This was one of the highlights of my trip. The group had all day to explore. It was assumed they would explore Edinburgh because we had train tickets to get there and the Tattoo in the evening. I wanted to walk all the streets in a song Brian wrote about his youth called Walking Home (an entire blog will be dedicated to this as soon as I find the copy of the final project!). We did the west end of Glasgow first. As we got back to the Hotel, I really needed to change my shoes. We caught Brian and Kim on their way out. The had stayed behind to “deal” with Debbie who couldn’t walk the Royal Mile and was being a bit of a pain. They were on their way to Edinburgh as we started the second part of the walking home tour (this wasn’t a planned tour… Kevin and I made our own route and went down some side streets just to see stuff)
A LOT of old churches are now Pubs or restaurants 
Glasgow street art is now world famous 
There are 2 Jhn streets 
Across from each other 
I was introduced to Dr. Who when it started back with Eccleston 
Kevin is Dr. Who fan 
And then we got on the train 
Once we got on the train (we had 2 options and we couldn’t figure out the 20 minute train… we ended up on the hour train and it was probably a good thing because I was EXHAUSTED and needed to rest my tootsies) we realized just how tired we were. I think I napped a little on the trip. We got off at Waverly station and proceeded to be tourists along with 5 MILLION others. I was in trouble… I HATE crowds. My first thought on exiting the train station was that Ediburgh had some superb architects to use all that stone several stories in height and have it last centuries. The second thought was actually more of a feeling. I felt oppressed and weighted down. Like the buildings were leaning in on me and would crush me. I dislike Edinburgh which is VERY odd. For decades folks have been telling me how much I will LOVE Edinburgh for its arts, food, and culture. They also said I would HATE Glasgow because it was a working mans town and dirty. I found it the opposite. Edinburgh was dirty and overcrowded and Glasgow was a seriously art centered and beautifully open city! So, off we went to see the sights. Kevin REFUSED to spend ANY extra to see some of the more touristy sites like the castle and whisky exhibit. So we ended up just walking around and I had to BEG him to stop for food and tea (a couple of times I just needed to sit with a cup of tea). It was becoming an issue since I was so tired. It was also a spectacular day and Taps Aff as Brian would say (tops off because it is so warm).
A vendor at Fringe 
We all met back up to go into the Tattoo together as we had a block of seats and almost 30 folks to organize. We tried to find a place to have a toast earlier, but everything was packed to the gills with Fringe goers so Brian took out a bottle of whisky (we had been told to bring our Highland Way shot glass with us) and filled everyone’s glass and we toasted the tour!
I can’t say enough about the tattoo itself. it is exceedingly well run. You can rent a seat cushion for a nominal fee and all the seats are really good. It was really special and I am glad I have now seen it twice (saw it the next summer too). Not only is there a tremendous spectacle on the floor, but they also project images and color onto the walls of the castle. Then there is the Lone Piper… chilling. When it was all said and done, we had been up since 0700 and got back to the hotel at about 0030ish with over 36k steps on my fitbit!
operation Freedom 