When Mar and I are fortunate enough to travel together, we always enjoy starting our days with a relaxed and typical breakfast. We had looked forward to the full Scottish breakfasts: from sumptuous buffets of herring, salmon, haddock and shrimp to Black puddings, wild mushroom omelettes, special bacons, particular breads, and gorgeous platters of exotic fruits we sampled an array of new tastes along with the excellent strong coffee and freshly squeezed orange/grapefruit juice. What a lovely way to start our exciting days. The service was excellent and we took our time!
Our first entire day in Edinburgh was beckoning. It was another bright, sunny, brisk day as we set off for the imposing and austere Edinburgh Castle!
Perched above the city with its rich mix of architectural styles, it embodies over a 1000 years of history and is regarded as the Scottish national symbol.
the Great Hall had a series of exquisite stained-glass windows
and a collection of unusal "trench mortars"
Interesting architectural details were everywhere as we wound our ways through the main squares and views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth were beautiful below
We were quite touched by the sweet pet cemetery, a lovely resting place for the military officers' beloved dogs and faithful companions.
The oldest building, in pure Romanesque style, is the 12th century St. Margaret's Chapel. Later in 1457, as a gift to James II, a huge cannon, the Mons Meg, was installed very close to the chapel almost overshadowing it completely. One has to wonder why it was placed so close to the small chapel.
St. Margaret
the small chapel
There are interesting architectural details in every square, details of great interest abound. Besides the Great Hall and St. Margaret's Chapel, we visited the Prisons, the Crown Room, the National War Museum, the Vaults, and attended the traditional and ritualistic firing (since 1861) of the One o' Clock Gun.
We spent thoroughly pleasant hours at the Castle, visiting two of the quality shops within as well.
We exited the Castle from the Esplanade onto the highest stretch of the Royal Mile with its interesting historic buildings. We stopped for a typical lunch at Deacon Brodie's Tavern, an atmospheric pub
the inviting, cozy historic Deacon Brodie's Tavern Pub
where we tried the famous Cullen Skink soup, a very particular fish bisque which we liked very much.
As we strolled in the afternoon, many street corners had live music, often of the talented bagpipers.
Comments (3)
Wow these are really stunning photos. Sounds like a super trip.
Posted by Barb Cabot | July 25, 2009 5:51 AM
Posted on July 25, 2009 05:51
Hi Mary, beautiful photos! I enjoyed seeing the photos you took of your day visiting the Castle and around town. The architecture is very interesting.
Thank you so much for continuing to share your wonderful experiences visiting this fascinating and beautiful city.
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | July 25, 2009 6:28 PM
Posted on July 25, 2009 18:28
Very beautiful photos, Mary. The city looks fascinating!
Posted by sandrac | July 27, 2009 1:41 AM
Posted on July 27, 2009 01:41