Here comes the “Bucket List” trip – a golfing adventure to Scotland and Ireland.  The reality of this long planned trip begins to sink in when the clubs are packed and shipped —

Once the clubs are on their way, it is our turn.  After a mere 24 hours, we arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland for a couple of nights to get our body clocks adjusted.

In our one FULL day to wander Edinburgh we walked the ‘Royal mile’ – with all its shops – on our way to Edinburgh Castle, taking in the beautiful sights along the way —

Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline of the city today and has probably done so for almost 2,000 years.  Recorded inhabitants were on the hill in 100 AD, due to its strategic position.  Buildings were erected and modified for hundreds of years as the Scottish royalty made this their home.  The complex includes housing for the queens and kings, dungeons, a chapel, battlements (complete with canons) and anything else a royal palace needs.

Queen Mary of Guise, champion of the Catholic faith against the Protestant Reformation died here in 1560.  Her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, gave birth to James VI here in 1566 (he later followed Queen Elizabeth I to the throne as King James I in 1603 and united Scotland and England).

The Castle today houses the Scottish Crown Jewels and the Stone of Destiny (no pictures allowed😔).  Also, the ‘parade grounds’ in front of the castle are the site today of the famous Tatoo.  Another tradition dating back to 1861 still followed today is the firing of the ‘One O’clock Gun’!  This was done historically to allow ships in the Firth of Forth to set their maritime clocks before setting sail.  Today,  it is just fun for all the tourists to see —

By now we were ready for afternoon tea.  So – off to The Balmoral for a wonderful, relaxing, delicious afternoon☺🍾👏 — yes, that is the Balmoral in the background —

And, the tea was ‘lovely’ and ‘scrumptious’!!

Now – E & G on to St. Andrews and GOLF⛳🏌️‍♀️🏌️👏👏