Our First Taste of Scotland

On this day one year ago, we visited Edinburgh Castle. The castle, with it's restored interiors and sweeping views, is awe inspiring to say the least. There was so much to see from a Military Museum of the Royal Dragoons to the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny.

All this wonderment came on the heals of a marvelously full day spent exploring the expansive ruins of Hadrians Wall, driving through Northumberland National Park, and our first views of ruined gothic abbeys.

We got a general feel for Edinburgh on the public bus ride to downtown. But other than the Sir Walter Scott Monument, which is hard to miss, we didn't take the time to see much else in Edinburgh. We finished up at the castle in the early afternoon and rode the bus back to our hotel. Needless to say, by this point we were ready to slow down a pace. So we drove to a mall for dinner and a movie - Avengers: Age of Ultron no less which was released a week early in the Great Britian. We all enjoyed the much needed respite before continuing north the next day on our driving tour of Scotland.