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Yesterday the taxi picked us up at 4am to get to the airport to fly to Edinburgh, or actually that was yesterday’s yesterday – we’re re-jetlagged but it was worth it. Edinburgh is amazing. It is my favorite city and to be here for the Fringe fest has been amazing. We got to the AirBnB about 9am (thank god for early check in!) and all fell apart in one way or another. But by noon we were raring to go. I walked into town and the girls tool the bus. It’s probably easiest to spilt the post into Edinburgh usual awesomeness and Fringe-related fun.

Edinburgh being Edinburgh

Edinburgh is built on seven hills. The castle stands on one and looms over much of the city. It is so easy to see how Harry Potter was written here. The castle looks and feels amazing. And there’s an “upstairs downstairs” feeling to the city, especially near the castle. The downstairs area is built into the hill of the castle. It feels super cool and haunted and timeless. Away from the castle is almost feels like an ivory town sort of situation, but near the castle it is seedier and more palpable.

We walked down the Royal Mile. It’s old and preserved. No murals painted here. So many churches and graveyards. (We saw the grave of Adam Smith.) So much stained glass and in-church tombs, which I love. We stopped in St Gile’s Cathedral, Greyfriars with the memorial to the dog and the Witchcraft Museum. You can see Kate posing with Isobel Cowdie, the queen of Scottish Witches (vintage 1662).

Kate and I saw two Fringe performances. Miles and Dan Just Might Break a World Record Tonight was a fun collection of sketches. It was fast paced and funny. And we saw a preview of several shows at the Three Sisters. We’re going to have to see if the host has a Titanic show in the festival, Aine would love it. The Fringe is amazing. We haven’t planned anything and sadly the one show that caught my eye (I was in a Sitcom with Eden She aka Sue Heck) is sold out for the nights were here. We might see if there’s anything last minute available. Or we might see if there are other performances we’d plan around. Or we’ll keep it to the Free and cheap Fringe shows that you can usually walk in and you walk by. It is fun to see the artists out touting for their own acts. Some folks clearly enjoy that more than others.

Finally the amazing parade we cam across on the way to the bus home. It is a parade from the Tattoo, which is a huge annual celebration of the military.