What a day in Scotland! We happened to land there during the one time a year they had three festivals at once: The Fringe Festival (for actors from all over the world to feature and promote new works,) the Edinburgh Festival, and the Military Tattoo. The streets were jam-packed with street performers, a cappella groups, musicians, clowns and even half-naked-ladder-balancers juggling knives. I’d say it was as crowded as Macy’s on Black Friday, but not as crowded as New Years in Times Square. I went with casties on a historical tour of the underground city (as opposed to the ghost tours they also offer.) It was dark and damp, and our guide told us how people used to live, big families stuffed in tight quarters, with no sewage or electricity. They’d throw their waste out the window with a warning, “Gardeloo!” At one point, the infamous bodysnatchers used the underground to live and store the dead bodies they dug up from graves to covertly sell to the university for dissection subjects. Fascinating!
I really had it in my head that I wanted to sit at a pub and eat some local pub food like fish ‘n’ chips and scotch, and I got my wish! After we fueled up, Todd and Brooke and I walked up the Royal Mile to the Castle, where we had purchased the last seats available to the annual Military Tattoo! I am SO glad we made this happen. Once in a lifetime kind of event. What a spectacle! Royal marching bands and top-notch dancing groups from many different countries performed a 90-minute show of their best, most impressive feats and songs. See highlights below:
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| Look at what's in his right hand! |
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| Crowded streets |
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| Clownin' around |
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| Military Tattoo |
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| Highland dancers |
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| This is a group of young British daredevils who do stunts on motorcycles! |
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| Blurry because I was also intertwined with my neighbors and swaying to and fro to the national song of Scotland! |
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| Edinburgh by night |
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