Our Grand Tour Plan

Is it crazy to think about a 12 week, 12 country journey through Europe right now? Maybe, but our girls are getting older and we want to make memories. This trip is a year in the making and we're 66Les mer
Here we go!

The clouds over England were amazing at sunrise!
The Adventure Begins in Edinburgh

We've been mostly awake for almost 30 hours now. We're trying to get on track as soon as possible so we still need to stay up for a few hours, so we decided to head straight for Edinburgh Castle. It'sLes mer
Fish and Chips and Haggis

We ate at Bertie's and the fish and chips were great! I also liked the haggis, but that got mixed reviews from the girls. - Sean
Lodging: Cosy flat near Edinburgh castle

ALTIDO is delighted to welcome you to this charming flat ideally located in the heart of Edinburgh, where city life awaits you around every corner. The area is very handy for visiting all the city’sLes mer
Scotchbroom

Look, there's scotchbroom everywhere in Scotland! Should have kept it here!
Holyrood House and Scottish Parliament

The grounds of Holyrood House at the bottom of the Royal Mile are beautiful! We also stopped by the Scottish Parliament.
Ah, Holyrood Palace or, as it's formally known, the Palace of Holyroodhouse!Les mer
Tollbooth Kirk

- Willow
-----
This eye-catching, Gothic structure stands like a sentinel at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, near the iconic Edinburgh Castle. Built in the 19th century as a church, it's noLes mer
Royal Mile

St Giles Cathedral was beautiful, with a statue of Albus Dumbledore...er, I mean John Knox.
The statue of a stool is in honor of Jenny Geddes, who started a riot by throwing a stool at the bishop inLes mer
Greyfriars Graveyard

We took a tour of Edinburgh's old town and went into Greyfriars Graveyard, which is now used as a public park. In the graveyard we saw the headstone of Greyfriar Bobby, a dog who allegedly stood watchLes mer
Edinburgh AirBnB

The views from our room
Lunch at Cafe Andaluz

Delicious Tapas - Sean
Grassmarket

We're staying at Grassmarket. Our room are those paned windows up at the very very top. We have quite a spiral staircase to climb every time we go up. This was originally the hanging square.
The pubLes mer
Anya's Favorite Illusion

Where she was taller than Willow...
Camera Obscura

This house of illusions right next to Edinburgh Castle has one of the few remaining Camera Obscuras. The woman who invented it was almost accused of witchcraft when people saw the moving pictures. ItLes mer
More pictures of Edinburgh Castle

The picture of Edinburgh Castle on the rock is my favorite from our visit. - Sean
Dark History Tour

Don't worry, Éowyn had headphones on and listened to the Encanto soundtrack. We had the BEST guide, Jenn, and she led a group sing along of We Don't Talk About Bruno down the walkway to the RoyalLes mer
The Birthplace of Harry Potter

JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter at The Elephant House in Edinburgh. Many places inspired her, including Victoria Street right outside our room that you might notice looks a bit like Diagon Alley!Les mer
Walk Along the River Ness

Éowyn needed to run around, she told us. So we went for a walk along the river and a park in Inverness at sunset.
Lodging: Inverness Unit by Norman

Lovely spacious apartment situated a stones throw from the River Ness within the Tomnahurich St area of the City Centre. An ideal place to stay for either 2 couples or a family of 3, 4 or possibly 5Les mer
Inverness Tour

Inverness is a cute little town up in the Highlands near Loch Ness. I wanted to come see it because of the ties to Outlander and the Battle of Culloden.
We took a tour this morning to find out whatLes mer
Outlander in Inverness

Feel free to skip this post if you don't want to nerd out with me over Outlander references.
Rohan

Éowyn was confused when I told her she had to stop so I could take a picture here.
Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle

The only Loch Ness monster we spotted was a swan. Urquhart Castle was very neat! Although in ruins, that just made it more picturesque.
Looks like we missed Nessie by just a few days - this isLes mer
Firsts

In the last few days, this girl has gone to a new continent for the first time, ridden on a train for the first time, and is now super excited to ride on a bus for the first time (we're on the way toLes mer