Our tour took a wee break when we reached the Palace of Holyrood...which is actually at one end of the Royal Mile. It might be helpful if I tell you that Edinburgh is a town at the base of an extinct volcano. Edinburg Palace sits atop a hill, which is actually the top of that extinct volcano. The Royal Mile, while it is a road, and about a mile long, is actually the place of a lava flow from that volcano and it has been bricked (or stoned) over...throughout the centuries, of course. It was the path the Royals took between Edinburg Castle at the top of the hill and The Palace of Holyrood down the hill a mile.
Holyrood is an interesting name Rood meaning Cross. Since it started as an Abbey, you can see that it is the Abbey of the Holy Cross.....the palace came later. The group is standing in front of the gates to the Palace...and the ruins of the Abbey are on the same grounds.
The other photo is in front of Edinburg Castle....which, as you just learned, is at the high point of the Royal Mile. We heard the story of William Wallace (AKA-Braveheart) and the many battles that took place at the castle....the struggle between Scotland and England over the centuries. We talked about favorite dates...the historical kind. Keith particularly liked 1603, the point at which all Scottish history takes a turn for the better, I gather. I think we were particularly fond of 1776, though neither of our guides from the UK thought it was a particularly great date. Lots of joking around took place today. They both insist that we have an accent, though we just do not think so.
Back to the Castle....we entered through the first of 7 gates and Keith took us through a battle sequence so that we could see what it was like to defend the Castle. Quite interesting, to be sure! We spent some quiet moments inside the chapel, which happens to be not only the oldest building on the Castle grounds, and the oldest chapel in Edinburgh, but also the oldest chapel in all of Scotland. Military weddings and baptims still take place there. We also heard about the daily firing of the cannons for the benefit of the shipping industry, and then got to stand at the wall and watch the ceremony and firing of the cannon. That was pretty special.
Shopping along the Royal mile entertained everyone as did the opportunity to try a typically Scottish meal (if they wanted to)...several tried Haggis, Neeps, and Tates (Haggis, Turnips and Potatos)...some liked it, some did not. I also saw Bangers and Mash (Sausage and mashed potatos)....along with a yummy chicken stew and some wonderful desserts.
For a bit more educational bang for your buck, we went to the Scottish National Museum which covered everything from Scottish history back to the Iron Age and the Vikings. You could compare it to some of our Smithsonian Museums.
After dinner (Chinese all you can eat buffet - with plenty of non-chinese food as well)....we strolled the mile (or two) walk back to the hotel and enjoyed the city at night. The lighting was lovely as you might be able to see from the photo of the Castle at night...from below, looking up.
Then...back to the hotel where some hit the showers and some played games until around 10...and they were ready for some sleep! I am proud of the way they handled the jet lag and toughed out the day. They should be fully on Edinburgh time by morning!
We covered a lot of history for one day and the kids saw how economics and religion played so heavily into their political life....from the rules they enforced (depending upon whose religion held political power) and how they changed things to fit the needs of the day. (Celtic Cross) Hopefully they are coming to learn that God has set a standard for us and if we read the Bible and seek His guidance, we won't make decisions that please only a time or a place, or a circumstance....but will be pleasing to our God, our Creator, the Savior of the World, who loves each of us so dearly.......and those choices will be right for a lifetime.
** If the photos that I posted on older blogs don't get to you, go ahead and scroll back for a few entries now.
