May 10th - Edinburgh

We started this morning by going to church.  We decided to go to church literally minutes before the church service was due to start, we ran...I was running, the family was walking quickly.  This is not the church we went to, but it's one we found.

 

 

 We went to a little pub near the church for lunch, for a pie and a pint and then we walked around the other side of the city in New Town.

 

 

I want to be appointed by the Queen to be official babysitter of her Grandkids.

 

I love paper, I love colour, I love all this organization.

 

Sweet roundabout that people ACTUALLY know how to use!

 

Wood.

 

Tile.

What a great corner to live at!

 

 

Advertising for your pointer dog?

 

We found this around a corner and down a driveway....

 

Just chillin.

 

Scott Memorial.  Now, I totally understand where the architectural ideas from the Lord Of The Rings comes from...

 

What. Is. This??

 

Other than this being the holiday of rock and plaster, it's also the holiday of the Cemetery.  I think this was my 5th Cemetery I had visited.

 

So cool.

 

Looking up to Calton Hill

 

Calton Hill is your Memorial.  What?

 

We're Scottish but we'd like to be Athenian.  Or French.  Or anything but English.

 

The view to Arthur's Seat

 

City View

 

A tour group....I almost joined in, but the weather was drastically changing...

 

A rock.  On Calton Hill.

 

<3     Kent    <3

Melissa and Jon and Max did a panoramic picture from up here.

 

The jail.  Kinda like Alcatraz.

Kent had my camera.  Not sure what this is about.....

 

 

We wound up again on The Royal Mile.  It's what we do...we found this guy playing.

May 9th--Edinburgh--SANDEMANs Free Edinburgh Tour, The National Museum and Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh is going to have to be a number of Blog Entries...Today's entry is about SANDEMANs Free Edinburgh Tour.

 

We did this tour last time we were in Edinburgh, honestly by accident.  We were walking up the Royal Mile and were captivated by Ben Hunter the tour director that we decided we HAD to stick with it. 

 

We were so impressed with Ben Hunter we OVER tipped him.  By over tipped, I mean OVER tipped him...it was worth every pence.

 

This time, I was able to get free tickets for the morning after we arrived in Edinburgh and we joined into the tour with our new tour guide: Greg Thompson...he was so great.  A Master storyteller.

 

 

 

Greg and our family, post tour.

 

A Sphinx in Edinburgh?

 

Part of my favourite part of the tour.  At the top of the pole you see, you'll find a unicorn.  This is where the announcements were made.  Still to this day, someone will make announcements here, like when Charloette Elizabeth Diana Windsor was born.

 

See?  A Unicorn:

 

 

More tour with Greg...

 

 

Another great story with Greg...This is a anti-theft staircase.  There would be a step set up that is taller than the rest, if you don't know where the step is, you'd probably end up tripping and falling down the stairs.  Cool.  We should do this, except Lawyers would have a field day....

 

 

After the tour, Greg ended up with us at the National Museum, so we decided to go in and spend a couple hours there looking through it an spending time on the roof.

Edinburgh Castle from the roof top garden of the National Museum.

 

Isn't he just so handsome?  Kent checking out the city view from the top of the museum.

 

City skyline.

 

Inside the museum.

 

The Statue of Arensnuphis.

 

Then we did the tour of the Edinburgh Castle.  We'd already done the tour, so we had little need of more photos of it, but here are some of my favourites:  The Fireplace décor.  Thinking about this for my house.....

 

 

 

No wonder there is so many spellings of Horie, or Horrie, or Hourie, or Harray.

 

The view from Edinburgh Castle

 

William Wallace and Robert the Bruce guard the entrance of Edinburgh Castle:

 

When we left we had gotten groceries and were heading home to make dinner when we saw this sign:

So, ya, feed me pizza.