Today we took the hop-on/hop-off bus through Edinburgh. Our main goal was to see the Edinburgh Castle. The castle stands on castle rock. There has been a royal castle on the rock since at least the reign of David I in the 12th century, and the site continued to be a royal residence until 1633. From the 15th century, the castle's residential role declined, and by the 17th century it was principally used as military barracks with a large garrison. As one of the most important strongholds in the Kingdom of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle was involved in many historical conflicts from the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century to the Jacobite rising of 1745. There have been 26 sieges in its 1,100-year history, giving it a claim to having been "the most besieged place in Great Britain and one of the most attacked in the world".
As we stepped through the gate to the castle, we were in awe thinking about how many other people have entered through these gates in the past 1,100 years.
The Scottish icons of Robert Bruce (on right and related to Kevin Hedrick) and William Wallace (on left) are at the entrance of the castle.
This gun is fired everyday at 1:00 pm. It can be heard throughout the city.
Soldiers outside the Governer's House
Hospital Square
Foog's Gate leading to the upper ward
A dog cemetery to bury regimental and officer's dogs.
The Chapel
Stained glass in the chapel
Cannon guarding the castle
We also were able to see the crown jewels of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny, but they didn't allow photos. The Stone of Destiny is a 13th-century sandstone boulder which is a symbol of Scotland's monarchy. The stone has been a part of English coronations for centuries and will be delicately transported from Scotland to Westminster Abbey ahead of the May 6 coronation of King Charles III.
We were treated to several guests as we left the castle.
Later in the day we had a wonderful meal at the Rose Street Brewery. We had steak pie, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage with peas.
On April 7th we left our homestead in Dunedin, Florida and headed to Fort Lauderdale. On the 8th we set off on a TransAtlantic cruise. Seven days later we finally saw land. It was Portugal's Azure islands. We explored the area around the Sete Cidades Crater Lake. Three days later we saw Spain. For the next few days our cruise ship stopped at various ports along the Spanish coast, including Cadiz, Gibraltar, Malaga, and Alicante. These cities had some amazing sights and history to offer us. Finally on day 15 we disembarked the cruise ship and spent a few days in Barcelona, Spain. We had a special evening when we met my daughter Kristin and her husband Kane, met us for dinner. It was totally by chance that they were on vacation in Barcelona the same time we were there. On day 17, we flew on a plane from Barcellona to Edinburgh, Scotland. We explored Edinburgh for a few days, then took a train to Glasgow. We expl...
We are starting our trip by boarding the Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam on Saturday, April 8, 2023. The ship was docked in Lauderdale, FL and we left the dock at 4:00 pm. Fourteen days later on April 22nd we will disembark in Barcelona, Spain. We are traveling with our friends Carmine and Holly Paolino. After spending some time in Spain, we will be flying to Scotland. We'll be driving around Scotland for a few weeks, then traveling by train to London. In London we will catch a plane back to Tampa Florida. We expect to be back in Dunedin Florida by May 10th. The Holland-America cruise ship Nieuw Statendam is not one of the larger cruise ships. It houses 2666 guests; is 975 ft in length and is 114.8 ft wide. There is an abundance of food and entertainment on the ship. I had mahi/mahi for dinner tonight, then played an exciting game of music trivia. There is something to entertain almost everyone. Everyth...
Still cruising along, however the ship is only using two engines. Previously we were using three engines and moving at 20 knots. We are now at 16 knots. The captain used the higher speed to stay head of a cold front. Now we can just cruise at a slower speed and still reach our destination in the Azores (identified by the number 2 on the map below) by noon on Saturday. Today was another overcast day and in the mid 60's. RoxAnne went swimming, but I spent most of the day going to education seminars. The first seminar was on astronomy and was taught by a Dr. Michael Douglas. The second seminar focused on the Italian cars. We covered the history of manufacturers, such as Fiat, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alpha Romeo and Maserati. We also learned about Vespas. The last seminar was a technical class on phone safety and covered some of the safety related settings on your phone. We ate at a specialty restaurant tonight called the...
FREEDOM!
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