So tonight's blog is going to be picture filled but not too much words because I have
T  H  I  S    M  U  C  H   S  T  U  F  F to fit inthismuchspace  in my suitcase : )  Ahhh, yearning for the days when you could check 2 bags for free- I mean I have a month's worth of stuff to bring back (thankfully Julie took a bit home so it's not 6 weeks of stuff).

Check back in a few days for more- I'm going to do my top 5 list from each section of my trip (with pictures of course).  If you've been following along you can see if you agree with my top 5 pics!

Today started off a little bumpy because we went to the Queen's Palace, Holyrood.  The lack of line and the over abundance of security should have been our first clue.  Prince Charles and Camilla were in residence because he is opening up the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow tomorrow.  No entry allowed.  Bummer.  He didn't want to invite us in for morning tea so that plan got scratched.  We asked the guard if Charles would like to come out and take a group photo with us but he said the Prince was more of a selfie kinda guy  : )

We headed across the street instead to see Parliment.  It's a really modern building.  We got to go into the debate room.  They also had an exhibit of embroidered panels that told the history of Scotland.  It was amazing.

After that we were on our own- and it was only like 10:30/11.  What to do, what to do?  SHOP of course!  If you know me, then you know it's probably one of my least favorite things to do but seeing as it was my last day in Scotland (maybe forever) I indulged.  I mean, there could be something I COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT!  : )   So as I headed back up the Royal Mile I zig zagged back and forth across the street going from this shop to that shop.  Indeed, there were things that I couldn't resist.  My restraint was not very good- having pounds in my pocket and the prospect of taking home a bit of Scotland proved to strong to resist.  I even had to stop and drop a bag off at the hotel after an especially generous donation to the economy.  On my way back out, I stopped for a sandwich- cheese and pickle.  I tell you, I have found a new favorite.  I LOVE THEM.  Not sure what the brownish pickle relish is or if I could find it at home but I'm going to have to try.  I loved people watching as I ate, sitting on the steps of a monument.  Life is good.  I walked around a bit getting pictures, exploring and more shopping of course.  The best stop of the day was St. Giles Cathedral.  It was a little dark and in need of a good cleaning on the outside but inside- wowsa!  It was great.  To make it an even better experience there was a kids' band/orchestra playing.  Wonderful to sit and listen to them and take it all in.  I especially enjoyed the Chapel of the Knights of Thistle.  It was STUNNING.  It wasn't very large and the sun was shining in brightly so it was a little hard to take pictures but I managed a few good ones.  It's the private chapel of the Knights of the Thistle (the only Scottish chivalric order).  They use it about once a year to inaugurate new members.  Scotland recognizes its leading citizens by bestowing upon them a membership- the Queen presides of the ritual.

Sad to leave Scotland in the morning.  There's tons more to see and it's been a wonderful time.  The weather even cooperated for us.  No rain!  I've actually gotten a sunburn the last 2 days!!

So much for only writing a little!


Thanks a lot Charles....

The outside of parliment

 My lunch.  Yum, yum

You can even see the sea in this one.  Love the bird on the statues head!

St. Giles Cathedral- it was very hard to pick pictures, so indulge me.  :)

The concert

The chapel

I saw these and thought well, these can't be original from the early 1900's.  Who got into the play doh and added them up there?  They seemed a bit out of place amongst the grand, highly detailed wood carving and ornate ceiling.  I asked a nice gentlemen about them and he said that it represents what is on their crest.  Sure enough, I looked at the metal crests mounted in each "stall" and it matches.  Take a look at the picture below to confirm for yourself.  (I still think the rainbow is a little hooky).

