What to See in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle would be my first recommendation. This wonderful castle is perched on a mighty rock which is an extinct volcano and is very evidently the perfect location for a fortress in the area as far as your eyes will be able to see around it. It is a powerful national symbol and the history of the country is almost completely inextricably linked with it in every era since it was built.

Fed Up with Canadian Cell Phone Coverage

Have you ever noticed the difference in cell phone coverage when you travel abroad? Perhaps it is only me, as I live in the worst country for it, Canada. There is something about this country that has me actually dumbfounded when it comes to our approach to mobile coverage. We pay more, but get less. If anyone can make sense of this please feel free to add to the discussion, or perhaps join me on parliament hill. Yet, I do feel as though I speak from experience.

Edinburgh - a winter wonderland

Booking a trip to Edinburgh? There are so many things to plan ahead, whether it’s getting your tickets for the Edinburgh Festival in the summer and booking into the shows you want to see, or getting ready to visit the Winter Wonderland, an amazing attraction and home to the biggest outdoor ice rink in Europe. If you’re visiting over the new year period, you can be part of Hogmanay, the world’s biggest new year’s street party, where partygoers and new year’s revellers roam the streets drinking, dancing and wholly ignoring the cold to watch the fireworks at midnight. If you’re there for the entire holiday period, you can also visit the German Christmas market great for kids, where you’ll find delicious sweet treats, more sausages than you can shake a stick at and some cute German stocking fillers for Christmas Day. If you’re a history buff, you’ll be spoilt for choice with so many old buildings steeped in history, from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the royal residence and notorious one-time home of Mary, Queen of Scots, to Grassmarket, the site of a cattle market from the 15th century until the start of the 20th, a focal point of the Old Town. Once the city’s main place of execution, over 100 martyred Covenanters are commemorated by a monument at the eastern end, where the gallows used to stand.

Tour de Scotland

Although you would not think that Scotland is a favourable place to ride a bike, you would be surprised at how enjoyable it can actually be. I am not stating that I am the next tour de France winner, but I do ride frequently, and I have a difficult time leaving my bike at home when our family goes on lengthy trips. I contemplated for weeks whether or not I would take it along with me to Scotland, as the country is well known for hills and dangerous roads. Yet, in the end, I thought it would be more beneficial to have it than to regret it. I am sure glad I came to that conclusion.

Upcoming Events this November In Edinburgh

On the 12 of November 2011 Eddi Reader will be playing at the Queens Hall In Edinburgh on Clerk Street. For those of you who have never heard of her, Eddi Reader, the daughter Welder and the eldest of seven children, was born in Glasgow and spent her early life living in one of the slums of the city. She began to play the guitar at the age of ten and started her busking career in Glasgow and later Edinburgh.

She is a national treasure and it is hard to imagine that she was once a busker on Glasgow’s Sauchiehall street. For those of you who are old enough to remember, she was once the lead singer and songwriter of Fairground Attraction.