Fall Fun in Edinburgh

S had fall break that coincided with our 7th wedding anniversary so we decided to take a long weekend away to Edinburgh. S hadn't yet visited the UK and none of us had been to Scotland, so it fit the bill. Highlights from our trip below.

Thursday: Travel and early exploring
We flew out on Thursday afternoon and arrived to Edinburgh - we took the Airlink bus into the city, which was quick and convenient. Our hotel was relatively nearby with a beautiful view of the castle and a welcome card to celebrate our anniversary.
We walked up to the castle for sunset, swam at the hotel, and enjoyed an Italian dinner out. Our hotel was in a great location with plenty of restaurants within walking distance so that was a nice treat.

Friday: Super Tourist Day
Friday was a busy touring day - S isn't napping every day any more so that gives us some flexibility.
First Stop was the Zoo - it was a bit rainy but we still enjoyed the day. Highlights were the panda, koalas, super close up ostrich, and very active monkeys. S kept calling them impressive. I enjoyed some delicious tomato basil soup for lunch - I miss the yummy soups from the US here in Switzerland.

Second Stop was the Castle - we actually went in for a tour today - the castle is great with amazing views of the city and some interesting stops inside the grounds - the Crown Jewels were well done with fun story telling along the way.

Third Stop was the Whisky Experience- we decided to do the whisky tour (and yes this is spelled correctly per Edinburgh standards...in US, we add the 'e'). The barrel ride at the start scared S a bit but the rest was fun. They explained the 4 types of whisky regions and the expected flavor profiles of each. J and I each picked a different one to try  and S got to sample her first ever pop, Scotland's local drink.

Fourth Stop was dinner- a fun pizza restaurant between the castle area and our hotel - it was very kid friendly and delicious pizza.

Saturday: Relaxing and Touring
On Saturday, we slept in a bit and then headed off to explore some more. We decided to take the hop on hop off tour buses to see more of the city. S needed a potty break as we approached the Botanical Gardens so we got off and looked around. There was a large and beautiful park across the street and S played and played at the playground.

We took the bus back to the city center and had Mexican for lunch - it was pretty good. I really enjoyed it because we don't get much Mexican in Switzerland. After a bit of relaxing, J went for a run and S & I went back to the pool.

The weather turned and we were all tired so we had dinner at the hotel this night.

Sunday: Museum, Touring, and Gelato
We had fall back in Edinburgh so we gained a much needed hour of sleep. S&I swam while J exercised and then went out exploring- we took the bus tour back to Dynamic Earth, a museum about the solar system and various phases in the earth's history. S loved the play area and her new rocket ship cup.

We went back to hotel for a bit and then went to a gelato shop that I had found and looked for a park that we thought was near the hotel but wasn't. The NFL game in London was on TV so we watched a bit of that before heading out to dinner - we tried a different pizza place this night - it was quite good and S enjoyed it. Early bedtime this evening as we had to catch our cab at 4:15am the next morning.

Monday: Anniversary & Travel
We woke up to our 7th wedding anniversary - we have made so many wonderful memories and so many more to come! Our flight was on time and we arrived back in Geneva mid-morning to start another work week.

Great weekend all around! Next (confirmed) stop....Vienna in December.