The next morning, we went downstairs for our free breakfast. This is my favorite thing about Europe- the toast and tea with milk and sugar. If I could have someone make me this every day, I'd be a very happy lady!
Our first full day in Edinburgh started with a bus tour around the city. Our tour guide, Maggie, sounded exactly like Mrs. Doubtfire. She took us around 'old town' and 'new town' where our hotel- the George Hotel- was located. 'Old town' includes the Royal Mile, which is the street leading from Holyrood Palace to the Castle. I don't remember what the building below was, but it looks cool.
Below we are walking up to the Castle. I learned that there is a difference between a Palace- which is used to live in, and a Castle- which is used for protection. That's why they built it on top of the mountain. See Maggie McMaggie in the green jacket?
This is a statue of the guy from Braveheart. He was a real guy, and he's the reason Scotland wasn't taken over. I think.
We had about an hour to explore the Castle before lunch. We skipped the long line to see the crown jewels and went to the dungeon/torture area instead. Here's a view of the area we weren't allowed to go into:
They recreated the beds and hammocks prisoners slept on.
And I guess this was their kitchen area. This is from the 1500's! So old.
Grafitti was popular back then , except they carved on wooden doors instead of spray painting. It's hard to see, so they made a sketch of some of the important carvings, one of them being an American flag.
Up on the hill, we got some great city views. This one is peering through some metal bars:
Then we stumbled on the officers' prison. Bean took a shower, and then a nap.
I think this was the 'Great Hall' where they did business? I don't remember.
We may frame this for our cityscape wall:
This is a graveyard for all of the dogs belonging to the castle guards.
There was a little chapel there, for Mary, Queen of Scots (?). I made sure to get that man in the picture!
This is a beautiful photo, except for the metal stands right in the middle of it. They set them up once a year for a festival, and they were in the process of taking them down while we were there. Can you imagine it without the stands?
Playing with the cannons.
Lunch was at a pub near the hotel. We had steak pie, with peas and 'chips'. I thought it was pretty good, and I'm surprised that Bean did too. This is when I discovered the food setting on my camera which makes the food look delectable!
After we got back to the hotel, we packed a little overnight bag and caught the bus to the airport for our personal excursion- less than 24 hours in Amsterdam.
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