Today we spent the day in and around Edinburgh. Our say started with a guided bus tour of the city with a local guide, a very funny and very Scottish man named Alan. He filled us in on the history of the old and new areas here as we went around town. We got to see the Queen's castle at Holyrod as well as many beautiful buildings, churches etc. The bus tour ended at Edinburgh Castle, where he gave us a short tour of the castle. So I spent yet another day walking up hill. It was worth it though. Edinburgh Castle is beautiful and so it the view from the top of it.
After the castle, we hopped back on our bus and went on our optional tour to see Rosslyn Chapel. It's located just outside the city in a little town called Roslin. Yes, they're spelled differently because the cartographer spelled the name of the town wrong. The chapel is still owned by the Earl and Countess of Rosslyn. It was built in 1446 and was saved, in part, to author Dan Brown. If you've read the book/watched the movie The Da Vinci Code, then you've heard of the Rosslyn Chapel. It was a very lovely chapel with some stunning masonry. We weren't allowed to take photos of the inside but I got a few of the outside. I also met William the cat. He's the resident cat at the chapel. Apparently he turned up one day and they thought he was a stray so they started to feed him. Turns out, he was owned by the people at the top of the hill. Since the cat liked the chapel so much, the owners let them keep him and he's lived in the chapel for the last 14 years. He was one happy looking cat. Slept through the entire talk.
After the chapel, we had a quick snack break (scones with jam and clotted cream) before heading back to Edinburgh for some free time. Dad and I managed to find the church where our first ancestor who came to Canada was married in the 1790s. While it's not used as a church anymore, the building still stands and has been repurposed. We did some shopping and wandered about for a bit. Edinburgh is a truly beautiful city.
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| Church my ancestor got married in |
After our free time, we caught a cab and headed back to the hotel where we rested for a bit. We found a pub a block from the hotel and headed out. Turned out to be a great place! Laid back, clean, with friendly staff and delicious food. I had the best Scotch Broth that I've ever had! All of our meals were fantastic. One of the things I liked best about the place was that they had a real Scotch Thistle on every table. A very nice touch for sure.
Tomorrow we're heading north to the Highlands. Just a warning - I might not be able to publish a blog tomorrow evening as there's a really good chance that the hotel doesn't have wifi in the rooms. I know, how will I survive? LOL.
I'm going to sign off, relax for a few minutes and then head to bed at a normal time so a change. I have to remember to give my parents a wake up call in the morning too :)
Good Night!
Sarah
XOXO
Sarah
XOXO
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