Chapter 14 - Edinburgh Part II

Chapter 14 – Edinburgh Part II

Monday, October 10, 2022

We had breakfast at Montpelier’s Restaurant. Sarah had porridge and Bruce had Eggs Benedict. We then took the bus to the Scottish Parliament near the Palace of Holyroodhouse. We toured Holyroodhouse and the gardens (Photo 14 – 1). Holyroodhouse is the royal residence when the Queen (now the King) is in Edinburgh and has served as the principal royal residence in Scotland since the 16th century. It is located at the opposite end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle.

It mainly serves now as a place for state occasions and entertaining although Queen Elizabeth spent a week in residence here at the beginning of every summer. Holyroodhouse sets adjacent to the ruins of the Holyrood Abbey that was founded in 1128 (Photo 14 – 2). There is a lot of history within these walls. One of the rooms we visited was the bedroom of Mary Queen of Scots which is in the oldest part of the palace (Photo 14 – 3). It was in this room and in her presence that her private secretary, David Rizzio, was murdered by her husband and several nobles.

After this tour, we crossed the street and visited the Scottish

Parliament Building which opened in 2004. Since the parliament was in recess, we were allowed to go into the chambers (Photo 14 – 4).

Bruce headed home after seeing the Parliament Building. Sarah went to Arthur’s Seat, an ancient volcano in Holyrood Park. There are multiple trails along the hills with beautiful views of the city. Although she didn’t make it to the summit, she got some beautiful pictures of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth (Photo 14 – 5).

From Holyrood Park, Sarah wandered up the Royal Mile. She saw the Canongate Kirk (Photo 14 – 6) as well as the Mercat Cross in the courtyard (Photo 14 – 7), stopped in at a couple of Christmas shops and had a bowl of Cullen skink in the Tollhouse Tavern. After that, she caught the bus and headed home.

The walk home from the bus stop crossed the Union Canal (Photo 14 – 8). We had leftover Chinese food for dinner.

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Sarah had breakfast in the apartment before walking up to the Royal Mile for a scheduled visit to Edinburgh Castle. Bruce stayed at the apartment and went out to Montpelier’s for a later breakfast.

We had toured the Castle in 2017 but Sarah wanted to visit it again. She spent a couple of hours going through the various areas of the Castle. The views from the Castle are spectacular. This picture is from the battlements through one

of the openings used to shoot through (Photo 14 – 9). This one is through one of the openings where a cannon is positioned (Photo 14 – 10).

She toured the Scottish National War Memorial, the Royal Apartments, and the Great Hall. Mary, Queen of Scots, gave birth to her only child, James VI, King of Scotland in Edinburgh Castle. He was also crowned James I, King of England and Ireland in Westminster Abbey in 1603. He only returned to Scotland once after his coronation in England. You might know him as the sponsor of the King James Version of the Bible.

She also toured the Museum of The Royal Scots Dragoon Regiment, the prisons, St. Margaret’s Chapel, and Half Moon Battery (where the cannons are located). A highlight was seeing the Honours of Scotland, the oldest Crown jewels in Britain. This includes the crown, sceptre, and sword of state. The crown was made for James the V, who first wore it at the coronation of Queen Mary of Guise in 1540. Mary Queen of Scots was the first to be crowned using the new crown and sceptre together in 1543.

She also saw the Stone of Destiny, an ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings. The origin of the stone is unknown, but it predated 1296 when it was seized by King Edward of England and added to the throne at Westminster. It has been used in the coronation ceremonies of monarchs of Great Britain since that time. In 1996, the stone was officially returned to Scotland. It will leave Edinburgh Castle in May of 2023 for the coronation of King Charles.

Leaving the Castle, Sarah wandered down the Royal Mile and into a lovely close (Photo 14 – 11 and 14 – 12). She stopped for lunch of Pad Thai at Nok’s Kitchen and then headed home to the apartment.

We had dinner at McClaren’s. Bruce had grilled cod on a lentil stew with mussels and chorizo. Sarah had a salad and hummus.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

We went to Honeycomb for breakfast. Sarah had a breakfast

roll with poached eggs and bacon. Bruce had Onion Bhaji Fritters (fritters were sandwiched with smashed avocado and topped with poached eggs and a pineapple and chili chutney). We came home to wash clothes and work on the blog for a bit.

