Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Today was the day to head into Edinburgh. We planned to go with Barb and Roy and not on a professional tour.

We began the day by meeting Barb and Roy in the Piazza after breakfast. This was a tender port and so we proceeded to the Michaelangelo  dining room to await our turn to head for shore.

The ride was short and very smooth unlike the last time. There was no chance of getting motion sick this time. When we arrived we were greeting by a Scot in native dress.

 At the end of the dock we met our transportation into the city of Edinburgh. The ride from Queensferry to Edinburgh was about 20 minutes long and cost 10 pounds return. We bought  return tickets and we shared the cost of the taxi ride to the Castle. Because we were quite early and ahead of the Princess buses we avoided the worst crowds. The taxi ride was short but we were driven right to the castle drawbridge.

Because we had bought the Explorer pass on line we did not have to get into line to buy a ticket and we could go directly into the castle.

The castle is built on top of an extinct volcano and man has lived in this location since 800 BC. This castle has been built and rebuilt and renovated and repurposed over the centuries. We loved it all.

At one point in our tour we took in a presentation by an actor taking the role of Queen Margaret.

 She was a lot of fun and she taught us all how to bow and curtsy as well as how to do a special dance.

After too short a visit to the castle we met at noon to leave. We were just amazed at how many people were not on the castle grounds. There were thousands there and the line up to get tickets was unbelievable.

We walked down the hill and headed along the Royal Mile. Holyrood castle is on the other end but we did not get that far. We did get to pay a visit to St.Giles Cathedra. This is where the Presbyterian Church was born. John Know preached here. It is beautiful and so ornate and so grand. It is very unlike the current Presbyterian Church.

We had lunch at Garfunkel’s which is on the Royal Mile. It was not very tasty but it filled the spot.

After a bit more walking and gawking we headed back to the spot where the shuttle bus left us.

 Along the way I came across a wonderful little flower stand and Ken got me 18 rful red carnations.

Our visit to Edinburgh had come to an end.