Castles & Tapas: Scotland in a Nutshell

Today I oversleep. This is getting to be something of a tradition. Well, I am on vacation so what the hell. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to find Callum. He said that he'd be heading into Edinburgh today but he seems to not be home. I may have missed the Callum-mobile! I try to call his cell but the land-line is all-static-no-dial-tone. Hmmmm. I grab the keys that have been left for me and head out to try to call Callum from a pay phone. The pay phone down the block cannot be made to work. Man. Story of my Life. I walk back to the cafe down the street that pub-buddy Claire works at, thinking perhaps she'll be working and I can use her phone to call Callum.

I walk inside and there's Claire, sitting at a table with Callum and their friend Galen. Jackpot. Callum makes fun of me for sleeping so late, late enough that he's gonna give his Edinburgh commitments a miss for the day, but he can drop me at a train whenever if I still want to go. Heck yes I still wanna go! I have a quick breakfast with the gang at Claire's cafe, and Callum drops me at the station.

The train to Edinburgh is the easiest thing in the world, super fast, drops you off right in the middle on everything. I get a map and start walking to the castle. I stop off for a moment at the National Gallery of Scotland. Lots of tasty paintings. Oil paint for the soul. I make my way to the Royal Mile, turn right, and within 35 seconds I am looking at Edinburgh Castle.

Castle-y Goodness.

If you look over the railing there's a moat! Moat!

Inside the various areas of the Castle there is stuff, stuff, and more stuff, but I only care about the Highland Dancing & Bagpiping Video and the DOZENS OF HISTORICAL UNIFORMS! Yay!!!

A few faves:

I want to take you all home with me!

The vantage point from the castle is likewise pretty spiff:

To Infinity and Beyond.

After a bit I leave the Castle grounds and head back down the Royal Mile, stopping at a really cheesy tartan factory. Once you get past all the Velveeta and see the machines in action it's actually really awesome, but no photos are allowed. Drat. I barely restrain myself from buying Jody an enormous stuffed sheep. Too tricky to get home. Seb, you got lucky this time.

I hike down the Royal Mile for a bit but it's pretty dark already, so I turn around before I make it to Holyrood Palace. Maybe next time. Still, I don't really feel like I'm settling for this:

Twilight in Edinburgh.

Lucy, Callum and Claire pick me up at the train station and we discuss dinner options. The top choice is Andaluz (I'm instantly sure that it must be amazing because it's in Scotland and I'VE heard of it) but it's Friday night and the odds of a last minute reservation are slim. Lucy and I change at the house while Callum works on dinner. Naturally, NO ONE, much less the staff of a popular restaurant, can say no to the Relentlessly-Lovable-Callum?!We have a reservation!

It is not, perhaps, the first thing summoned to mind by the mention of Scottish Cuisine (Spanish Tapas, that is) but OH MAN is Andaluz fabulous! I admit that one of the best parts was the waitress discussing the Menu (Spanish pronunciation in Scotland is AWESOME). As for the food at Andaluz: it is REALLY awesome! I have Roasted cheese-encrusted Wild Mushrooms, Seafood Paella and Lime Garlic deep-fried Tiger Prawns. Hot Diggity Dog! When we've finished eating we get small glasses of super sweet vanilla liqueur, compliments of the house, which is actually really lovely.

After dinner we all hang out at the Lucy and Callum's flat until we all collapse around 2am.

Coming Soon: Venice Bound!


Notes: Money, money, money...