This was the first trip that I went on without you and your mummy, and it just wasn't the same. Edinburgh, Scotland is a beautiful city with so much to do so we'll all have to go back there together at some point in time. I ended up finding out about different festivals that happen throughout the year as well as the different sites to see outside of the city. Since you guys were back in Chicago when I went to Scotland I didn't have our camera, but I tried my best to capture some of the different places I visited.
Love,
Daddy
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. There has been a royal castle here since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Today, it is the most visited tourist attraction in Scotland and even houses the Royal Jewels and Stone of Scone, which is used for King Edward's chair in coronation ceremonies for Great Britain. We'll see it used whenever the next Monarch is named.
Once I was done touring the Edinburgh Castle, I made my way down the Royal Mile and came across St. Giles' Church. This is where Her Majesty the Queen has ceremonies to acknowledge those of high service and even Knights her new members of the Scottish Circle here. Your mummy would have loved for me to have the camera at this point because a wedding was getting done and the bride and groom were taking pictures all around the courtyard. We always run into weddings while we're vacationing....maybe because we're always going to see churches and their architecture.
As I made my way down the Royal Mile, I ran into the Queen's residence while she visits Scotland in the summer months. It is known as Holyrood Palace. The massive State rooms reminded me somewhat of Buckingham Palace, but not as well kept. The setting of the Palace is absolutely beautiful since Arthur's Seat is directly next to it.
The Holyrood Abbey was next to the Palace and overlooked the Royal Gardens, but didn't survive in tact past the 18th century. It was still an amazing site to see.
I came out of the Holyrood Palace and thought to myself, Yeah....why not! Grace would have loved for us to hike up Arthur's Seat to get a great view of Edinburgh. While I was starting my walk up the path, I gave a call to you and mummy to let you know I missed you guys and that I wish we were able to do this together. Don't worry, there will be a next time. This hill was created by an extinct volcano, which in time had a glacier move across it.....hence giving the drastic slope you see below.
Once I was done visiting the center part of Edinburgh, I made my way out towards the bay in order to see Her Majesty's ship, The Britainnia. As many Kings and Queens of the past were known for building castles or monuments, this vessel was the main contribution that Queen Elizabeth II had built. The vessel was used for 44 years between 1953 and 1997 and served 968 official voyages before getting decommissioned. She traveled over 1 million miles, which is enough to travel once around the world for each year she was in service.
Before I went out for dinner that night, I made it up to the top of Calton Hill for dusk to see the entire bay as well as Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh Castle in the distance. The views were amazing. There were a few other monuments at the top of the hill, but the most famous was the Scottish National Monument.
This monument was intended to be another Parthenon and to commemorate Scottish Soldiers killed in the Napoleonic wars. Construction started in 1826 but work was stopped in 1829 when the building was only partially built due to lack of money. It has never been completed. For many years this failure to complete led to its being nicknamed "Scotland's Disgrace" but this name has waned given the time elapsed since the Napoleonic Wars and it is now accepted for what it is.
I ended my experience in Edinburgh on a high note. I went to the Scottish Whiskey Experience, which taught me quite a bit about the different regions where Scottish whiskey comes from and how they're all different. We were able to do some taste testing and I was a big fan of the single malt scotch from the Speyside region of Scotland. While we were tasting, we were housed in the room below, which is shaped like a giant U and is the largest private collection of whiskey in the world......almost 3400 unopened bottles of whiskey.....AMAZING display.
It was now time to leave this great city with only the hopes of being able to make it back again soon to see more.
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