What a day we had yesterday! We went to the Old Town side of Edinburgh, and it was fantastic!

Eating Scottish meat pies. A snack at the car before heading out on our adventures for the day :)

We started at Edinburgh castle. The castle is not really "a castle". It's a number of buildings, all surrounded by rock walls. As I entered the "castle" I felt like I was entering the set of Gondor in "The Lord of the Rings"! This hill has been a stronghold in Scotland since, oh, around 800 A.D. The current buildings and set up have been there since the 1500s maybe, but the oldest building still standing is the St. Margaret's Chapel, which has been there since the mid 1100s! Everything is built on a volcanic rock hill, and you can see areas of the black rock protruding up through the brick and rock streets. It's all super cool! The history there is amazing. Here's a little clip from the internet: The tensions between the English and Scottish monarchies nearly always centred on Edinburgh Castle. He who held the castle held rule over the city of Edinburgh and, therefore, over all of Scotland. Consequently, the castle was almost constantly under siege. 

Below is the "palace" on the property. It was the residence of the royalty. It now holds the "crown jewels" of Scotland. Unfortunately, there is no photography allowed of the jewels. Scotland's crown jewels were rediscovered by Sir Walter Scott in 1818. They had been put away and forgotten about in a chest on the grounds. The first time they were used for the coronation of royalty was in 1543 for Mary Queen of Scots, and the last time they were used was for the coronation of Charles II in 1651. Wow! They also have the Stone of Scone, or more recently called the "Stone of Destiny", which was the stone that Scotland's royalty sat on as they were coronated, in it's very early history, but then was stolen by the English and "sat over" (literally it was placed under the throne seat) for 700 years. The Scottish just got it back in 1996.

Here is a picture that I found online of the crown jewels and Stone of Destiny:

The next 4 pix are in the Great Hall. It's fairly small, but government, military and other events are still held here sometimes.

A cute one of Janae :)

This is the key that is presented to the queen when she comes to Scotland. The key to Edinburgh Castle, therefore the key to Scotland. (It is presented to her, and then she hands it right back - for safe keeping.) :) Each key tag is inscribed with which monarchy came and the date of their visit.

Having a little fun in the gift shop

What a ceiling!

 David's Tower. One of the oldest fortresses on the property, that has mostly been destroyed and fallen to ruins over the years.

Tyler, Dave and Janae in David's Tower

The Half Moon Battery

Dave, trying to get the perfect shot on our camera :)

In St. Margaret's Chapel

Our walk along the Royal Mile. It goes from the Edinburgh Castle to the Holyroodhouse Palace.

The Holyroodhouse Palace - the Queen's residence in Scotland. She comes here once a year in July. Other royalty stays here as well. A princess was here last week, (can't remember who), and 2 princes will be here this week. (Prince Andrew maybe.) Luckily we were there in between their visits, which made it possible for us to tour it. Royal events and meetings take place here still also. Unfortunately no photography is allowed inside the palace. Bummer. Part of the tour shows you the apartments of Mary Queen of Scots, and the audio tour dictates the murder of David Rizzio which took place there in her chambers. Pretty dramatic history. 

The Holyroodhouse Abbey, which has fallen mostly to ruins.

Inside the Abbey. Usually when we take a picture of Tyler he makes us wait until he fixes his hair. We caught him here doing his "hair flip". Haha! :)