Palace of Holyroodhouse

3/20/2012 05:47:00 PM |

Yay - a sunny day! I was so happy to see the sun today, since we had planned to see the palace, as well as walk along the part of the Royal Mile,

This isn't part of the palace. It's just a beautiful church we passed on our way. I loved the way the Scottish flag was flying over it against the blue sky.

It was a great experience to be at the palace, especially knowing that it's a working palace. It's where the Queen of England stays when she's visiting Scotland. So on our tour through the palace (sorry, no pictures were allowed inside), we learned and saw where the current queen would dine with dignitaries and knight important people. But we also learned about Mary Queen of Scots, who lived there about 400 years ago and had a pretty tragic life. The palace was beautiful, inside and out. All the carvings, on the ceilings and on the walls were so intricate, and each vine, flower, animal or god had rich meaning for the kings and queens who lived there!

Daniel and Anna listening on the audio tour

Anna loved all the unicorn carvings and paintings (unicorns symbolized obedience and purity). Anna is still working on those qualities.

Next to the palace is the abbey ruins. We had to use our imaginations to think about to what life was like back then.

And no visit to a historical sight is complete without a visit to the gift shop. You could buy a pen with a crown on it, a princess shirt, or whatever kitschy thing you wanted (I thought only Americans did that). Somehow, Anna made it out of the gift shop without buying anything, but it was a challenge. She really wants to buy a "Nessie," but she keeps seeing other things she wants to buy. It's been a good lesson for her to wait for what she really wants!

After leaving the palace, we walked along the part of the Royal Mile, which has the palace at one end, and Edinburgh castle at the other. We had fun watching this street performer. Somehow, he sounded so much more cultured, with his Scottish accent! And on the subject of Scottish accents, I've had more trouble understanding people than I thought I would! There's been several times I've had to ask someone to repeat themselves. But on the other hand, it's been neat to hear some of the words they say - wee (little), cheerio/cheers (something like thanks), telly (tv), mind the step.

We had to include pictures of more food.... We ate at a restaurant called "Piemaker." Yum! Crispy outside filled with chicken or beef. Or you could get haggis... We just haven't been brave enough to try it yet. We'll see.