Our flight was mercifully uneventful, though we both could’ve used a couple of hours more sleep. It was a bright and early 7 am when we landed in Edinburgh, and it wasn’t long before we were whizzing towards the city centre on the newly-opened tram. We entertained ourselves with eavesdropping on the surrounding Scottish accents and were tickled at how accurate Robin Williams’ impression of them was (at least our inability to understand them without some serious effort; be forewarned, it’s a rather expletive-laden impression).

We awoke to a lovely breakfast of eggs and bacon and fruit. For David, he sampled black pudding, a Scottish specialty, which is essentially pig’s blood sausage. The flavour transported him back to Colorado and his grandmother’s blood sausage. After chatting with Kat, the owner, and some Aussie guests about the general state of world affairs (as is customary with such international gatherings). We were soon on our way, up the only road that ventures further into the Highlands. We drove through the Rest and Be Thankful Pass and through some amazing countryside.

After a brief flurry of packing and breakfast toast, David and I were out the door, making a quick stop at the printing place to print off some documents needed for the car rental. We hopped in a cab and were greeted with another jovial Scotsman, who entertained with information about the Highlands. Picking up the car rental was surprisingly painless, and we were soon met with our Vauxhall. D was eager to get driving and embrace the challenge of wrong-sidedness, although I had more than a little trepidation.

So my endeavour to feel less sick seemed to pay off in the morning, as my sore throat had largely subsided; however, my sinuses were definitely feeling stuffed. We had actually slept in ’til about 9am, which was novelty after the 6am starts of the last few days. David blissfully made breakfast (left-over trout with cream cheese on toast), and we eventually got ourselves together and out the door. First on the docket for the day was the Palace of Hollyroodhouse, situated at the end of the Royal Mile.

We awoke at a surprisingly decent hour in the morning, enjoying a spot of toast and jam before heading out to D’s first meeting of the day. We stopped briefly at the Victor Hugo deli to grab some needed caffeination. D noted that their lattes (at least at this place) tasted different, almost cinnamony. It was then off to the University of Edinburgh, so we walked across a large park known as the Meadows to reach the campus.