The Fringe, day one.

August 20th -- We got up and dressed this morning and left the apartment a little before 10am. We had decided to see a production of Hansel and Gretel. We arrived at the venue and bought our tickets for the 10:30 show. The venue looked to be a building of one of the colleges and the room was what would be considered a large conference room. It was set up with folding chairs and had an area set up in one corner for the production. The room probably only held 20 people. With so many shows, they figure out how to set up shows everywhere. Regardless of the set-up, it was a great show. It was a combination of a live show with music and a puppet show, with Hansel and Gretel as the puppets. The show was just at an hour and the kids really enjoyed it. The cast was 6 college aged guys and girls. Again, they were really good and we were off to a good start with our show selections. We left the show and walked up to the Royal Mile. By the time we got there it was raining slightly so we decided to find a restaurant for lunch. We found a place for lunch and were glad to get in out of the rain. Before we had been able to get into the restaurant, we had been handed a couple of fliers and one was for a family-friendly comedy show. It was located just a 1/2 block down on the Royal Mile from where we were eating and was at 2:00pm. We decided this sounded like a great idea given the weather. After lunch, we had a little time to kill so we went into the Children's Museum, which was also located on the Royal Mile. It is basically a museum of children's toys from all over the world. The best part was it had a few toys to play with so it was a great way to kill 30 minutes. We left the museum and walked to the Radisson to see the next show. The show was set up in one of the hotel conference rooms and again, was very small, with just a small corner of the room set up for the performers. The show was completely sold out and the room was packed. The show was called "Who's Afraid of the Brother's Grimm". It was, as their bill said, a "magical mix of comedy, music and HanselRumpelGretelPunselCinderDumptyLocks". It was hilarious and again, kept the attention of the kids. So far we are 2 for 2. After the show, we walked a little further down the Royal Mile in search of a Christmas Store so Amy could buy a Scottish Santa. We found the store...and the Santa. By the time we exited the store, it had stopped raining and the sun had come out. We walked back up to the "performance area" of the Royal Mile and quickly the kids found some more shows to watch. One of the shows on the stage was a guys a cappella group. They were really good and we decided we would like to go see them. Unfortunately, we found out they were already all sold out through the weekend. So, as Amy and the kids sat down to watch another street performance, I searched the guide for one more music show for the day. I found a show called "In The Pink", an all-female a cappella show. Best of all, it was starting in 20 minutes and was nearby. So we all headed to the show. It was in a much larger venue, with actual theater like seating. While the girls were good, 3 shows was probably a little much for Austin. I ended up having to take him out because he couldn't sit still. We weren't sure if it was a 3rd show or because it wasn't "fast paced" enough for him. So, Amy and Abby finished up the show and then once it was over, we all headed back to the apartment with another fun day in Edinburgh under our belts.