We arrived in Edinburgh after a long day of travel. We've settled into our apartment, hung up the clothes, walked the neighborhood and located the grocery store. This is our routine when we first arrive at a new place and it works for us. It's getting easier and more efficient the more we do it. We're in a good location about three blocks off the High Street or Royal Mile. Everything in Edinburgh seems very walkable, although much of it is either uphill or downhill. First impressions are that Edinburgh is very, very old with lots of gray stone buildings and cobbled streets. Everyone is very friendly and smile and stop to talk on the street. We walked to the Royal Mile and started near Edinburgh Castle to walk this most famous mile (actually a bit more than a mile). From the Castle, the Royal Mile is a downhill walk; conversely, it's uphill coming back. However, we did find more level streets a block or two off the Royal Mile to make the trip back to our apartment a bit easier. Regardless, we walked about 7 miles our first day but it seemed easy as there is so much to see and many places to break our journey and take a break.

We walked the Royal Mile where we passed tourist gift shops, Scottish woolen shops, whisky shops and lots of pubs and restaurants . Street performers and beggars alike work the crowds for money and its a busy, happy atmosphere. At the top of the Royal Mile is Edinburgh Castle, and we're saving a visit there for another day.  We could see the tops of the scaffolding and seats erected for the Military Tattoo that begins next week. We're going to see about tickets for it on Monday when the office opens. We stopped in stores and worked our way down the crowded street towards Holyroodhouse Palace at the end of the Royal Mile. We toured the Palace and learned about its history. The Palace is a residence of the Queen and her family and they stay there every summer. On July 1 every year, the Queen hosts a Garden Party for 8000 important Scottish people on the great lawn of the palace. We toured the gardens and about a dozen rooms on the main floor. The rooms are beautiful as is the architecture of the palace. It's built in a square around a central grassy courtyard with three stories decorated with Greek arches, each level different .

After touring the Palace, we began our climb back up the Royal Mile, stopping for drinks at a Turkish café and later in the evening for dinner at Jamie Oliver's restaurant. We really enjoyed the ambiance and the meal at Jamie's Italian. It was better than I expected a celebrity chef's restaurant to be. Home made pasta, fresh salad, and a very elegant room.

The next day we went walking again and discovered the University of Edinburgh, just a block off the Royal Mile. The original building is magnificent and inspiring to those who currently study here in this historical setting. We even saw a plaque dedicated to Charles Darwin who studied medicine here. We passed by the little statue of Greyfriar's Bobby, the tiny Scottish terrier who stayed loyal to his master for years even after his master's death. We ended this day at Mussels Inn with a wonderful dinner of mussels and wine.  

Today is Sunday and its so quiet in our neighborhood. It rained last night and the streets are damp and sky is cloudy. No one is on the streets and I can only hear an occasional car or siren in the distance. We'll go out for a walk later to enjoy the cool weather.