Bruce walked up to the University of Edinburgh in the afternoon and met with his advisor. Sarah just had a lazy day reading and resting. We went to Tempo Perso, the local Italian restaurant, for dinner. Bruce had calamari and lemon pasta with prawns. Sarah had Chicken Milanese. It was delicious. Everyone always wants to know if we are on “holiday” and are so welcoming and ready to give us ideas of things to see and places to go. It’s fun.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

We went to breakfast at Montpelier’s. Sarah had porridge and Bruce had a Mexican breakfast. We then took a bus to Princes Street and walked to the National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street next to the Romanian Consulate. The National Portrait Gallery is in a beautiful sandstone Gothic revival building built expressly to accommodate the gallery. The great hall is very impressive as is the library (Photos 14 – 13 and 14 – 14). The collection is excellent and provides a real history of Scotland.

We walked back up to George Street and St. Andrews Square and then Princes Street. Bruce then caught a bus back to the apartment. Sarah explored New Town a little more before heading back to the apartment by bus. Keep in mind that New Town was built in stages between 1767 and 1850 – so not very new anymore.

We had dinner at Montpelier’s.

Friday, October 14, 2022

We had breakfast in the apartment and took the bus to Waterloo Place. We’ve talked about our experiences with buses in earlier chapters so we should probably add that the

buses in Edinburgh have been much easier to navigate. Maybe we are gaining some experience, but the App is easy to navigate, and the buses typically announce the stops. So, we’ve had no misadventures so far!

We had booked a small group tour to visit St. Andrews. We first drove out of Edinburgh and across the newest bridge over the Firth of Forth, the Queensferry Crossing Bridge. It is the longest three-tower, cable bridge in the world. We made our way up the east coast into Fife, a county in Scotland. Fife is thought to be one of the major Pictish kingdoms and is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland.

Our first stop was in Anstruther, a small fishing village on the north shore of the Firth of Forth (Photo 14 – 15). The tide was out but there were a lot of fishing and pleasure boats in the harbour (Photo 14 – 16).

From Anstruther, we drove to St. Andrews which sits on the east coast of Scotland. It’s known for its many golf courses including the Old Course, with the landmark Swilcan Bridge at the 18th hole (Photo 14 – 17). The Royal and Ancient Golf Club

of St. Andrews was founded in 1754 and is considered the birthplace of golf. St. Andrews is also the home of the University of St. Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. In 2022, St. Andrews University was ranked as the best university in the UK. St. Andrews is a beautiful, very walkable town. You might remember St. Andrews as the place Prince William and Kate met during their university years.

We had lunch at the Dolls House. Bruce had a chicken Caesar Salad and squash soup. Sarah had a venison burger and fries. We then separated. Bruce went to the Golf Museum and Sarah visited the ruins of the Castle and walked down to the sea.

We left St. Andrews and drove about 40 minutes to Falkland. We had visited Falkland with Andy but had not had time on that trip to go into the Falkland Palace. Falkland Palace was originally built as a hunting lodge in the 12th century. It was expanded as a palace when it was owned by the Clan MacDuff, Earls of Fife. It was a popular retreat of the Stewart monarchs. It was apparently a favorite of Mary, Queen of Scots.

We then headed back to Edinburgh, getting back into the city around 6:00 pm. We took a train to our neighborhood, stopped into Montpelier’s to share an appetizer of nachos before walking home.

Saturday, October 15, 2022

We were tired from our day tour yesterday so slept in and had a lazy morning. We went to McLaren’s for brunch around 11:00 am. Sarah had eggs benedict Florentine. Bruce had scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and toast.

Mid-afternoon Sarah went for a long walk around Bruntsfield Links, the Meadows, up to the Royal mile, down to Grassmarket, up the steps to the Castle, back down and then headed home to the apartment. She caught a bus at Fountainbridge and made it home about 4:00 pm. Bruce rested, read, and worked on his schoolwork. Just for fun, Sarah counted the steps up to the Castle. If you start in Grassmarket just by Cold Town House Tavern (which sits in the shadow of the Castle), it’s 91 steps to the street just below the Castle. Then you walk up the street at a significant incline and take the additional 73 steps up to the Royal Mile just outside of the Castle! It’s a nice workout.

We just snacked in the apartment for dinner and had a restful evening.