Edinburgh Castle

Whew, long day.  The weather has been perfect, so the city is bustling with city folk and tourists. 

To remedy our constant time question, we purchased a Swatch watch.   Grace is in charge of  answering, "So, what time is it now?"

This morning, we spared our feet and caught a cab over to the Waverly Bridge tour bus hub, where we hopped on the Edinburgh city tour bus.  For a mere14 pounds you can hop on and off for the next 24 hours.  After a 20 minute ride, we hopped off at Edinburgh Castle.  The Castle was a busy, busy place.  It is spread out and you can spend about a week walking from one end to the other trying to see it all.

For two hours, we dodged other site-seers and took in the Castle.  From ramparts to cannon balls.  Unfortunately, the Crown Jewels are in a special vaulted room and no picture taking is allowed.  We fully expected a bejewelled crown and found the pearl, gold and red velvet a bit disappointing.  Certainly, the Queen deserves better.

From the Castle we got back on the tour bus and saw the new Parliment Building.  Enric Miralles, one of the world's premier architects, developed a design that he said was a building "growing out of the land".  I'm not sure about it growing out of the land, but it definitely stands out from the surrounding buildings.  It is a purely modern design.

The tour bus swung by the coffee shop where J. K. Rowling began to write the Harry Potter series and her former apartment, as we are certain she has taken her millions and moved to more luxurious accomodations.