TEE time

St. Andrews was are destination today.  Our friendly bus driver Norm picked us up for the trip there today.  First up was a game of golf.  Yep you heard me.  I played golf in St. Andrews.......well not the official course of course : )   but really, really close by.  I could see actual golfers and hear the "ping" when they made contact with the ball (and saw a few of them headed to the tall grass to retrieve their ball). We got to play 18 holes of putt putt at the Ladies Putting Club called the Himalayas.  It was quite fun and I am quite bad.  I'm really good at hitting it hard (but not when needed, nor in the correct direction) and I can putt really close (by close I mean like a hand distance way from the hole). It was a lovely way to spend the morning.  The weather cooperated and it was fun to play.  I got a score of 66- the highest in my group but not too bad (of course we stopped counting after 6 strokes and if it was like an inch from the rim we counted it as in- I really like the scoring policies of my group! ) I did get one hole in 2 hits one time- all by myself!  After our game we got on the bus and it took us up into town.  I grabbed a quick sandwich in a 7eleven type place because we had less than 2 hours to explore and there was much to see.  I saw the University of St. Andrews and walked in the courtyard.  I also walked along a sidewalk by the sea.  Most spectacularly I walked around St. Andrews cathedral.  It had the remains of what must have once been a magnificent church.  It was dedicated in 1318 but during the Reformation it was stripped of its altars and images and it was abandoned.  Unfortunately it fell to ruins and people used the stones to construct other buildings.  What a shame.  From the remnants, it looks like it was quite massive and grand.  The ruins make for pretty pictures but imagine what pictures the church might have looked like!  To end the day we went aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia (Queen Elizabeth's former Yacht).  The size didn't seem enormous to me but it wasn't a dingy either.  The royal quarters were decorated nicely but not over the top.  It seemed very livable (if I do say so myself).  It's permanently docked so it looks like its had its last voyage.

 Me in front of a whole on the St. Andrews golf course (the REAL course)

The ladies putting club where we played 18 holes

See all those bumps..I mean hills!

St. Andrews University

The ruins of the cathedral

Sail away.....oh no wait we can't it's docked.

 The state dining room- it took 3 HOURS to set up the table just right!!

I need one of these bad boys to help me iron the purificators from church!  I wouldn't scorch them with this thing!

Edinburgh

Last night I didn't get a solid sleep-there were fireworks at the Smoky Robinson concert in the castle and the music club next door played til the wee hours (don't I sound very old!)  Nevertheless it was up and at 'em for a FULL day of exploring Edinburgh.  My feet indicate that we did a lot more walking than they are used to in awhile : )   We started at the castle.  It was a short walk and then, armed with our audio guides, we were on a mission to see the Crown Jewels before the line got too long.  Thanks to a Rick Steves' tip, we went up the back steps and we were there in no time.  They were very nice indeed.  Then we explored others parts of the castle- St. Margaret's (teeny tiny) chapel, The Great Hall, Dog cemetery, Royal Palace and more.  It's a great castle.  It's just what you would expect a castle to be like : )  (Check out the website to see/learn more: http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/explore-the-castle/highlights). We ended by having lunch there in the cafeteria before we headed over to the National Museum of Scotland (passing the cafe where Harry Potter was born along the way).  The National Museum of Scotland was a huge, never ending (in a good way) building of rooms, hallways, nooks and crannies filled with things from the history of Scotland.  It was FANTASTIC!  You could have spent multiple days milling around and exploring.  They even had an interactive section but I was too busy to try anything there.  Our last stop of the day was the Scottish National Gallery.  It was alright.  Not super big. Not necessarily something I would ohh and ahh over.  Saw a Rembrandt, DaVinci and a few others.  I don't mean to sound like an art snob but after visiting the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam it doesn't compare.  Tonight the streets were full- Tom Jones was playing in the castle.  It's fun to walk around and look in the shops.  I'm looking for just the right scarf and I'm not sure if I've found it yet.  There are TONS.  Here a plaid, there a plaid, everywhere a plaid plaid.  : )

 Random site along the walk to the castle...

An outside peek at St. Giles Cathedral

The castle

At lunch : )   Soon I'll be able to share a coke with my Sis!

 View from atop

An interesting way of displaying artifacts.

 Intricate chest with a lock that has 15 springs and a hidden key hole.  Guess it had important stuff in it : )

Mary Queen of Scots

A view of the older part of the museum

Walter Scott Monument

THE place to be on a lazy Sunday- East Princes Street Gardens

National Gallery:
DaVinci's

 Raphael