Another Day at the Christmas Market

This morning started off rocky. We had wanted to go to a movie, because three movies were leaving the theatre, but they all only had one run time and it was the same run time. So after I got him up, we struggled to figure out what to do.

When I was done doing some random work, I checked my mail from school and there was a letter about the Highland Trip. Here’s what’s up:


Basically it's going to be a regular tour they're organizing that weekend, but they're willing to put on an extra bus for us, if there's enough people. The cost of the tour is 99 Quid including food and accommodation for two nights. That's 20% off the normal price. The tour leaves on Saturday, Dec 15 and comes back on Monday, Dec 17.

Here's an itinerary the company sent:

Day 1 - leaving Edinburgh, we head straight for the Highlands. First stop is Stirling and Braveheart Country (William Wallace, King Robert the Bruce and Rob Roy). There you’ll hear all the history and legends, with plenty of walks and time off the bus. Then we wind through some of Scotland’s finest glens (stunning mountain valleys - if you didn’t already know!), including Glen Garry, Glen Nevis and breathtaking Glencoe (hear about the massacre of Clan MacDonald). Then it’s onto the Atlantic coastline staying at Stromeferry, our home for 2 nights. We also sometimes stay in the beautiful village of Plockton - famous for the TV series Hamish Macbeth.

Day 2 - A full and active day round the Isle of Skye, with lots of walks and time to take in the magic. You’ll see the Cuillin Mountains, the Old Man of Storr (an incredible Jurassic pillar) and hear some amazing legends, visit the fascinating Kilt Rock, and take in absolutely awe-inspiring panoramas in the Quiraing. Perfect preparation for a few wee drams in the local pub, to reflect on a day of tales and legends.

Day 3 - Our first stop is a visit to Eilean Donan Castle (where Highlander was filmed) followed by a spot of monster hunting on Loch Ness (of course!). In the afternoon it's time for an emotional visit to tragic Culloden battlefield (Bonnie Prince Charlie’s last stand) before winding our way through the Cairngorm Mountains. Our final stop (time allowing) is a gentle walk through the beautiful Hermitage Forest. Finally, home to Edinburgh, tired and happy honorary Scots!!

I think we’re going go, even though it’s 59 quid more than the trip they took a few weeks ago. I think my only concern is that there doesn’t seem to be a tour to a distillery. Are they closed at this time of year? Or is it just before we’re going on a Sunday? You’d think that if we’re going to the Highlands we’d have at least one trip at a distillery. But hey, I guess we’ll get to a distillery eventually. So cross your fingers that this works out. I’m pretty excited about it, since my attempts at pulling something together short notice for London were not going very well. Too much holiday stuff getting in the way.

So after a somewhat bumpy start to our day, Ray and I finally made it out to Princes Street Gardens for some good ol’ Christmas enjoyment! We got off the bus near the Ferris Wheel and went into the market. We weren’t sure where to start. So we wandered down towards the merry-go-round and we stopped at a hat shop. They had fedoras and I had Ray start to try them on. Sadly, his head was bigger than 59cm, so none of the hats fit him right. Then we looked around and decided against getting something to nosh on just yet. We went behind with the Highland booths were and looked out over the skating rink and started to walk down towards Waverley Station.

That is when I started to try to take pictures. I was getting a few good ones, but not all of them were awesome. I’m working with this “taking pictures in the dark” kind of stuff. I really can’t believe how difficult it is. As I struggled to get a picture that accurately captured the amazing sites I was seeing, Ray and I decided not to go into the ice dome and started to walk back towards the German Market. I tried to talk Ray into ice skating, but he doesn’t feel brave enough at this point in time to try. I hope to get him out on the ice before the rink is gone. I know he would rather just walk on it, but that’s not the way that it works.

In the market, we went straight to the meat stand to try to find some meats that would be sendable to the states. The lady said a bunch of Americans had just bought a bunch of meat and insisted it would get through customs. Our problem was that we wanted to send our meat. We agreed on a vacuum sealed package. We bought a turkey sausage for ourselves. Then we looked around more and Ray and I got an little nativity scene for ourselves. Then we found the perfect present for Ray’s mom.

