Whoah! Three days since the last update! That is a record for this trip.

Well it has been because we have been kinda busy here in Scotland. I still love this country even thought it has done nothing but rain since we've been here. Enough with the idle chatter though, we have a lot to get through so get comfy......

Ok, where did I leave off? That's right, six fringe shows in one day. Right then, the next day we set aside as our explore Edinburgh trip. We started out early and made our way up the stretch of road they call The Royal Mile (which is a mile and a half, but you get that) to Edinburgh castle. I know I've said this before, but wow. I mean, just wow. It is built on a cragy old volcano and commands and amazing view of the city. They reckon that the first buildings up there date back to the 4th century. Hopefully soon I can upload the photos because you really have to see the place. Like a lot of other places we've visited on this trip, it was a history lesson. On several occasions, the place has been under siege, and they hardy Scots have been able to hold out in there for years at a time, and once you get up there you can see why, nobody would be able to climb up the rock that it sits on.

That took a good part of the morning and then into the afternoon, and once we had taken in as much history as we could take, we started the amble down the royal mile (which is a whole shit load easier than the climb up, I'm tellin' yoo jimmy). Lots and lots of tourist shops, which the locals affectionately refer to as tartan blanket shops. There is some interesting stuff amongst the tourist rubbish though, most notably the whiskey heritage centre and the tartan mill where you can see the stuff being made.

A quick beer in the afternoon, and then we toddled off to see another fringe show. We met the performers for this show in the cue for tickets the other day, and their show seemed pretty interesting so we went along (the fact they gave a 2 for 1 didn't hurt their cause either). They were from Boston and their show was called Anger Box, which was a collection of nine monologues supposed to reflect contemporary american life, warts and all. To be honest with you, some worked and some didn't, but the ones that did were both confronting and moving.

We then ran off to catch another show, The Big Value comedy show. Absolute champagne comedy. I can't remember the names of the four stand ups right now, and the guide is up in our room, but just take it from me that they were funny.

Yesterday, it was time to get out of the city, so we got on the bus and headed out to St Andrews, the home of Golf. No golf on this day though, because it was bloody pouring. I mean pissing down, and the course was soon flooded and closed. I was a little disappointed not to get a round, but not as disappointed as the hordes of rich americans on their golf package holidays. We did get a bit of a stroll around the hallowed turf though, which was good. We also checked out the British museum of golf, and browsed some of the 17 golf shops in the town (of 17,000 people). Since it was raining so heavily, a good proportion of our day was spent in the local, and we had the local bottle conditioned ale, which was one of the best beers I have ever tasted. Certainly the best one I have had here.

We got back and caught one more fringe show, Colin and Fergus. They are supposed to be these up and coming comic geniuses, but I reckon they are just a bit over rated. I am going to go out on a limb and say that while our fringe has less shows, I think they are of a better standard. I realise what a massive generalisation that is, but hey, it's my blog and I'll call it as I see it. Following Colin and Fergus, we caught up with one of our rover friends from home Cathy, and had yet more beers (who can see a pattern emerging with this holiday....)

That brings us to today. Today I did something I have always wanted to do, and that was visit the Scottish highlands. Let me tell you I was not disappointed. Not by a long shot. We went on a one day tour with a company called Haggis, they have been on Getaway, and are pretty much talked up by every guide book you can get your hands on. It was excellent. Our Sean Connery sounding tour guide was really funny and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the area and Scottish history. Once again, you really need to see the pictures to appreciate how stunning the scenery is, it's a little too late at night for me to be creative enough with words to do them justice.

The ultimate destination of this Highland fling was of course the very famous Loch Ness. Karen and I went on a boat cruise around it, and I was lucky enough to snag a picture of the monster. True story, you wait until I find a net cafe that will let me upload photos and I will prove it. You'll see....