The Last Two Weeks

It has been a while since I last posted, but it is with good reason. My family came to Scotland for ten days to visit me. We had a great time together experiencing all that the UK has to offer. It started with a beautiful day on April 1st. The plane arrived early in the morning and I took it upon myself to keep my family awake and on the move. It was a very busy day. After they got off the plane I took them back to the city center and their apartments so we could drop off their bags before walking all over the city.
We started by walking down High St. and then over to Princes St. to visit the Tourist Information Center. Then we walked up Calton Hill to take some pictures and the views. It was gorgeous. Then to keep them awake we walked to Arthur's Seat and walked up to the peak before walking back to the apartments.

We checked in at the apartments and went out to eat at Deacon Brodie's Pub. Grace was falling asleep at dinner so we went back and relaxed. The next day I had class and my family spent it around town. They saw the Castle and many other parts of town before I met up with them for dinner.

I took them down to the Grassmarket to eat. It was great just to be able to relax with them and experience Scotland. The next day we visited St. Andrew's in the rain. We ran from place to place after getting off the train and most of the exhibits were closed due to the weather, but it was still great.

Wednesday I once again had class and my family went to a couple of museums before I met them to get on the train to Manchester. It was a long ride, but we met some interesting people along the way and made it to our hotel safetly. That night we ordered pizza in to the hotel and relaxed. The next morning we walked to the Spectrum Brands facility located about a mile from our hotel. We took a wrong turn and got lost but we made it there. It was amazing to see the old factory turned into office space and showrooms. Then we rode to the Manchester Stadium and the town center for sightseeing and some shopping before our tour by one of my dad's co-workers. It was a beautiful day and the town was spectacular. That night they took us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant were I at Scottish mussels and scallops for dinner. They were delicious. Friday we woke up early to hop on the train to see Stonehenge. It was breathtaking.

Then we walked around Salisburg before catching the train to London. Once there we checked into our hostel and went to dinner. After dinner we walked to Buckingham Palace to see it at night. Then back to the room to get some sleep before waking up to see more of London. We toured Westminster Abby and walked across Tower Bridge just to name a few things.

Then we went to the train station to catch our next train back to Edinburgh. Sadly due to engine problems we had to wait about an hour and a half to get on the train and then it was a mad dash to get a seat. Complete craziness, but fun. Sunday was relaxing, we went to Easter service at St. David's and walked round the Dalkeith County Fair. It was quite entertaining to see all the dogs there.

Monday I once again went to class while my family explored town. We ate our last dinner together at Blacksmith's Forge before heading back to the Palace so they could head off early the next morning. I woke up to see them off them crawled back into bed. They made it home safetly and currently awaite my return home.