Day 14

I was planning to wake up early and get the most out of my last day. I realized that most places do not open until 9 or 10 AM. So, since I knew there was a large group staying in the hotel, I let them get through breakfast first. I enjoyed a slow wake up period and headed down for breakfast. They have a nice continental breakfast spread for twelve pounds. They have other “hot breakfast” items that can be ordered as well for various prices.

It was slow by the time I came down for breakfast. But, they have plenty of seating.

Since breakfast was included with my stay, I ordered some pancakes.

Here is the lobby.

And the lift, aka elevator

It was still early, but I didn’t want to sit around in my hotel room waiting for everything to open. It was forecasted to be a nice cool clear day.

I meandered slowing toward the Royal Mile. This is the street that has all the shops and restaurants leading up the Edinburgh Castle in the Old Town.

I saw this on the side of one of the buildings and thought I’d share.

Edinburgh Castle sits on top of an extinct volcano looking over the whole city. I couldn’t get tickets until 1:30, so I looked for some other things interesting.

This is Edinburgh University

Duncan had mentioned checking out the National Museum of Scotland if we had time. Well, I had time and best best part, national museums have free entry in Scotland!

I always have to look at the dinosaurs.

This is great! F1 classics.

Another nice thing about this museum is that it has a roof terrace. I don’t think many people realize this because there was hardly anyone up here. The views of the city are outstanding.

After looking around inside for a little longer I decided I needed to find something more unique to Edinburgh to visit. So, I headed back to the Royal Mile to look in the shops.

A There were a lot more people out by this time.

This is St. Giles Cathedral.

They do not charge an admission but ask for a donation.

I think a donation is well worth the visit. The priest was conducting the twelve o’clock service when I entered.

This is the Church that Queen Elizabeth was laid in state after her death for the subjects of Scotland to give their last respects. The tile marks the location where the casket was placed.

My time slot finally arrived and I headed back up the hill to get in line.

When I paid for the ticket, I also paid for the audio tour that can be loaded as an app on your phone. They also have handset audio tours you can purchase and use. I liked the app because I was able to use my Bluetooth ear buds to listen. This is a screenshot of the app.

The main entry gate

The views from up here are even better!

If you noticed the screenshot, there is a one o’clock gun firing. I had just missed it, but heard it waiting in line to get in. It is fired everyday at 1:00 PM, except Sundays and certain holidays.

The next few pictures are of the Castle

This is the oldest building in Scotland. St Margaret’s Chapel. Did you know, at one time in Scotland, all girls had to have Margaret included in their name?

This is a pet cemetery for all the soldiers dogs that passed while in the castle.

The flag of Scotland. It’s based on St. Andrew who was crucified on a diagonal cross.

This is the Royal Palace. This is also where The Honours, or crown jewels of Scotland are held. Hence the long line. You can also see the room where James the VI of Scotland, later King James I of Great Britain, was born to Mary Queen of Scotts.

The Scottish National War Memorial is in this building. Very nicely done.

There is a lot more to see than what I showed you here. I was in the castle for almost four hours and I skipped several items on the audio tour. This is another bonus to paying for the app. I can go back and listen to the parts I skipped.

Since it was my last night in Scotland, I decided to treat myself to a traditional Scottish Dinner.

I started with Cullen Skink. Very tasty. It reminded me of clam chowder but made with fish instead of clams.

For my main dish, I ordered the Haggis. Since I am mostly Scottish, I felt it necessary to give it a go. I was speaking to my wife afterwards and began to tell her what Haggis is made of, she asked me to stop explaining. So, I’ll leave it to you to look it up if you’re not familiar with this dish. To all my vegan friends, don’t look. I can tell you, it does not taste like chicken. Not bad though.

And for desert, fried Mars bars with vanilla ice cream. It definitely helped to cleanse the palate (had to look up the spelling for this one, another homophone).

Afterwards, I headed back to the hotel to pack and get ready for an early morning flight back home.

I’ll post one more time tomorrow, after I arrive home with some final thoughts and pictures of the return home.