A Castle and a Palace

 I am already firmly in love with Scotland in general and Edinburgh in particular. We have made firm friends with our breakfast companion, who's visit is overlapping most of ours. A lovely man makes us coffee and breakfast every morning and we see our favourite waitress/bartender each evening. It is so easy to get around here and it doesn't matter where you go. In any direction we are surrounded by beauty, amazing architecture and history.

Edinburgh is a very green city, with parks, gardens and trees everywhere. It has blended old and new beautifully. Across the street from Holyrood Palace, which began as a medieval abbey, there is an ultramodern, architecturally stunning government building. Behind both is an ancient volcanic cliff, Arthur's Seat, as in King Arthur of the Round Table. Tradition says that if young women climb it before dawn on May 1 and wash their faces with the dew from the grass, they are assured of beauty. (They aren't wrong - exercise and good skin hygiene go a long way!)

As it happened, our tickets for Edinburgh Castle were for 11:30 Saturday morning, which turned out to be a hot, sunny day. It was good we picked 11:30, on a warm sunny day, it takes a long time to get anywhere. Especially to the Royal Mile, a stretch of Old Town from Edinburgh Castle to Holyrood Palace. New town was built in the Georgian Era (pre-Victorian). It's lined with shops, resturants and pubs; and covered in cobblestones.

Edinburgh Castle is especially impressive when viewed at a distance. Most of the history here is military and about Mary Queen of Scots (it's where she gave birth to King James. Their is a crown to view, but the stone of destiny was not in place, as it was removed last week for King Charles III coronation. How's that for being a (admittedly long distance) witness to history!


If you are looking for weapons and suits of armor, this is definitely the place to come!


We actually enjoyed the tour of Holyrood Palace more. It is still a working palace, where the Royal Family stays in Scotland. The rooms are lined with portraits, tapestries and royal furniture. For all these reasons, we were not allowed to take photos inside the palace. It was built around a medieval abbey, and you can still visit parts of it. Here you can see artifacts that belonged to Bonny Prince Charlie and Mary Queen of Scots.

The audio tour is particularly good. There are bits from art restorers, historians and the Royal Family themselves. They have also recreated the Physic Garden. Back in the day, it was on the cutting edge in medical research and medicinal herbs! I do love a good garden!

An elaborate sundial in the palace gardens






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