Mom and Dad's Trip Recap: Edinburgh-Holyrood Palace, Out of the Blue, Pubs and Tattoo

Day 2 in Edinburgh was busy! We started with a tour of Holyrood Palace and this was my first time going on this tour and I will have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The Royal properties, especially the ones still in use, are often a let down because you pay a price and you only get to see a limited area. The Holyrood Palace tour is an accompanying personal audio system which gives you a ton of history. After the tour my interest of Mary Queen of Scots was definitely peaked and I would like to read more into her life.

After touring the palace we made our way UP the Royal Mile stopping in a few shops for suveniors along the way. We made detour to Grassmarket (my favorite area) for a beer before making our way to George Square where we scheduled to see a show, Out of the Blue, that was part of the Fringe Festival. Remember I saw them last year with Kasey and it was so much fun! Mom and Dad enjoyed it and I wish our time Edinburgh had allowed for seeing a few more shows but when you only have limited time you have to squeeze in everything.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Edinburgh, stopping in a pub here and there, before heading to Fisher's in the City for dinner. We went to Fisher's in Leith with Mere and Ryan and it was delicious and I wanted Mom and Dad to experience the delicious Scottish seafood. If you are a seafood lover, this is a must when you're in Edinburgh!

Dinner was pretty early because we had the big event, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, to get to. Ryan, Kasey, Kristin and I went last year and loved it so I was looking forward to it again this year. I couldn't believe how different it was from last year which has me looking forward to next year already! This year military bands from Mongolia, Korea, Mexico and New Zealand were definitely highlights of the show but the Scottish Pipe Bands and the Lone Piper are still my favorite. You get chills when thousands of people are silent as the Lone Piper plays in tribute to those that have fought in the wars. And I know you're probably thinking Tattoo? That's a weird word to describe this event. Well, the word 'tattoo' comes from the closing-time cry in the inns in the Low Countries during the 17th and 18th centuries-Doe den tap toe (turn off the taps). (edintattoo.co.uk).

If you're debating what time of year to visit Scotland, I have to say August is best time for Military Tattoo alone. Fringe Festival is an awesome bonus and the fact that the weather is usually pretty good takes the cake. I'm so glad my parents were able to experience this and I highly recommend that you some how figure out a way to as well :)