It was chilly, but not as cold as we were expecting - only because it was a lovely still night. We left the station and onto Waverley Bridge from which we first experienced Edinburgh by night - absolutely breathtaking. The whole area is in carnival mode - there were fair ground attractions - market stalls, ice skating rink, ferris wheel, christmas lights everywhere and of course the castle was all lit up. Quite incredible!
We caught a cab to Graeme's place, quickly "unpacked" and then wandered back (all uphill!) into town to find something to eat and have a look around. We were wandering around Princes Street and around came the corner was a pipeband who stopped right in front of us - great photo opportunity!
We carried on through the markets and up the hill toward the castle - there were lots of people around doing the same as us - just experiencing Edinburgh in winter carnival mode! We tried mulled wine ... Helena thought it was disgusting! We found a couple of pubs and saw some lovely sights of the city from the castle carpark. The weather was perfect - cold but still.This morning we woke to cold stormy type weather and decided to go to Leith and visit the Royal Yacht Britannia. A tour well worth the visit. It was quite cool because as you go in you get given a handset which as you move around the yacht you punch in numbers and it gives you a prerecorded commentary of each part of the ship.
The yacht looks quite small from the outside but once you start wandering around you realise how big it actually is. The furnishings while very comfortable and nice were not overly ornate or oppulent. 
Craig and Graeme always seem to find a bar, no matter where we go! Even on the Royal Yacht Britannia.
After our visit around the ship, Helena made a deal with the boys ... they could sit and relax over a beer for half an hour ... and she would go shopping! It worked and a couple of purchases (of both beer and goodies) were made.
After our visit around the ship, Helena made a deal with the boys ... they could sit and relax over a beer for half an hour ... and she would go shopping! It worked and a couple of purchases (of both beer and goodies) were made.It's now just gone 6:30pm - New Years Eve. The weather is seriously caving in - Glasgow, Liverpool and Stirling have all cancelled their celebrations, however Edinburgh are still planning on going ahead. It's bitterly cold outside and the wind has really got up. Graeme's flatmate Andrea and her partner Alan are in the process of cooking a german feast for dinner - we'll make the decision later if we'll walk up to the castle to watch the fireworks - if we do, we'll be wrapping up very VERY warmly.
Happy New Year everyone - may all your hopes and dreams come true for 2007!
