That’s how you pronounce it like a local, in case you wanted to know.

Even in Scotland, castles and cathedrals have begun to seem commonplace (even occasionally boring) to us as we have now seen so many. After five months of travel, we get up and out the door many days to see the sights, but it has become so routine that it feels a bit like the normal tedium of regular life. We’re not quite dragging ourselves to the next thing as if it’s a chore, but we are heading in that direction.

Nevertheless, Scotland treated us well with fair weather and plenty of sunshine. We spent six days in Leith, which is a bit north of downtown Edinburgh. Perhaps it’s just the time of year, but we loved the peace and quiet of Leith, especially in the early morning and late evening hours. We could walk the wide sidewalks and pedestrian bridges as a family without feeling like we were constantly getting in someone else’s way. (On that topic, there must be a law of physics to describe the way four American children will spontaneously spread out and take up way more room than necessary time after time no matter how often they are asked to do the opposite.)

We joined all the other tourists in town as we explored Edinburgh Castle, set dramatically atop a rocky outcrop above the rest of the city. History in this part of the world makes American history seem incredibly short and simple. One of the many displays at the castle showed the numerous times the castle changed hands during a century, and people have built fortresses on that rock since the Iron Age. And the complexity of the history does not draw me in. At least on a trip like this, with kids in tow, I tend to stop reading displays and engage even less given how impossible it feels to actually understand what I’m looking at. Fortunately for me, an attraction like the castle offers amazing views and all kinds of nooks and crannies to physically explore as a side to the heavy main dish of information.

We left the crowded castle to find St. Giles’ Cathedral, a church with over 900 years of working history. I regret not being able to attend a service in this beautiful building.

On another sunny day we went to see the super modern Scottish Parliament Building. We mainly went to see the interesting architecture, not realizing the significance of the Scottish Parliament, which was founded a mere 27 years ago! The original Parliament of Scotland ceased to exist when Scotland merged with England to become the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. Scotland’s own elected officials now have the power to legislate in many areas. And by the way, Scotland athletes compete as part of Great Britain. Scotland is a country but is not a sovereign state.

A short walk across the street brought us to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish residence of the British monarch. We couldn’t take any pictures inside, but we wandered through many impressive and elegant rooms, including the bedroom of Mary, Queen of Scots. King Charles spends a week here each year, so it was interesting to walk through a building still used by royalty. We added the courtyard to our list of lunch spots with a view.

Also notable in Scotland: a fun yarn-shopping excursion for me where I walked seven miles and checked out all the major yarn stores in Edinburgh. And Jude turned two! We celebrated with a special playground trip, scones, and Simnel cake for his birthday treat (a fruitcake traditionally served at this time of the year). He did so well blowing out the candle and then screamed when he grabbed it and burned his fat little hand.

Even with our flagging enthusiasm, we could’ve spent a lot more time in Edinburgh, and we would like to explore the wilder parts of Scotland as well.