Email Update from Friday, April 13, 2007

Well, the big news in the Castro household is that we now have the Internet in our home!!! So I promise to email more frequently and if you have emailed me and I haven't responded, I promise I will be emailing you back shortly.

Easter weekend saw our very first adventure. We had planned to go to Paris, but upon booking, we discovered so had everyone else! So, we decided to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, and take our first long distance train ride. There were still seats available and many places to stay once we got there. I have to say that the train ROCKS! It is my new favorite way to travel (for distances of 5 hours or less). There is no 2 hour wait at the airport before departure (you arrive just in time to jump on board before the doors close), no hassled security checks, and you get to see the countryside. In fact, I got my first glimpse of the North Sea about 3 hours into the trip.

We arrived at the Edinburgh Waverly Station, which is situated in the center of town. We had a cabbie take us to our little home away from home, the AmarAgua Guesthouse. It was a very nice little B&B about a mile away from the city center and next to a bus stop, which meant we got a little peace and quiet at night and were never more than 5 minutes from all the action. Breakfast was cooked to order every morning and served by our wonderful Portuguese host who gave great tips for our daily plans. I think his wife was the chef because I never seemed to see her in the mornings.

On our ride to the B&B, we marveled at the architecture and look of the city. It is very, very old and many of the buildings are original and some have even been around for close to 900 years! It's got a very Gothic feel to it and everything is built in a very grandiose fashion...large spires on top of the cathedrals, huge monuments to different people, and very intricate carvings in all of the structures.

Because Edgar just loves Scotch, and we were in Scotland, we had to take the Whisky Heritage tour. Notice I spelled Whisky without the "e"...only whisky made in Scotland can leave the "e" out. I guess I did learn something but it was a little too Disneyland meets Scotch making. We did get a souvenir glass and a shot of whisky (well Edgar got four shots of whisky because he did a tasting afterwards), so I guess it was worth it. Next time, we will probably take a trip to the Highlands and see a real distillery in action.

We also did the Mary Kings Close tour. A "close" is a narrow street between buildings. Basically, in 1753, the city decided to build a new Royal Exchange building in this area, so they tore down the top floors of the existing buildings, leaving the bottom floors as foundation for the new building. So in the tour, you get to walk through this underground city and learn about life when chamber pots were emptied twice a day, via a cry of "Gordi Loo!" and a thrust out the front door...the bubonic and pneumatic plagues killed scores of people...and of course, the old ghost stories. Of course no one lives there now, unless you believe in all the ghosts they tell you about! They are really big on the spookiness in Edinburgh. There are haunted ghost tours on every corner and they claim to be one of the most haunted cities in all of the UK or maybe even the world (their words, not mine).

That was enough tourism for us, so we decided to get back to nature and climbed to the top of Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park, at the suggestion of the inn owner. It was a great hike and the top provided a complete panoramic view of the city and the sea...breathtaking. That evening we hung out with some locals at the Flying Scotsman pub and listened to a live 2 piece group play Scottish music. Their music was great and we had fun with our new Scottish friend, John Alexander...quite a character!

We decided against touring the famous Edinburgh Castle. When we walked up and saw loads of chartered buses, we thought it was maybe a little too commercial. But the castle itself is beautiful and sits on top of a cliff. I'm sure the inside holds many treasures and surprises, but it was our last day and we had more to explore.

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF OUR TRIP ON YOUTUBE...YOU CAN SIMPLY CLICK ON THE "EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND" LINK TO THE LEFT UNDER THE "VIDEO" CATEGORY.

All in all, it was a great first trip! Edinburgh is beautiful and three days is plenty of time to see the city. Lucky for us, the Monday after Easter is also a British "bank holiday" so we had an extra day to hang out in Richmond together and get ready for the week.

This morning, I've just booked our next trip.....to PARIS!!! The Eurostar will get us there in 2 hrs and 45 minutes. I've found a great place to stay just a five minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. To say I am excited would be an understatement. We head out on May 25th and return on May 28th...now that will be a report!

I hope everyone is doing well!! Drop me a line if you get a chance! Like I said, promise to have better response time in the future.