6:30a. Awake. Pack up gear. Loads of things in one pack. Cold. As always. I think its pretty great. The hotel has been perfect. A great hub for Glasgow. It si right next to a serious train station. Queen Street. Love it. Ready to go. Check-out. Walk to the train station. Glasgow to Edinburgh at 8:30a. We are early. Station is a slight empty. Not many travelers on Sunday. Nice. Two coffees from Costa. Platform 2. And we’re on the train. Stuff our packs in the overhead rack. Found a table seat. Tiff is riding forward. I am backward. 80 minute ride. Many people boarding now. 8:30a. And we’re off. Old buildings abound. Still amazes me. Note: Everyone is skinny over here. Possibly related to their diet. Very little fast food. Also, the public transportation is great.. Many people could effectively walk to work with the aid of a Bus, Subway, or Train. Beautiful scenery all around. Read. Travel days are always exciting. Conductor just announced a platform 11 train to London from Edinburgh. Might be the one we’re looking for. Arrive. 10 Minutes early. Sweet. Platform 11 is it. A different part of the station. National Rail. No more ScotRail. Sad. On the train. Brilliant. Train to London calling at York. Awesome. This train is nice. Serious. And we’re off. England here we come. We haven’t seen this side of Edinburgh yet. I think that it’s 4 1/2 hours from Edinburgh to London. Shorter than I would have thought. Time to read. North Sea is to our left. We are on the left side of the train. Best views. Noted. Reading up on York. Getting close to England. I think.

England! We are calling at NewCastle. Fairly large city. England is flat. York is the next stop. Soon. And we’re there. Off the train. York is great. Ahh. Food festival this week. Streets are packed. Crazy. Found hotel. Can’t check-in yet. Left luggage. hotel is above coffee shop. Explore town. Old wall circling entire city. Built in the 1200’s. You can walk along the entire wall. All sorts of food. Time to find York Minster. The largest Gothic Cathedral in northern Europe. Found it. Whoa! Massive. Truly. Incredible. Closed until 1:30p. Perfect. Enough time to find food. Back to food tents in city center. Tiffany purchased a Spanish dish. And strawberry ice cream. Fish and Chips for me. Love them fishes. All finished up. Back to York Minster. 8 Pounds each. Climb the tower. view of the entire city. Photos. Back down to earth. Walk through the minster. Huge. Epic. Ceilings are at least 100 feet high. Many are higher.Old. Done exploring. Church service is starting. Organ and Choir. Back into town. Shops. Walk around. Hotel Check-IN. Room is great. Unpack. Back into town. Really a great town. We’ll need to come back someday. Food tents. I bought a vintage cheese wedge. Love it here. Walking around the wall. Mucho Explore. Time for a break. Found a park. Sit. Rest. Now for third meal. Pizza Express again. Right on the river. Lovely. A long delicious dinner. Sunset. Dark. I love British talk. Back to hotel. Bed. Peace.

Time for a bit of geography review. Edinburgh (Capital) is on the east coast of Scoland. Twenty miles from the sea. Inveness is the northern most city in Scotland. A city in the heart of the highlands. Further north yet, are a few small towns and Isles. Fort William is near the west coast. It lies at the base of Ben Nevis. The highest point in Britain. Malliag is a sea port on the far west coast. Glasgow is in the south of Scotland. It is the largest city. Know for it’s art and culture.

8:23a. They still haven’t announced a platform. ScotRail. There are 19 different platforms in the station. Overhead displays for each with trains going all over Britain. Getting a bit concerned. Tickets in hand. Platform 16! Through the turnstile. Onto the platform. In the train. Kinda jogged. Stuff our packs in the luggage racks. Find a Seat. Rest. OMG! They just announced that this train is leaving for Aberdeen at 8:29a! It’s 8:27a. Wrong train. Asked the English woman next to me for verification. Ahh! Grab our gear. Off the train. Tiffany’s pack got snagged for a bit. Press the button. Doors open. Off! Train pulled away 60 seconds later. Now to find the correct train. 5 minutes. Done. It was further up on platform 16. They split a train. Resulting in two trains on the same platform. Tricky. Stowed the luggage. Found two seats. Tiffany can’t stop laughing. I imagine the Scots on the other train also had quite a chuckle over our situation. As we literally stumbled off the train. Everything is right. Train is great. BritRail pass was well worth the buy. A train across Scotland into the highlands. Mountains/Hills are everywhere. We are sitting backwards. The lady in front of us is a writer for the daily record. Very interesting. I purchased a soda off the food trolley. One and fifty pounds. Absolutely gorgeous. Alot of Farmers and sheep on the hills. Next stop Inverness. We arrive. Train station is bigger than I expected. On the road. Hotel is a few blocks down. Early check-in. Awesome. Food? Leakey’s BookShop and Cafe. Perfect! I just ordered a coffee and a tuna/spice on bread. Tiffany ordered a cheese and tomato toastie. 1:11p. This is the largest secondhand bookshop in Scotland. Really not that big. Multiple stories of course. Super old maps. Books. Paintings. Off to explore the city. Up streets. Down alleys. Lovely little place. All sorts of shops. At the bus station inquiring about tickets to Fort William tomorrow afternoon. A quick walk by the River Ness. And back to the hotel for an afternoon walking break. Time for more exploring. It’s getting cold. Time for our third meal. A European American restaurant. hehe. Cheese Burgers for both of us. Done with food. Stop by a small shop for water and a candy bar. Aero Bar. Popular over here. Back to hotel. Organize my gear for tomorrow. Bed.

Just arrived at Edinburgh Castle. Old. Very beautiful. Purchased our tickets to enter. History. The Scottish people are filled with Passion. Free Tour! Great! Walking. Starts at 10a. Great view of the city. New Town to the left. Old Edinburgh to the right. Cold. 30min walking tour was fantastic. Our guide was very knowledgeable. Now to roam. “To the Glory of God and in Memory of the Scots who Fell.” A large military memorial. Every known name for the past few hundred years. Time to find the crown jewels. I’m in a Chapel from the 12th century. 300 years before Columbus.  Amazing. I’m looking down the barrel of a cannon from 1447. Know as “Mon’s Meg”. Two mile range. Glad we arrived early. Getting crowded.  Crown Jewels were gorgeous. Exploring the catacombs beneath the castle.

Time to visit the shops. Kilts, hats, buttons, whiskey, and beer. They drink quite a bit in Scotland. Pubs are chalk full by 11a. Drop in at the Tran station to activate our BritRail Passes for tomorrow. Train leaves at 8:33a tomorrow morning for the north of Scotland. Train station is big. Exactly what I imagined.  The correct escalator is on the left side. Same way on the paths people walk on the left. Everyone is super nice over here. It is also much quieter. Even in a large crowd. Off to climb the Walter Scott management. He is credited with reviving Scottish heritage. Record store. New Muse Album. Great! A bit more walking in new town. Time for a snack. Two coffees and a jacket potato to split from the coffee republic. More shops. Back to the Hotel. Rest. Prepping for a hike up “Calton Hill”. The hill is awesome. All sorts of ruins. Another great view. Super. This area was known as the Athens of the north. Unique. Back to the Royal Mile. Shops. I bought a flag. hmm. What next. Food. Third meal. Another local Italian cafe. Popular over here. Bella Italia. Done. Sore an tired. We return to the hotel. 7:45p. Now to pack and sleep. We wake early tomorrow for a train ride to Northern Scotland. Peace.