When we got up with the alarm at 7, the Weather Channel app said that the temperature was 52 and felt like 49. Luckily, we'd packed for chillier weather than Florida.
We went back up to the room to wash up at 8:08 and we were back in the lobby within 20 minutes. Folks were already on the bus and we wound up sitting behind the Nova Scotia couple again. Roseanne had mentioned it to those of us on the outing last night, but now she told the whole group that we would be shifting back 5 seats every day. This would have us in a different quadrant of the bus each day. Seemed like something that would require concentration, but there you go.
With our local guide Moira on board, we departed at 8:35 on our Edinburgh tour. A lot of the things that she told us, I'd read about in the Rick Steves Scotland book before we'd left home. It was nice to be reminded of those. New information was about Calton Hill and the tower on it that was visible from our hotel room. The tower was built in honor of Admiral Lord Nelson and was an upturned telescope. There is a ball at the top of the tower, which is slowly raised up a white cross just before 1:00 pm. At 1:00 pm, it is lowered again. Unfortunately, we failed to see this happen later today.
At 9:26, Alistair let us off of the bus below the Royal Mile, as close to the castle as possible. The Mile is rather steep here and my knees did not enjoy it one bit.
As we got closer to the castle, we could see the preparations for the Royal Tattoo that would take place in August. (We'd chosen not to take this tour then, because of the crowds and the higher price.) The guide left us to go get tickets, which gave us time for photographs.We took the opportunity to get a selfie with the castle behind us, which I posted on Facebook later, because it was really good.
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| View to New Town and the sea |
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| Looking up from the battlements |
The Great Hall was interesting, but I liked Laich Hall ( second photograph) better. When James went off to London to become king, he promised to come back to Scotland often. He came once., which seems pretty much in keeping with a guy who did nothing to keep his mother from beheaded. (Of course, with her dead, he became Elizabeth I's only heir.) Anyway, they'd rebuilt the palace for his visit in 1617. Above the 15th century fireplace they put James's coat of arms as the first king over Great Britain and Ireland. It is a Scottish unicorn joined by an English lion. Rather impressive and clever coat of arms.
It's a simple little chapel and I missed the opportunity to take a photo of the window of St. Ninian, who brought Christianity to Scotland in 397, or of William Wallace. And, I don't really remember noticing them in the first place. I did photograph the lovely one of St. Margaret and one of St. Columba, who spread Christianity in Scotland in the 6th century. St. Andrew, Scotland's patron saint, is in the stained glass behind the altar, but not very clear, I'm afraid.
We managed to squeeze in a few minutes to stop in the gift shop on the way out. I found the pins, postcards, etc. that I wanted, but the line was incredibly slow. K went off to use the restroom and when he got back I was still in line. The young woman in front of me was having some sort of credit card issue. When she left to get another card, the clerk called me up and started my transaction on another register, which I really appreciated. He was very impressed that not only did I have my own bag, but it actually folded into a small pouch that hung from my purse. Purchases in hand, I, too, rushed off to the restroom. We managed to get back to the bus by the designated time of 11 am.
It took about a half hour to get to the other end of the Royal Mile and Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is commonly called just Holyrood Palace. As we walked from the parking lot through a construction area, I tried to watch for landmarks to help us get back. While we waited for our tickets to be purchased by Moira, we noticed the Scottish Parliament building peaking between other buildings. It's really quite modern. The queen will speak there, I believe, when she comes to Holyrood for her annual stay in a few weeks.
Holyrood (usually pronounced "Holly-rude"), on the other hand, is anything but modern. It's built where King David I had built an abbey in 1128. The name means "holy cross". Not only is it one of the current queen's residences, but Mary Queen of Scots lived here, too. Here her personal secretary was murdered by repeated stabbings right in front of her by agents of her jealous husband. This scene was quite memorably depicted in last year's movie, Mary Queen of Scots, which my older daughter and I saw over Christmas. (We came out of the film hating every man in her life.)
I was interested to note that the two gates we saw were not the same.
From the courtyard beyond the gate where we entered, you could see the Salisbury Crag's and Arthur's Seat, which is an 822-foot-tall remains of an extinct volcano. (A mother and her daughter left the group at the end of this visit to the palace to climb up there!) The crag's are in the first picture and Arthur's Seat is visible beyond the elaborate fountain in the second. Nice dramatic clouds in that second photo.
