Thursday, September 6, 2012

Edinburgh Castle




Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk, walk.  Edinburgh Castle is directly across from our hotel room. It is quite a beautiful site, rising abruptly from the Princes park, perched high above the city. The 1/4 mile walk was a gradual grade and easy although fierce with wind. The Castle was not often used by royalty unless they were seeking refuge from invaders. The most noted royalty were Mary Queen of Scots, her son James VI of Scotland and I of England, Charles I. The most interesting thing was the murder of Mary's secretary David Rizzio. While dining with the Queen, he was ripped from the room and stabbed 56 times by stewards of the Queen's husband, Lord Darnley. Darnley was latered murdered. Hmmmm.  Wonder who arranged that.  The most beautiful part of the grounds was the ruined Abbey.
We walked down the hill on the Royal Mile. Excuse me, but I would rename this the Commercial 3 Mile. A the bottom of the hill was Hollyrood Palace, official Scottish home of QE II. A quaint little abode with the usual waiting rooms prior to the grand throne room.
The best part of the day was our decision to end the day at The Oxford Bar, the haunt of John Rebus. Well, not really end. We also had dinner at a very nice place, The Wildfire. A small but excellent establishment.More photos at Flickr.