

Having experienced both dinner at the castle with a Tattoo VIP Queen Mary package and farewell dinner at the Signet Library I can tell you that the Signet Library wins hands down! I was furious that first year when I saw the itinerary change from Castle dinner to library and wrote letters of displeasure to everyone and anyone I could associated with ABD. Well, our castle dinner with the Tattoo VIP package was "meh" in terms of ambiance and rather underwhelming. I wound up writing a letter back after the dinner and after my trip report update at 2 am or so thanking ABD for such a beautiful farewell dinner venue. If we were to ever repeat this ABD I'd choose to go during August so we'd get the dinner at the Signet Library and of course, see the Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo! I am so excited to be reading your trip report!

 

[Rapunzellover]

Yeah, i've seen what the Castle venue looks like online. I'm happy with the library. However, I do like the idea of the extra perk of private crown jewels viewing. Oh well.

 

[sayhello]

Yeah, i've seen what the Castle venue looks like online. I'm happy with the library. However, I do like the idea of the extra perk of private crown jewels viewing. Oh well.

I vaguely remember seeing the crown jewels before the Farewell dinner, but it wasn't any sort of a highlight. While the idea of the Farewell dinner at the Castle is great, the actuality of it is rather underwhelming. The table setting was lovely, but the room itself very plain and bland. The best part was walking out of the castle afterwards, as they had the buildings lit up purple-ish, and there was a gorgeous full moon.

From what I've seen in calypso726's pictures, the Signet library is far superior. I'd've definitely traded!

Sayhello

 

[Rapunzellover]

Day 2 continued-

After the Edinburgh Castle tour, it was off to the Scottish National Museum. We had lunch and then did a tartan activity. The tartan activity took awhile. Then it was on our own time. I walked around the museum a bit, then back to the hotel. Freshened up and then hit a pub on the Royal Mile for dinner. Fish and chips, natch.