Before going in to the palace, we were given an intro in near the fountain. We were told how the greeted when she comes. It's a lot of pomp. We were told who'd lived here, what happened here, etc. Our tickets gave us headsets and access to the palace, abbey and gardens. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside the palace. There was a lot to see in there and several staircases to climb and descend. We could photograph the inner courtyard.
K had caught up to me by the time I was ready to go out to the abbey ruins. We barely had time to look around there and duck into the shop for souvenirs. The first abbey photo is from the courtyard.
We had some trouble finding our way back to the bus, but we weren't the only ones. We saw some people going out on a street that I knew we hadn't gone down. I finally recognized the passageway through the construction and led a group down it. We were at the bus at 12:30 as required, but three people were missing. The guide had to go off looking for them. A couple of them came from the opposite direction of the one she'd taken. Meanwhile, I used the bus Wi-Fi to find out that it was now 60 degrees, but felt like 57. That made sense, because it was windy and sunny. Finally, at 12:47, we were on the road. Alistair dropped us at the hotel at 12:55 to have lunch and do what we wanted until it was time to gather for the next optional excursion.
By the time we got to our room and could look out the window, we found that it was too late to see the ball drop on the Nelson memorial.
Thanks to the hotel's free WiFi, we were able to use Google to check for food around us. We headed up to the Royal Mile and turned left.This part of the street has traffic. You can see how this goes downhill.
We made our way to Tempting Tattie on Jeffrey Street, arriving at 1:25. It has an unassuming exterior. Inside, we could see counters with seats along the window and sides and then a type of deli display case. We decided to go for it. You choose the size of your baked potato (tattie) and then what topping you want. The baked potato is hot, but the topping is not, at least not when it is put on. However, given a few minutes and a bit of mixing with the potato, it warms up. K ordered a medium-sized potato with cheddar for Ł 3, 90 and chose a peach Coke Zero for Ł 1,40, because it was a flavor we haven't seen at home. After asking what it was, I chose a medium Coronation Chicken for Ł 4,30 and a Diet Coke Mango, because, again, we don't see it at home. We sat at the window, with an unfortunate view of trashcans, but also the street. My chicken was terrific with a bit of curry and some raisins. K liked his potato, too.
We left there at 1:50 and strolled back up the street. We stopped at a shop, where I found 3 postcards for just a pound. At another shop, a pin and sticker cost Ł5,25. We walked past a house that I refuse to go in, that of John Knox. Mary Queen of Scots had shown him to be absolutely horrendous to her, and, based on what I've read about him, I have no doubt about it. He was a religious firebrand, who seemed to truly hate all things Catholic.
We got back to the room at 2:34, which gave us a few minutes to get ready for our optional excursion to Rosslyn Chapel. We were seated on the bus at 2:58 and it departed 2 minutes later. I tried to watch the scenery, but I must admit that I fell asleep, as I usually do on a bus.
As we neared our destination, K woke me. I checked the weather, as I could see that clouds were gathering and it was windy. The temperature was 61, feels like 58, and rain wasn't expected. When we arrived at 3:28, Roseanne went off to get our tickets, as we disembarked from the bus. (Should I be calling it "coach", the way she does?) When she came back she told us to take some time to roam around the outside of the church, but to be sure to be seated at 4 pm for the hourly talk. Plus, we could only take pictures outside of the church, which was a shame, because the inside is amazing.
We had watched a travel video at home that gave quite a good tour of the church and told of its background. Rick Steves did a good job of it in his book, too. Evidently, it plays a big part in The Da Vinci Code, which neither of us has read or seen. We were there because it has been described as "the Bible in stone".
It was started in 1446 and intended for the burial of the St. Clair family. It was never finished as a church and wound up as just a chapel. After the Scottish Reformation, it fell into disrepair, as so many Catholic churches did. However, Romantics like Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott latched onto it. Queen Victoria visited and suggested that it be restored. That took quite a while. Current members of the St. Clair family, i.e., the Earl of Rosslyn, put quite a lot into drying it out- the roof had been off for quite a while- and fixing it up. There's a terrific visitor's center, too.
Amazed by the stonework and details, I took a lot of photos of the outside.
