Plan B

Plan A: Amsterdam

Plan B: Not Amsterdam

Little did Steve and I know when we moved to Scotland that the natural disaster that would cause us the most grief would be a volcano. Cool in hindsight, but last Thursday was a little depressing as we realized we would not be taking a holiday to Amsterdam. The first question everyone asks us when we tell them this story is "Why do you even want to go to Amsterdam?" Two words: Rijksmuseum & Keukenhof. The Rijksmuseum is like the Louvre of Dutch art, so I would naturally drag Steve to see it, along with other cool places like the Anne Frank House, the Van Gogh museum, a diamond museum, canal rides, etc. Reason number two - we wanted to see the tulips.

We're trying to work out the scheduling (it may take a miracle) to fit Amsterdam in somewhere in the next month and a half, but we're still at the mercy of a smoldering volcano that doesn't appear to be hushing up any time soon. Rather than being sad and miserable all weekend, Steve and I decided to carry out Plan B: making our own Amsterdam experience right here in Edinburgh. We had a great time playing tourists in our hometown. We've been here long enough that we don't really do the tourist stuff anymore, but there's so much to see and do. Since the weather has been great, we decided to go for it. From here on out, I'll let the pictures/commentary tell the story of our weekend vacation.

Dessert on the Royal Mile. Steve: Mint Magnum bar. Kristen: Solero tropical-deliciousness (aka, mango) bar. We enjoyed reading all the newspaper headlines regarding the volcano as we selected our preferred flavor of ice-cream.

Kind of looks like a cobblestone street, but it's actually the beach at low-tide. Not too bad for a 15-minute walk from our flat. It's no canal tour, but Steve got really excited about some crazy seashells.

Not exactly the red-light district, but this arcade we came across had a pretty significant impact on Steve. See picture below.

Poker machines?!?!? Steve was SHOCKED!

The equivalent of Dam Square, the main thoroughfare in Amsterdam. We happened upon the National Gallery Plaza on Princes Street just in time for some music and dance celebrations in the name of religion. The kid passing out the fliers was probably six - way too cute to turn down taking one of the fliers.

We couldn't see the tulips in bloom at Keukenhof, but we made an afternoon of it at the Royal Botanical Garden in New Town. We're definitely coming back here in the summer - absolutely beautiful!

Welcome to Calton Hill. I've wanted to explore this area for a long time and we finally did it. This is the Robert Burns monument on the east side of the hill.

Wandering down David Hume Way.

View across Edinburgh from the top of Calton Hill.

Calton Hill is how Edinburgh came to be known as the Athens of the North. Construction came to a halt in the nineteenth century, but the ruins are a replica of the Parthenon.

Paying homage to Athena, goddess of wisdom, as he contemplates his future at OSU.

Another replacement for Keukenhof, but Edinburgh is covered in daffodils rather than tulips. I love riding the bus along London Road because the street is full of bright yellow and white daffodils - they are everywhere.

Enjoying a stroll at dusk. A nice ending to a crazy couple of days.