Arthur's Seat, hiking in the center of Edinburgh

After weeks of 90+ degree temperature here in Milan, we were looking forward to the cool climate of the United Kingdom. We were not disappointed as a nice breeze greeted us immediately after stepping off our EasyJet flight. Despite the warnings we'd received of the terrible Scottish rain, we were so lucky (as our taxi driver told us, over and over) to have bright blue skys straight away!

While our friends from London would be meeting us that evening to explore the city for the weekend, we decided to make the most of the weather and after depositing our suitcases at our hotel, we headed straight for Holyrood Park. Our stroll along the Royal Mile was full of interesting sights and sounds since the Fringe Festival was going on right under our noses but more about that later.

Like Rome, Edinburgh is a city built on hills and Arthur's Seat is the highest at a little over 800 feet. It's not a particularly difficult hike though some of the parts on our path were pretty steep. However, the peak provides some spectacular views of the city once you make it up the scraggly rocks. The way up is very highland-esque, a comforting thought since we'd regretting not extending our vacation to allow for a trip to the Highlands.

350 million years ago, Arthur's Seat was an active volcano. Long extinct, it's now the home of lots of native flora and fauna, including some lovely lavender.

From the top, we enjoyed the amazing panorama views but quickly noticed the storm clouds approaching. It was super windy and we had to pull the sweaters out once we reached the top but apparently we dawdled too long.

That strong wind pulled the storm close quickly and we ended up SOAKED as we much more carefully made our way down from the peak. My talented husband managed to negotiate the least muddy path and soon we had a crowd following us down to avoid slipping! A foodie festival taking place at the base of the extinct volcano provided us with whisky and dry tents to warm up - too bad every rainy day doesn't end that way!