As we walked back up the market to make sure we hadn’t missed any booths, Ray and stopped at Fuerzangenbowle and got some hot red wine with fired rum-sugar and a small slice of orange. Omg it was amazing. We were hesitant, because we had a bad red wine experience up at the university. We’ve come to the conclusion that people here drink wine just to drink wine. They don’t even care about the quality of it. After that exciting little stop, I got Ray to stop at the Apfel Strudel place next door. They had waffles with vanilla crème and black cherries. Omg, it was heavenly. We were having such a great time talking and enjoying the wonderful tastes and smells. I tried feeding Ray is last bite and I dropped it on the ground. He was so disappointed. And that’s when I decided to cheer him up by taking him to Burger King, because he had been begging for a taste of America!

So we walked down Princes Street to Burger King. I stopped in the Disney Store read quick and saw some wonderful holiday Pooh stuff. Ray actually said I should have gotten the set of four holiday mugs, but I decided to think about it first. No you can’t get them in the states, you’d have to order them through www.disneystore.co.uk. They also had an ornament I think I want to purchase, but I’m not sure. It’s a Winnie-the-Pooh in a stocking and it says 2007. And it’s small, so I could easily pack it to take home. Once we left the store and made it into the crowded Burger King, things were a little frustrating. We got in a line with a very slow girl, so we jumped lines. But right before we jumped lines, a bunch of obnoxious “youths” were being really crazy and started to head upstairs to the second level seating area and they were stopped by the manager who essentially forced them out of the restaurant. Then she had to deal with them lingering in front of the building. It was awesome! Those kids got so owned. And that was our first show of the evening.

The menu at Burger King is greatly altered from the American menu. The only grilled chicken they had was on a baguette and was Pri Pri chicken (chunks of grilled chicken in a spicy hot sauce). The other two sandwiches were breaded and looked only mildly enticing. Ray got the whopper, because, well, that’s what Burger King is all about. We ate upstairs and it was quiet. We talked about random things, as we always do. We’re so in touch with each other and can talk about everything. We talked about music and who influenced our musical tastes and about Christmas and his little write-up he did about his first month. We really just enjoyed being together, like we normally do.

Once we finished and cleaned off our table, we went back out onto Princes Street to catch our bus, but not without me dragging Ray into Waterstone’s Books. I wanted to see if they had some blank books or helpful books for traveling. I didn’t really find what I want, but Ray supposedly found a present for me and was in a hurry to get me out of the store so I wouldn’t find it. We did see a handbound copy of The Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born comic and the Heroes comic. They was pretty sweet!

When Ray finally dragged me out of the bookstore and across the street to the bus stop, our bus miraculously came in a timely fashion. I snuggled against Ray standing in the pram spot on the bus, because we had heard loud obnoxious noises come from upstairs. And before long, we understood what those noises were. At the bus stop in front of Cineworld was a train of at least a dozen kids coming down the stairs and jumping off the bus, some stumbling over their acrobatic feats. Then three adults followed. Everyone on the bus was just laughing and how the kids just kept coming. It was like the circus and one of those tiny clown cars. It was seriously a laugh riot! That is show number 2.

And then we were home. We quickly fell into our own routines until. . .Omg. . .saw the musical episode of Scrubs that we’ve been waiting to see! Totally awesome! It’s the musical version of Scrubs and you can buy the soundtrack on iTunes, which is how we found out about it. God we love Scrubs. And Beth will love this. . . during the Everything Comes Down to Poo, there is a large amount of “crotch spectacle.”

Once that was done, I did my uploading, played some games, and intended to talk Ray into watching some of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares before I head off to bed. It was a good day and I only hope tomorrow night’s Christmas concert goes this well! I wonder if they’ll have waffles?

(certain parts of this entry have been removed to ensure Christmas Surprises!)