Flying to Scotland

Our trip to the United Kingdom began at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. After picking up Alex at school and a quick stop at McDonald's for a late lunch, we waited at the United Club in Terminal C for United flight 0928, which would take us to London Heathrow. The flight boarded on timse at 5:20PM and we settled into our exit row seats with plenty of leg room for the eight hour flight to London. Our airplane meal was 'beef' according to the flight attendant, and Alex admitted to being 'afraid' of it, but it turned out to be tasty. Alex watched movies most of the night while J. R. tried to get some sleep.

The plane landed in London slightly ahead of our planned 7:55AM arrival time and after a very quick stop at passport control and a slightly longer line to have our photos taken, we settled in at the Star Alliance Gold Lounge in Terminal 1 with about three hours to kill before UA 7705 would take us to Edinburgh. We snacked a little and made use of the Internet to write home and tried to nap. Heading to Edinburgh required another pass through security at the inter-UK terminal and then it was a quick hour-and-a-half hop to Scotland.

The Royal Mile

Upon arrival in Edinburgh, we headed outside to catch the Airlink bus into downtown. The weather at the airport was sunny and not too cold, a major departure from how it felt when we reached downtown and stood on the bridge at Waverly Station, where the wind chill forced us to open up our suitcases and pull out our fleece hoodies. After a brief navigational error, we started our 10-minute walk to our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express Royal Mile, where we checked in and dropped our stuff off in the room before going out to explore Edinburgh's Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is one Scots mile long and runs between Edinburgh Castle down to Hollyrood Abbey, which is at the palace of Hollyrood, the royal home in Scotland. Our walking tour began on the High Street, the section of the Royal Mile between North Bridge and South Bridge.

St. Giles Cathedral

We stopped to visit St. Giles' Cathedral, also known as the High Kirk of Edinburgh, which is the principal place of worship for the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. St. Giles, for whom the Cathedral is named, is the patron saint of Edinburgh.

Up the Royal Mile

After St. Giles, we continued up Lawnmarket, towards the Castle Esplanade and Castlehill.

Edinburgh Castle

Finally, we reached Edinburgh Castle at the top of Castlehill.

Castle Esplanade

After a quick look around the Castle Grounds, we headed back down the Castle Esplanade in search of dinner.

Canons' Gait

We stopped a bar called Canons' Gait in the Canongate section of the Royal Mile, which is past North Bridge. J. R. enjoyed a pint of ale with English fish and chips while Alex opted for a burger. Following dinner, we found an off-license grocery where Alex introduced J. R. to "Irn Bru", which is a Scottish carbonated soft drink, advertised as "Scotland's other national drink". Alex and J. R. would end up drinking plenty of this soda while in Scotland.