Today was another exciting day in Scotland! This morning we woke up at our current hotel, the Holiday Inn in Edinburgh, and had a delicious buffet breakfast that was provided! After breakfast, we quickly headed to the heart of Edinburgh on the coach bus and indulged in an on-bus tour. We learned about important and famous statues, historic buildings and the city itself. After our interesting drive we went over to the Edinburgh castle. We were given the opportunity to explore the castle, with or without an audio tour guide. All sections of the castle were beautiful, and fortunately the sun was shining for most of our time there! 

Next, as the Edinburgh castle was our last activity as a group, we were given the freedom of choosing what to do for three hours. Some people were eating lunch at one of the variety of restaurants, shopping, going to cafes, touring the heart of the city, and seeing architecture from hundreds of years ago. 

After meeting back up with the entire group at the National Library of Scotland, we got back on the bus and headed to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This is located at the end of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and has extensive history as the official residence of the monarchy. As we walked through the palace, room by room, we listened to a different audio for each room which would explain its history and importance. The palace and its garden that covers about 10 acres was absolutely beautiful and very interesting. 

After taking another short bus ride, we had about an hour to get off and freely walk around Edinburgh before we met back up to begin unloading the bell cases into the Greyfriars Kirk. This amazing church was in the heart of Edinburgh and was our location for our second concert on the tour. We rehearsed for a short amount of time, got ready and then performed at 7:00 for a crowd of people. 

After receiving a great round of applause, we packed everything back up onto the bus and drove to our hotel. Ending our night together, we all had dinner at the Holiday Inn as soon as we got to the hotel and then all headed up to our rooms!

-Brie and Anna