Day 2 – Edinburgh
Sorry I haven’t been able to get internet long enough to post this.
So the next morning it was hard to get up but our group managed. We had breakfast in our hotel which had lovely croissants. On today’s agenda we had Edinburgh Castle, The National Gallery, Holyrood palace, and John Knox’s House. At 9:00 a.m. in the morning we headed for the Castle. It was a little bit of a hike up the Royal Mile. Once there we toured the outside wall to the inside of the Castle. What I was most excited to see was The Stone of Destiny or also known as The Stone of Scone.
A little history of The Stone of Destiny:
The stone was taken out of Scone and was a national symbol for Scotland. When England took Scotland to be under the crown they took the Stone of Scone to Westminster Abbey. The stone was placed under the throne for the crowning of the kings and queens of England. This demonstrated England’s power over Scotland. I believe it was in the 1950 when a group of college students planned to take the stone back to Scotland. On New Year’s Eve the five students (I think it was five) broke in a stole the stone. Although it wasn’t as easy as it sounds. A lot of things went wrong. The stone ended up breaking in two at one point, one piece going to Scotland the other to a gypsy camp. I highly recommend watch The Stone of Destiny on Netflix. It is instant and very much worth your time. Once the stone was home in Scotland, England decided to “give it to Scotland on Loan.” When the next king or queen of England is crown the stone will be taken back to England and put under the throne for the coronation.
Inside the Edinburgh Castle were the royal crowns and the stone. I got to see the crack in the stone. You aren’t allowed to take pictures in that room but my dad snuck in a few photos. There were even two guards in the room and he managed to succeed. The castle was very beautiful. After the Castle we went to The National Gallery.
The National gallery is located near the Walter Scott Monument. When we arrived Collette Tennant asked what we should see first. The guard told us to go upstairs because that section would be closed in 15 minutes. It’s a good thing we got up there because there was a Da Vinci painting and Botticelli’s Madonna and Child. My two favorite painting were Boy blowing on a Charcoal and Huntsman with Dead Game or Allegory of smell. The first has the most beautiful lighting within the painting and the second was so interesting after reading about it. The Allegory of Smell was my dad’s favorite painting as well. We found out that the artist actually made five paintings for the senses. I really want to see the other four paintings but I don’t know where they are.
After the Gallery we went to lunch and headed on our way to Holyrood Palace. Palaces are my favorite places to visit. Cathedrals, Museums, and Castles are fun but Palaces are the best; especially the ones with ballrooms. The most beautiful part of the palace was the Abbey. It was in ruins and birds were singing. Just stunning.
We had to keep a move on because the next thing on our list was the John Knox house. My dad was giddy with excitement since John Knox is his favorite reformer. This is a part of my CCS credit and I got the chance to listen to a John Knox sermon. The sermon started in Galatians and spoke with a strong Scottish accent. Being in the house of John Knox was so fun.
My feet were so tired after this long day. All we wanted to do was eat and head back to the hotel. We went to Deacon and Brody’s. Deacon and Brody was a real man in Edinburgh who Robert Louis Stevenson based Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Deacon was an higher ranked man but went by Brody when he robbed most of Edinburgh.
After our long day and finally having food in our bellies we headed for the hotel and fell so fast asleep.
Tomorrow’s Plans:
- Head out for Stratford-Upon-Avon
- See Shakespeare’s birth house
- Holy Trinity Church
Cheers Mate,
Courtney
