Di and Cam

For the August bank (public) holiday we decided to go up to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival. The Fringe Festival is an annual month long comedy festival with established and new acts from all over the world. Everyone we talked to prior to going had lots of good things to say about the festival and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

We went up with one of Di’s workmates, Kirsten, and her boyfriend, Billy. We travelled up on Friday afternoon on the train where we enjoyed a bottle of wine and views of the English countryside. After around a 4-hour trip we arrived and set off to find our hostel. Kirsten is from Edinburgh so she was able to direct us straight there and after checking into our modest 'lodgings' we were picked up and driven to Kirsten’s parents' (John and Mandy) house where we were treated to a delicious home-cooked meal (leek and potato soup, shepherds pie and avocado jelly for dessert - green, but great!) Again, a big thanks to John and Mandy for their hospitality - you guys were two of the highlights of our trip!

The next morning we got up and started exploring around Edinburgh. We found some interesting markets that were behind an old church. What was a little odd about these markets is that they were amongst an old cemetery with stalls leaning on and covering up old gravestones - a little odd! The photos below are of the markets and grave stones:

We then met up with Kirsten, Billy and John for a guided tour of the city and beyond. We started by driving to the Forth Bridge. Then we went up to an artificial ski slope, which had good views of the city. We then drove up to Arthur’s Seat. Going to Arthur’s seat was great as it was one of the places that Scott and I (Cam) visited on our trip to the UK in 2002. We were then dropped off at the Royal Mile, having circumnavigated the city.

The photos below are of Cam in front of the Forth Bridge; Kirsten, Diana, Billy and John up the artifical ski slope with Edinburgh city in the back ground; and a view of the city (with the castle and Scott Monument) from Arthur’s Seat:

After getting dropped off we walked up to the top of the Royal Mile where all the street performers in the Fringe were. (For those of you who don't already know: The Royal Mile is the main historic street in the city which runs from Edinburgh Castle at the top to Holyrood Palace at the bottom). One of the best street performers we saw was a guy from Canada who made amazing balloon animals including Homer Simpson, Elmo and Daisy Duck (all complete with bobbly eyes). After watching a few street performers we headed off to the ticket office to book our first comedy show, ‘Pappy’s Fun Club’ where we headed straight away.

The pictures below are of a lamppost bulging with fringe advertising; Di in the queue for tickets; the balloon sculptures; Di at the Fringe; and an advert for Pappy’s Fun Club:

That night we again met up again with Kirsten and Billy for a Dinner out. I (Cam) had Scottish salmon (yum) and Di got the Haggis, which was the consistency of a dry hamburger patty and actually tasted quite good! After the dinner we headed out to a late night stand up show which was also very good.

After some fun getting the hostel shower to work the next morning (well late morning) we were off for a "boozy snoozy " lunch with Mandy, John, Kirsten and Billy. This consisted of a three course meal and half a bottle of wine each....... needless to say the title was correct. Despite to the repercussions of the lunch we then headed for another comedy show: 'The House of Windsor'. This was another great show but couldn't top Pappy's. That night we headed to the headlining show of the festival: Ricky Gervais "Fame" (the guy from the TV show "The Office") at Edinburgh Castle. We didn't really know what to expect of this show as Ricky didn't really impress at the Live Earth concert but he had obviously been holding back and the show was great. It started off with traditional Scottish Pipers and then Ricky came out. After the show we headed out for a few drinks then off to bed.

The photos below are of Edinburgh Castle and of the Pipers at Ricky's show:

On Monday (being our final day in Edinburgh) we decided to do some touristy activities. This started with the an open top bus tour around the city. We then spent the rest of the day exploring though we didn't have time to see inside the castle - an excellent excuse to go back sometime in the future.

The photos below are of Cam on the open top bus and Di by Holyrood house at the bottom of the Royal Mile:

That is all. We have just got back from our big trip to France and Italy, so look out for those blog's soon...

Take care