Jean and I decided to make today the day to be tourists in Edinburgh. We began with Edinburgh castle, grabbed a bite while walking down the Royal Mile, then finished with the Palace at Holyroodhouse and the Holyrood Abbey next door.
I absolutely love Edinburgh Castle. There’s just something about it. There’s so much history and significance about the place. Plus, they have a tower called Argyle Tower. It’s an all-around win.
The Palace is different. I hadn’t been there since the last trip to the UK, so I was looking forward to seeing it. Which was awesome. The tapestries hanging on the walls are always so ornate. The ceilings are absolutely gorgeous, and the paintings and portraits are always of monarchs or famous historical figures.
The Holyrood Abbey itself is one of my favorite sets of ruins. There’s a grave of miscellaneous monarch bones in one corner. [And I mean miscellaneous only because they were moved once or twice during raids and wars and now all the bones are just in one coffin.] I think King James VII and his family are in the grave. Lying around inside the abbey are empty stone coffins. Gravel mysteriously made its way into the coffins, but there’s something eerie about opened stone coffins with bodies removed. All around the walls – the roof is long-since gone – there are windows devoid of the ornamental stained glass that I assume filled them. The lack in windows and stained glass adds to the eerie since of lost history and failed preservation.
The rain is back. The weather was warm(ish) and sunny yesterday, but today it’s been raining since just before we made it to Holyroodhouse. With all the historical things and the rain, the day has taken on a more reflective attitude.
Anyway, the rain has also put a damper on walking around the city some more. But I think that’s okay. We’re a little tired. A large cup of tea is in order, I think.
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