Inside it was cool, so I kept my coat on. I had a twinge of disappointment, when I saw that the Sunday services were not Catholic. I'd hoped that when it was restored, it was restored to Catholicism, too. The talk was good. There were things said that we'd seen in the video, but it was good to be reminded. We were told about the one magnificent column that was supposedly done by the apprentice and the master killed him in a fit of jealousy. The heads of the master, apprentice and the apprentice's mother are carved elsewhere in the chapel. There is such a mix of imagery inside-Catholic, pagan, family, Templar, Masonic and more. After the talk, I roamed around with a laminated guide, looking for the things on it. It was difficult at times. It was a good scavenger hunt. K went downstairs to see what was there and report back, so as to save my knees.
Leaving K inside the chapel, I went to find the restroom and check out the visitor's center. It had exhibits, kids activities and more. There was a nice gift shop and I bought several items. On the way to the bus, I took these pictures of the chapel through the trees and the nearby village.
When I got on the bus, K wasn't there. In fact, he freaked me out by being late and the last one onboard. We left at 5:10 and we were to the hotel at 5:47.
We went up to the room to deposit things we didn't need and to look into dinner, as everyone was on their own tonight. We headed out at 6:20 to go up the Royal Mile to see about eating at Deacon Brodie's Tavern. K really wanted to eat there, because it is famous, in the Rick Steves book, and he works with someone named Brodie. As we approached the Royal Mile, we saw police on each corner preventing environmental protestors from blocking the road. They'd been down at Holyrood earlier.
Near the city buildings, we came upon Oor Wullies, who seemed to be their version of a town art piece like the bears in Berlin, lions in Munich, lizards in Orlando, etc. They would all be plain and given to an artist or a group to decorate. The sign said he was part of a Bucket Trail (he is sitting on a bucket) and this one is named "Cultural Celebrations". He does seem quite merry.
When we reached the tavern a few minutes later, people were outside, eating, drinking-and smoking. That was a no go for us. Inside, we found out that after 6, dinner was only served upstairs. So, we climbed the long set of stairs, with me using both handrails to help pull myself up. There were quite a few people standing in the doorway of a large room that had a bar on the right side and tables to the left and center. While I went to the restroom, K waited to ask about a table. The wait time was a good half hour, but he wanted to do it. So, he took the pager downstairs, after being told he must come back as soon as it buzzed. She was quite adamant.
Not wanting to stand around that long, I asked K if he'd mind, if I went down the street to check out St. Giles Cathedral. He didn't. So, I left him there at 6:30 and walked down, taking photos as I went.
I followed others inside the church. However, when I saw that it was Ł5 to go in, I was unwilling to pay to see what Rick Steves described as a non-ornate church, which was, of course, the way Knox liked it. I took photos in the entrance and headed out.
On the way back to the tavern, I took photos of the statues of two famous Scots, the economist Adam Smith and the philosopher David Hume. Hume's statue I found very unappealing.
When I reached the tavern, I found K at a table drinking a Stewart Brewing First World Problems, which is a classic Scottish heavy ale, he said. He liked it. It had cost Ł 4.60. I sat with him, but didn't want to order a drink I'd have to carry upstairs.
Finally, at 7:05, the buzzer went off. We went upstairs and still had to wait in the doorway for several minutes, until that same woman finally saw us and took us to a table. I was intrigued by a drink on the list and K encouraged me to get it. It was a Thistly Crown Elderflower Cider for Ł 5.20 and it was incredibly good. That came quickly. It took longer for them to take our order of Fish Pie for Ł 13 for K and Stovies (Scottish dish based on potatoes) for Ł 12.50 for me. When K's meal arrived it was not what he ordered and he had to wait longer still. The server promised to do something to the bill for that. My food was there and he told me to go on. We both enjoyed our meals.
We would have ordered dessert, but it took so long just to get the server to come back, that we just paid the bill. They took Ł5.10 off for the wrong meal, but that was almost eaten up by the VAT of Ł4.27. With a 2 pound tip it came to Ł27.60, which wasn't too bad, I suppose.
Coming down the steps and again outside, I took time to take photos of the tavern. I thought it was clever how the two sides of the sign outside played up the fact that he was the model for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I turned at one point on the way back and got this shot up the Royal Mile with the castle at the end.
When we reached North Bridge, I could finally take a photo of our hotel.
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