Mom and Dad make me tired.

Today was a long day. I woke up at 8:30 - which, when living on the Cowgate is not an easy feat because you have drunkards screaming out your window until 3 AM - so I could shower, get dressed, and catch the bus to the airport. I arrived at 10:05, they had landed at 9:52, and they came out of baggage claim around 10:30. From there, we went to their Bed and Breakfast, which is small but clean and in a very residential part of town.

After showers for them, we began walking up Nicholson, the main road into town. I figured it wouldn't be a long walk (of course, I walk everywhere since I got here), but I had forgotten exactly how far the taxi took us, and it was uphill all the way. Mom was knackered. About twenty minutes after leaving, we found a pub where we had lunch. Mom and Dad both had fish and chips, and I had chicken tikki masala.

From there, we walked up Nicholson, and I showed them a couple of places on the way to my flat. Mom and Dad think my room is small, but Mom took a nap in my bed while Dad and I walked for an hour and a half on the Royal Mile, the tourist-laden road that leads up to the castle. Mom agrees that the bed is dead hard and difficult to sleep on, especially with all the noise coming up from the street.

When we woke her up, Dad and I took Mom to the Royal Mile with us. I, for one, am used to the hills by now and don't think twice anymore about walking up and down them, but Mom was still way tired from the trip and had a hard time getting up the long, steep hill which is the quickest route from the Cowgate (my road) to the Royal Mile. I guess they didn't go on enough long walks before coming here, but I'll take it easy on them from now on.

We went into St. Giles' Cathedral, which Dad tells me is the birthplace of Protestantism (probably something he learned from his guidebook). He kept asking me when we were walking up to it, "But what's so great about it?" I told him about fifty times that it is absolutely gorgeous inside, but I'm not sure he believed me until he saw it. He did take a picture, but technically you're supposed to buy a photography pass for two quid, so he only took the one.

From there, we went up to the castle. I think Mom and Dad were really impressed, especially by the Honours of Scotland - the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny. Again, though, the hills and stairways in the castle tired Mom and Dad out. They did like, however, to see the soldiers' dogs cemetery, as well as Mons Meg - a huge cannon, a picture of which you can see from my first visit to the castle.

We then went to the Scotch Whiskey Experience, something I knew they'd enjoy both for learning about scotch whiskey and for the hour of sitting and relaxing. In the tasting, we were given a dram of Balentines each, which Dad says he used to drink in his youth because it was all he could afford. It wasn't very good, let me tell you. After the first sip, you're offered some mixers, so I put some Irn-Bru into mine - the first time I'd mixed scotch and Scotland's favourite pop. I quite enjoyed the results, and so did Mom: we both think that the sweetness in the Irn-Bru really complimented the whiskey. Dad thought it was too sweet. We then learned about the distilling process and the history of scotch whiskey.

From there, we went to a restaurant back on Nicholson called Ciao Roma. The waiters all had Italian accents, which was pretty cool. Our dinner was delicious, which was even better, especially after a long day of tourist-ness. By 7:30, Mom and Dad were at a bus stop waiting to get back to their B&B, which I hope they actually do end up finding. I guess we'll see tomorrow, because I'm supposed to meet them at 9:30.

Dad's pictures will eventually go on my Shutterfly page so that it's easier to share them with everybody. Pepe comes on Wednesday and they'll be touring around Scotland without me, but we'll probably meet up again on Thursday before they go to Paris. I join them Friday morning, and we'll see what sort of plans they have for themselves after that. Don't worry, I'll keep them safe and make sure they don't get lost!