Scotland Tour: Edinburgh, The City of

After arriving in Edinburgh and paying $20 for parking, the Heidinger tour started with the castle (dating from the 11th-century), which on a Saturday in August, was perhaps the most crowded and suffocating tourist experience I have ever been a part of. If not for the great views across the city from the castle's perch, the endless lines of people and the even more endless tale of 'the honours' would have become more oppressive and confining than the castle's deepest prison cells.

Edinburgh Castle as seen from Princes Street Gardens:

View across Princes Street Gardens and New Town from the Castle (while waiting in line 45 minutes to get our entry tickets):

View over the train station with the Parthenon-like National Monument in the distance:

On the castle grounds, it took patience and diligence to get a photo not obscured by the crowds. The Scottish National War Memorial:Crown Square, where everyone goes to figure out what to do after the anticlimax of the crown jewels:

The One O'Clock Gun:
Post-Castle, we ventured onto the Royal Mile - already geared up for the Fringe Festival - Edinburgh's celebration of weirdos. About a block into the Royal Mile we popped into the Jolly Judge (see sign on the right of photo below) for pints, toasties, and chips:

The Jolly Judge, tucked away in a wee alley, was a perfect escape before heading out into an Edinburgh that was definitely 'on the fringe.' Protesters, tour buses, St. Giles cathedral, and Britt clearing a path through it all:

Then there's this guy. I don't know if there is more than one of him - a whole troupe of weirdo clones - but I swear I have seen him at least three times in three different Scottish cities:

We decided to make the Royal Mile into a Quarter Mile and turned off into the quieter gardens. Here's the Sir Walter Scott memorial on the right:

Another view of the castle while making our way back through the Princes Street Gardens:

Two million people take this photo every year, but none come together quite as well this one with my Tern Princess: