Adam:  Today we spent the entire day walking around “Aid-en-buh-rah-scote-lun”, the capital. We had the best weather day of the trip – simply gorgeous and a beautiful city in which to walk around. After a full breakfast, we headed out on foot to Edinburgh Castle. Afterwards, we walked down the “Royal Mile”, the main road through the city. Everyone here sounds like Groundskeeper Willie; it’s quite fun to hear the chatter. There were plenty of shops selling whisky, cashmere, and all sorts of Tartan gear, and I think we probably visited more than half of them.

Brenda:  We had a nice day in Edinburgh today. We got up fairly early and got a full English breakfast here at the hotel, then walked about 2 miles to the Castle of Edinburgh. There was much ado in the streets, and we discovered that today the Olympic Torch Relay was scheduled to run down their main street at 4:00 p.m. They had bleachers and bandstands set up at the base of Edinburgh Castle, and everything in the area was going to be shutting down around 3:30.  

View of downtown Edinburgh from Edinburgh Castle.

More of the castle; first started around 1000, still in use today. It was the seat of Scottish government for over 700 years and the birthplace of many of the Scottish kings and queens. We learned all about James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots, who became James I of England, Scotland and Ireland. After 1707, Scotland united with England and the seat of government was moved to London. The crown jewels are still here, however, and the place has 1000 years of history all its own.

We went shopping on the Royal Mile after we were done with the castle. They have shop after shop of cashmere and wool sweaters, each more gorgeous than the last. I wanted a cashmere sweater something fierce, but the one I liked best was £125 ($191) so I didn’t buy it.

One of the shops had a working tartan/wool mill in the basement, and that was really interesting. On the upper floor, they had replicas of medieval weapons, and a guy to explain them to anyone interested. He spent a very long time answering all of Holden’s questions, most of which had to do with weapons that would be the most useful during a zombie apocalypse. Guns were no good, we learned, because they run out of bullets and after awhile there wouldn’t be enough bullet-making people left alive to keep your weapons supplied. The very best thing was called a War Hammer. On one side it had a big claw-like thing perfect for bashing in zombie skulls, and the side opposite was a huge spike. The tip was also a spike. The guy demonstrated how it was the ideal weapon for piercing armor or bone, and you could use it with equal effectiveness from horseback or on foot. It was also perfect for stabbing in a restricted area if you didn’t have room to swing your arm. And best of all, it doubled as a can opener. All in one tool!

Wool Mill

Walking down the main street in Edinburgh. The Olympic torch is passing through here this evening.

The day took a giant downturn about this point. What is an adventure with pestilence? This is when Josie said to me, “Mama, my head itches.” I got to looking at her head, and found that my baby daughter was infested with head lice. All other plans were cancelled, and we went scrambling for a pharmacy. The lady said, “We have these two kinds of treatments, which would you prefer?” and we said, “We’ll take ALL the kinds. Give us everything you have.”

I spent the rest of the afternoon locked in the hotel bathroom picking through Josie’s hair with a nit comb and dousing her head with some stuff that looks like mineral oil. Hundreds of bugs died and got scraped off her head. It was so disgusting I can hardly stand to think about it. She took it with incredible calm, which is surprising but definitely a relief. It would have been even worse if she’d been freaking out.

I looked up head lice on the internet and found out that by the time they get to the itchy stage, they’ve probably been living in your hair for 2 months or more. I very painstakingly picked through everyone else’s hair and didn’t find anything, so it seems as though the rest of us may be spared. We have lots of lice remover now, though, so we’re prepared for it if I see another bug.

Now it’s bedtime and everyone is all tired out. Josie’s hair, despite 4 shampoos, still looks greasy from the lice treatment, so we’re going to get up early tomorrow and give her yet another scrubbing. Then we’re packing into the Land Rover and heading back to England, to the Lake District. Adam has it all planned out, but honestly I was so preoccupied with the lice I didn’t pay much attention to him when he was telling me what he had lined up. It can be a nice surprise when I get up in the morning, and something to discuss over breakfast.