Edinburgh - Day 6

May 4, 2015

Yesterday's walking companion, rain, gave way to my dear friend, sun! With such a delightful partner at our side, we headed to the hills. Actually a small, by Oregon standards, rocky outcrop left by an ancient volcano. Great views of the city, ocean, and hillsides dotted with bright yellow scotch broom.The elevated position also gave a nice perspective on our upcoming visit to the Royal Palace and attached Abbey ruins.

The queen must have know we were coming, since she stayed away! But like someone once said, "When the Queens away, the tourists will play"! And we did spend the balance of the morning playing and exploring in the Royal Palace. First up was a leisurely walk with a very informative guide around the Royal Gardens. Since it was just Kathy and I with the guide, we enjoyed a relaxed walk, informative conversations, and lots of picture taking.

The end of the Royal Garden Stroll placed us at the doors of the Palace of Holyrood House. We were allowed to walk through all the public rooms, many of which are used today for Royal events. This home to kings and queens goes back to the 14th century with the Abbey extending back to the 12th century. And I was thinking our house in Oregon is old! Mary, Queen of Scots was here and her faithful secretary was stabbed 50 times in one of the rooms on the order of her very jealous husband! We left the carnage behind and ended our time at the palace with a quick look at the crown jewels and a glance at many items made of gold.

A quick ice cream gave us the energy to walk deeper into town and walk around the neo-gothic memorial to the renowned Scottish novelist, Sir Walter Scott. He is considered to be the father of the romantic historical novel. From the looks of this tower, I would have assumed he wrote evil, dark, underworld novels with lots of ghosts and goblins in the character list. But that is just my opinion, of course!

I really needed a change in the architectural diet, so we headed straight away to the St. Giles Cathedral. It is also considered a neo-gothic design, but much more to my liking. These stone walls have witnessed several major changes. The Catholic fathers originally erected this beautiful building, only to be stripped of it's grandeur by the protestant reformation lead by the fiery preacher, John Knox. He removed the stained glass and whitewashed the walls to remove worldly idolatry. Later in the story, walls were built to chop up the interior into four different congregations. What we see today is a restored beauty with stained glass windows and a very impressive pipe organ. One of the stained glass masterpieces was created as a tribute to the poet, Robert Burns. This cathedral is considered to be Scotland's most important church. It is viewed as the Westminster Abby of Scotland.

OK! We're ready for a break!! How about afternoon high tea? Great idea! We wondered down a tight walkway and discovered Forsyth's Tea Room. It was quiet, the tea hot, and the scones delicious. This little gem has been run by this family for 20 years, with most of the work being managed by a most dear lady that must have been 75 years old or more.  

The last stop of the day was a visit to the assumed home of Preacher John Knox. Well done presentation with a chance to feel the quill in hand and read the scriptures in the light of the sun streaming in the windows. Yes this picture is really Tim at the writing table. I (Tim) hardly recognized the picture. I thought it was just some old man Kathy had taken a picture of!

Tim and Kathy