When I woke up on the first full day in Scotland of my vacation with my husband I was in awe of the amazing Castle view we had out of our hotel room window. It was without a doubt the best view I have ever had out of a hotel window.

When we headed downstairs to enjoy our breakfast buffet we discovered an annoyance with our hotel. Only one elevator was working which meant that in the mornings it was better to take the stairs since everybody who was checking out of the hotel each morning was fighting for space on the elevator. Not to mention waiting for the elevator could easily take three to four times longer than just taking the stairs. I have always had mixed feelings about the breakfast buffets that European hotels have had for us on our travels. I have always loved the food but since we almost always travel in the spring I also always feel like I am in a battle to not get sick from all the people coughing and sneezing all around us and the food.

We had decided before arriving in Edinburgh that the first time we would want to see on our first day after getting ready would be the most obvious thing and that was Edinburgh Castle. The Castle was obviously very close to our hotel, but it also involved climbing the hill to get there.

Our first day in Scotland but sunny but windy and cold.

Still, as we would soon experience sunny and cold is a lot better than rainy and cold. We took our time exploring Edinburgh Castle. The castle offered some truly amazing view of the city below.

Inside the various rooms of the castle there were great displays of things ranging from swords to clothes.

When we were in the great hall of the castle we enjoyed a great lesson on Scottish clothes from the middle ages.

There was also a lot to learn about the history of the Scottish military. This included checking out very old cannons.

Not to mention a military prison at the castle.

We stayed at the castle until closing time. We then began to explore the Royal Mile that leads you away from the castle.

Among the interesting things we saw on the Royal Mile was a memorial to witchcraft persecution.

There were also some beautiful churches.

The Royal Mile is full of clothing stores that sold lots of beautiful sweaters made of Scottish Wool and Scottish Cashmere. I wanted to buy a sweater, but I had to be honest with myself since I live in Los Angeles. I had to think really hard if I needed to spend close to a hundred dollars on a sweater that I might wear once or twice a year or if I wanted to save my money for something else. I decided to save my money for something else.

Although we had been a bit cold at times during the day at the castle because of the wind we were really cold once the sun went down.

As much as I hate visiting American chains when traveling to other countries we found ourselves at a Starbucks, so I could use their restroom and get some coffee to warm up. Not to mention I was a bit jet lagged and I needed caffeine to keep me going.

After making our way to the end of the Royal Mile we realized we had to head back up. The climb back to the top of the hill was tougher because it was up hill, we were more tired, and it was colder. Once we got back to the part of the Royal Mile that is closer to the castle we looked around for a place to have dinner, but we found everything required a reservation. To avoid either of us having a good meltdown my husband and I decided to once again eat at the restaurant at our hotel since their food was good and they had good prefix menu. But before going back to hotel we did snap a few pictures of Edinburgh Castle at night.

I enjoyed haggis for the first time for dinner once we were back at our hotel restaurant.

We turned in a little early because it was the night of the spring forward time change and because we had a day trip to Glasgow planned for the next day and we had to get up early to catch a train.

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Here is a description:

Justin Gomez and his sister, Terri, have never been close. Separated by nine years and distant in adulthood, Justin and Terri have little in common, except for the love of her three children. In the days before they embark on a road trip to visit the father that once abandoned them and their now deceased mother, both Terri and Justin are dealing with unexpected changes in their lives. Justin surprisingly realizes he might want more than a series of one night stands after a first date goes unexpectedly well. After a lifetime of being a strong type A personality, Terri is forced to confront the reality of the end of her marriage. As they hit the road, with Terri’s children in tow, they find themselves forced to rely on and confide in each other following a devastating event. Confronted with memories from the past and challenges from the present, Terri and Justin must dig deep and unearth the truth about themselves and their parents in order to build a new family based on their love for each other.