Arthur's Seat, Scottish Parliament, rain

Jam-packed first day in Scotland:
1) Hike up Arthur's Seat for a spectacular view of Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth, and the surrounding area. The walk was a little more vigorous than we reckoned for (at one point we had to walk up an extremely steep and long grass hill, followed by scrambling up nearly sheer rock faces to get to the absolute top. And then slippery shale the whole way down). But the view was absolutely worth it, and the exercise felt great.
2) Tea at Clarinda's, a tea shop near Scottish Parliament and the Queen's Palace in Edinburgh. Delicious scones, tea, and sandwiches, and a respite from the rain.
3) Walking up and down the Royal Mile, looking for the Walker and Taber tartans (both my family names)  and ogling all the extremely touristy Scottish merchandise (tartan bags labeled "my wee Scottish bag," tea cups in the shape of a lamb, and scotch whisky flavored condoms at the cash register, to name a few!). Pretty unbelievable!
4) Tour of Scottish Parliament. The entire building is in the shape of a tree branch, and from an aerial view the four tear-drop shaped sections of the building look like the hulls of boats moored against an island. It is made almost entirely from Scottish materials (Scotch oak, stone from Scottish quarries, etc.) and has ultra-modern technology (touch screen voting consoles at each desk!). The entire building has a thematic emphasis on transparency, with the shapes surrounding the windows symbolizing curtains drawn wide open to the public. The debating chamber itself has abstract outlines of people on each wall, representing the people of Scotland looking in on their decisions (the abstract shapes have also been compared to bottles of whisky and cricket paddles). We also spoke to the guards in the chamber, who told us about how Scottish Parliament came to be established and the major differences compared to the system in "Westminster."
5) We attempted to go to Edinburgh Castle, and then got caught in a horrific downpour with the loudest thunder and lightning I've ever seen. Retreated back to the hotel to regroup before the Ceilidh (Scottish folk dancing party!) which turned out to be a blast! The band was great and it was a lot of fun dancing with everyone. Check out the same Flickr link below to see the pics :)