Day 1, part two

(I did finally find an adapter/converter at the last place that we stayed in Scotland. Great. Therefore this will wind up being a trip report rather than a live travel blog. Hopefully I’ll remember the stories along the way.)

After a nap and a shower we rallied for The 2012 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The short version is that it is a gathering of Pipe (bagpipe) and Drum corps from the UK military and others from around the world. The longer version is more interesting.

We hiked up the Royal Mile with the intention of grabbing a bite to eat before the show.  After looking in a few places we committed to a hole in the wall take-away, as they are known, called the Potato Shop. As many of you know, I’ve hardly met a potato product I don’t like and this was no exception. I played it relatively safe and had a small potato with sour cream and cheddar. It was a tiny shop buy we squeezed in to the only table with other travelers. Bellies full, we trod the cobblestones up the Royal Mile to the Castle. 

I usually take pictures of my food on these trips but many times I was hungry and forgot. This was the excellent sour cream and cheddar "tattie" more than a few bites in.

It was pretty warm, I'll agree to that.

The Royal Mile up to Edinburgh Castle

As it had been raining a wee bit (typical for Scotland I gathered by now), I donned rain pants as we would be sitting in the stands for the Tattoo. It is hard for me to do justice to the Tatoo in written form as it is fully an auditory experience. I took a few pictures but to get the real feel of it I’m sure YouTube has some good clips. 

It started with a Pictish warrior representation followed by the massed pipe and drums with pipe and drum corps from Scotland, Australia, South Africa and Canada. Then there was a dance performance and then massed bands. Next was massed Highland Dancers, Australian Defence Force band, dancers from Australia, the United States Naval Forces Europe Band, a Swiss drum group, the King of Norway's Drill Team and wrapping it up with Massed Military Bands, then the Massed Pipes and Drums before the Finale and March Out. 

My favorite was the Swiss drum group and the King of Norway's Drill Team and of course the pipes and drums. The lone piper on the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle was a moving sight. 

After the Tattoo we made our way back down the Royal Mile towards our flat. Along the way we passed several of the venues for the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festival. Feeling a bit peckish we grabbed a slice from a trailer brick oven pizza stand. It was quite good and I'm pretty sure it wasn't the jet lag talking.  Then it was off to bed to hopefully recover from the long flights and the day of walking in Scotland's capital city.

The Tattoo grounds in the foreground, Edinburgh Castle in the background.

One of the formations of the pipe corps.

All of the pipes and bands in formation.

Trumpeters, I believe, on the ramparts.

Boom! Scared me a little but I did manage to capture it with my SLR. A little out of focus though. Sorry. Still learning.

The processional out from the gate.

The massed Pipes and Drums.

Those pants are money!

What looks like confusion is the massed Pipes and Drums reversing course.

Which Tartan do you prefer?

Highland dancers.

Hopefully D got a better picture that I can share, but the figure you can just make out at the top of the ramparts is the lone piper.

The March Out.

Good Show. No, Great Show!

We stopped at this little trailer for a slice on the way to our flat. Great late night snack!