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<\/a><\/p>\nWe spent the rest of the day meandering up the Royal Mile back to our hotel.\u00a0 We stopped into the Museum of Childhood for a snack and a play. \u00a0The museum which has historic and modern toys as well as exhibits on schooling through the years and child health also has some interactive play areas for the kids.\u00a0 We then returned to the hotel and had a nice, traditional dinner at the restaurant next door.<\/p>\n The next day we took the train to Glasgow which took just under an hour each way.\u00a0 Unfortunately we got off in a downpour and our first stop was to Penneys department store and H&M to buy warmer and dry clothes!\u00a0 When the rain subsided we walked to The People\u2019s Palace where we had lunch at the caf\u00e9 in the winter garden and toured the museum which chronicles the city\u2019s history from 1750 to present times.\u00a0 The girls though the inside garden was kind of silly and enjoyed the first part of the museum.\u00a0 Unfortunately, my parents are more into museum reading than I am (I\u2019m more the look at the stuff and read a label if something catches my eye type visitor) and by the end the girls were exhausted and had put their silly pants on and removed their listening ears.<\/p>\n After a rest on the train back to Edinburgh, we breezed through the National Gallery of Scotland which is a free museum.\u00a0 We aren\u2019t really art museum people and with the kids didn\u2019t last long, but we saw some nice art and used up a bit of our afternoon.<\/p>\n That afternoon we took turns doing the Real Mary King\u2019s Close which is a bit of a spooky tour of the historic streets of Edinburgh from back during the plague times which are now buried deep under modern Edinburgh.\u00a0 Hubby and I went while the girls napped and my parents went when we returned since it was not a child friendly experience but I really enjoyed it.<\/p>\n After nap, we ventured out to find an Irish pub where we could watch the Ireland rugby game and celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day away from Dublin but quickly learned the rules on pubs and children are different in Scotland.\u00a0 In Dublin, children were allowed in most pubs before 8 pm but apparently in Scotland a pub must have a special license for children to be allowed in so we ended up back at the restaurant by our hotel instead where hubby tried haggas.\u00a0 I am usually a very brave eater and will try most anything once, but haggas was not something that I was interested in trying!<\/p>\n That afternoon my mom stayed with the girls while they napped and hubby, my dad and I visited the John Knox House which I really enjoyed.\u00a0 The house has been restored and tells the story of the famous past residents and hubby, dad and I spent a good amount of time racing to complete the puzzles before stopping for a pint at a historic pub.<\/p>\nWe then had lunch at a caf\u00e9 at the shopping center and caught the bus back to the city centre and headed to the Palace of Holyroodhouse which has served as the official residence of the Kings of Scotland since the 15<\/span>th<\/sup> Century.\u00a0 The visit included touring the royal apartments, including those of Mary, Queen of Scots and a visit to the ancient abbey.\u00a0 The girls didn\u2019t understand too much of the history but were able to appreciate the little things and we talked a lot about how things were different back then.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\nThe third day (hubby got in the night before), we hopped back on the train and headed to Linlithgow Palace about 20 minutes outside Edinburgh and was one of my FAVORITE places we visited in all of our adventures.\u00a0 The palace, where Mary Queen of Scots was born, burnt in the 1700s and so is lacking a roof, furnishing and even some floors but you are still able to wander, explore and experience the palace and use your own imagination to picture how the Kings and Queens of the past lived.\u00a0 We spent hours just wandering through, getting lost, losing each other, finding each other and exploring the winding staircases and empty rooms.<\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>The next day we wandered the other way up the Royal Mile (Holyroodhouse is on one end, Edinburgh Castle on the other) and we took the girls to the Scotch Whiskey Experience.\u00a0 Yep, we\u2019re those parents (they\u2019ve also been to multiple breweries and distilleries) and Honeybun\u00a0can still tell you about the ride in the whiskey barrel and Sugarplum thought the room full of all the different kinds of whiskey was so cool!\u00a0 We also stopped by a woolen mill and watched some tartan plaid being spun.<\/p>\nWe then headed up to the Edinburgh Castle where we visited the National War Museum, Regimental Museums, Royal Palace, St. Margaret\u2019s Chapel and Crown Jewels.\u00a0 It was a lot to see and very busy with tour groups.\u00a0 Some places we had to take turns visiting because it was so crowded we couldn\u2019t get through with the buggy.<\/p>\n