Tea at Edinburgh Castle (Edinburgh, UK)

Now here is the real McCoy!  When I could not think of a Scottish bagpipe song to suggest to him when he asked me if I wanted to hear a particular song, he simply started to play Amazing Grace.  He is definitely a hearty soul.  It has been a terribly cold day, and he was playing at the same spot on Princes Street 4 hours after I first saw him.

I decided to make this Edinburgh Castle day, so after breakfast I began the trek to the top of the hill.  On my way there, one of the first buildings to catch my eye was, you guessed it, a church.  St. John's is right at the beginning of Princes Street, at the bottom of the hill where Edinburgh Castle is located.  You will see it to the left of the fiberglass bovine which is at the entrance to a restaurant across the street from the church.  Behind the church is a small graveyard with the grave of the mother of Sir Walter Scott.  Her headstone is the one in the foreground of the photo.

As I walked along Princes Street, I began to take photos of the castle on top of the hill.  It was a very gray day which you will notice from the photos.

A very gray day in Edinburgh

Before going to the castle, I stopped at the National Gallery which has an extraordinary collection of paintings.  The attached photo is the part of the complex of the Royal Scottish Academy and the National Gallery.  I spent about an hour in the gallery and was thankful for the opportunity to stay warm before heading out again to climb the hill to the castle.

I arrived at the beginning of the Royal Mile, a significant street in the Old Town of Edinburgh that connects the castle to the Royal Palace, and the entrance of the castle.  I took a picture of the Royal Mile and turned to take a picture of the entrance to the castle and was surprised to find the battery of my camera had died.  I tried to recharge it last night with no success and thought I had a day left in it.  I do have a back-up battery, but it is in my suitcase.  It looks like I will take another trip to the castle tomorrow to take some photographs.  The views are stunning and panoramic, with snow capped mountains in the distance.  The visit to the castle itself was quite an adventure. It is unlike any others I have visited.  While there, I had a cup of tea in the "house" built for Mary, Queen of Scots.  It is next to the very house in which she lived and sits on the summit of the hill.  There is a small "tea restaurant" which is located this complex of buildings.  More of the castle tomorrow...

Part of the Royal Mile