Good morning everyone. Several people have asked us "Who is writing the blog?" So to explain, we are both writing it. Some post are just me, some are just David and some are both of us together, depending on the day's circumstance. The past few days we have had very light rain that comes and goes. So we decided to change our plans for going to the castle or the palace and instead take in the Natinonal Museum of Scotland since it is all inside.
First we caught the bus and went to New College which is the part of the University of Edinburgh where David is working. This is a photo from their courtyard. David's office is to the right. Inside the wooden doors, is the area where the Scottish Parliement used to meet until they got a new location several years ago. Robert, the person in charge of the builidings, opened it up for us to get a private peek.
I meet the man who help to make the arrangements for David to do his sabbatical at the Universtiy and we went to have lunch at their regular hangout, The Jolly Judge. It's a small, dark pub, with stone walls, and a low ceiling with big wooden beams. There are about 7 or 8 tables. They serve either the soup of the day or a toasty, which is a grilled sandwich. You can pick from several ingredients like cheese, ham, tomatoe etc on your toasty. Of course, there are many liquids for the beverage of your choice.
The museum was great. Basically there are 4 floors and each floor covers a different time period. The lowest floor describes the forming of the land of Scotland, plate and continent drifts, ice ages, etc. The second floor begins the documentation of the early people of Scotland. We saw lots of swords, early coins, jewels, household items etc. A really cool item was the cradle and nursing chair of King James, as in the "King James Bible". He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was eventually executed by her cousin Queen Elizabeth of England because she was trying to stage a coup to take over England. Queen Elizabeth never married and had no heir so James eventually became both the King of Scotland and King of England, once Elizabeth died. They had one of their guillotine called "The Maiden" which they actually used to take off the heads of criminal and political enemies.
We decided to stop after the second floor and come back another time to view the last two floors . That's because we wanted to get in some more walking and touring up and down the Royal Mile. Basically, the castle is at the top of the hill and the Palace of Holyrood is at the bottom of the hill. The street between the two is called the Royal Mile (since the Kings and Queens traveled back and forth between the two as needed) It is a big tourist attraction and you see lots of groups of people from all over the world with tour guides explaining the history. Here are some of the sights.
It's an understatement to say that the sights are amazing. Sometimes I have to just stop a minute and take it all in. It seems unreal that I am standing among such history, such incredible architecture, gardens, views. I keep thinking that I'll see Mary Poppins pop out of a chimney! I miss everyone back home very much and I am having a wonderful time; both at the same time.
We hope all is well with each of you. As a parting picture, I wanted to show you the little garden of a home just down from where we get on and off the bus by our flat. This person has created a beautiful spot on the walkway from the street up to their front door. Enjoy.
Good morning everyone. Several people have asked us "Who is writing the blog?" So to explain, we are both writing it. Some post are just me, some are just David and some are both of us together, depending on the day's circumstance. The past few days we have had very light rain that comes and goes. So we decided to change our plans for going to the castle or the palace and instead take in the Natinonal Museum of Scotland since it is all inside.
First we caught the bus and went to New College which is the part of the University of Edinburgh where David is working. This is a photo from their courtyard. David's office is to the right. Inside the wooden doors, is the area where the Scottish Parliement used to meet until they got a new location several years ago. Robert, the person in charge of the builidings, opened it up for us to get a private peek.
The museum was great. Basically there are 4 floors and each floor covers a different time period. The lowest floor describes the forming of the land of Scotland, plate and continent drifts, ice ages, etc. The second floor begins the documentation of the early people of Scotland. We saw lots of swords, early coins, jewels, household items etc. A really cool item was the cradle and nursing chair of King James, as in the "King James Bible". He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was eventually executed by her cousin Queen Elizabeth of England because she was trying to stage a coup to take over England. Queen Elizabeth never married and had no heir so James eventually became both the King of Scotland and King of England, once Elizabeth died. They had one of their guillotine called "The Maiden" which they actually used to take off the heads of criminal and political enemies. 
We decided to stop after the second floor and come back another time to view the last two floors . That's because we wanted to get in some more walking and touring up and down the Royal Mile. Basically, the castle is at the top of the hill and the Palace of Holyrood is at the bottom of the hill. The street between the two is called the Royal Mile (since the Kings and Queens traveled back and forth between the two as needed) It is a big tourist attraction and you see lots of groups of people from all over the world with tour guides explaining the history. Here are some of the sights. 
It's an understatement to say that the sights are amazing. Sometimes I have to just stop a minute and take it all in. It seems unreal that I am standing among such history, such incredible architecture, gardens, views. I keep thinking that I'll see Mary Poppins pop out of a chimney! I miss everyone back home very much and I am having a wonderful time; both at the same time.
We hope all is well with each of you. As a parting picture, I wanted to show you the little garden of a home just down from where we get on and off the bus by our flat. This person has created a beautiful spot on the walkway from the street up to their front door. Enjoy.
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