Day 7 - Edinburgh

We were all disappointed when we woke up on Friday morning to find that the weather had not changed overnight - it was still gray, cold, and windy. But we didn't let it keep us inside. After a nice breakfast at the B&B, we headed for the bus stop and the Royal Mile (Edinburgh's main touristy strip). We started walking up (yes, uphill) the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle, but decided to stop into St. Giles Cathedral first. The cathedral is topped by an enclosed crown, much like the one on King's College Chapel in Aberdeen. But this cathedral is much larger than our chapel. It has a huge organ (and the inside lights up so you can see all the inner workings), gorgeous stained glass, and a smaller chapel (can't remember what it's called) that has some AMAZING carving. Unfortunately, you have to pay for a photography license to take pictures, so the only ones I have are those I took before I found out about that.

After St. Giles Cathedral, we continued to Edinburgh Castle, which is huge, and is really more like a fortress than a castle. There was a wedding taking place in the small chapel there, so Ben, Papa, and Mom were in heaven people-watching. We saw the One O'Clock Gun presentation (which was nothing like we were expecting), the crown jewels of Scotland (pretty cool), and froze our fannies off!

After a break and some hot drinks, we headed back down the Royal Mile, stopping in several of the little touristy shops on our way, including the tartan weaving factory where they make kilts. We walked all the way down the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament and the Palace of Holyrood House, only to find that both had just closed.

We were quite frustrated, because it felt like a lot of our day had been wasted. So we decided to go back to the B&B, get the car, and ride around to see some of the other sights of the city. We saw the Scott Monument, Princes Street (the main shopping street in Edinburgh), and drove up Calton Hill for beautiful panoramic views of the city.

We finally decided it was time for dinner, and we all wanted something good, so we went for TGI Fridays. Mom wasn't all that impressed, but the rest of us enjoyed it. After dinner we drove back up Calton Hill to see the city by night. It was lovely. Some of the clouds had finally dispersed, and I had fun using a makeshift tripod to take a few night pictures before I couldn't stand the wind and cold anymore.