Edinburgh Day 2, Part II - The Tattoo

Our evening in Edinburgh was spectacular. We left the B&B at about 6:30 PM and walked the 12 minutes to the Abbey Bar (again) for dinner. This time we finally got our haggis, neeps and tatties - pictures of this traditional fare will be available when I upload a special "Sleeping and Eating" post in the coming days, showing the various accommodations and food we've enjoyed. Haggis is really yummy, for those wondering. A vegetarian version of haggis is available, too, though I wonder how that's possible.

The performance of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo was set to begin at 9:00, with doors open at 8:15. We were advised not to get there until about 8:45, so that we wouldn't have to wait in a big queue to get into the stadium. My Dad and I decided to walk from the Abbey Bar rather than take a bus - a distance of a little over a mile and a quarter. We still got to the top of the Royal Mile - and the entrance to the temporary stadium - too early and the lines were long. Fortunately, the Ensign Ewart pub where we had had lunch was right there and open. We popped in and had a pint to wait out the crowd. The bar owner was being selective about whom she would let in, but we cut the mustard as she remembered us from lunch.

We got through event security after our pint and we found our seats in plenty of time. Our performance was being videotaped by the BBC for rebroadcast, so it was an extra-special performance. It included a flyover by the Royal Air Force:

Below is another YouTube video, since my sleeper train video was so popular. Again, you may need to visit www.vacaken.com to view the video if you're following by email.

This video clip was taken near the beginning of the performance. Not everything was bagpipes and drums, though - there was a youth motorcycle stunt act, Korean traditional dancers and musicians, a Mexican marching band, and a Mongolian military marching band. One of the coolest performances was by a New Zealand regimental marching band - the precision marching drill was extraordinary and they mixed up their music too - they segued from a classic march song to the Imperial March from Star Wars to the marchers throwing down their instruments, donning sunglasses and getting it on Gangnam Style.
Here are a few pics of the other performances, to give you a taste of our experience:
 

 

 

Our seats turned out to be really good. Though we were at about the 30 yard line of the stadium if you think about it in football terms, we were in fact at the center of the total open space because of the extra-long "end zone" in front of the Castle to our left. Ironically, our seats were a little cheaper than the 50 yard line seats, but the show was closer to us. 
The backdrop for the show was, of course, the Castle itself. Smart and smarmy video engineers lit the castle in various ways to complement the different acts. Here are some of those visual effects:
 

  


 
The evening concluded with fireworks, a long, crowded march to the bus stop, and a grateful head-to-pillow by midnight. Tomorrow we're off to Thirsk, in northern Yorkshire, for two days. Stay tuned for all of the action!