We are Loving Scotland

Today was another great day of sightseeing in Edinburgh. When we left the apartment we were greeted by the haar. That's what they call the dense fog that is frequently in the area.

We walked to the Scottish Parliament building and to Holyrood. Both are just a couple of blocks from where we are staying. Holyrood is the palace where members of the royal family stay when they are in Edinburgh. We did not buy tickets to get a tour of the palace, but just took a look from the outside. Here are the kids at the royal gate and the palace is in the background.

We headed on to the Royal Mile toward the castle again. We stopped in some very touristy shops and looked around. That was fun and people here are very outgoing and friendly. When we walk into a shop or restaurant, they say "Hiya." When we leave they say "Cheers!" And they love to chit chat. They remind me of Americans in many ways. The culture here is very much like the US, so I'm sure that has lots to do with it. We stopped in several little shops as we made our way down the Royal Mile. We went to the Loch Ness Experience. It is a 3-D explanation of the Loch Ness Monster and talks about whether it is a myth or not. Myles and I were very disappointed in the film, we thought it was kind of boring and it could have been so much more. But the kids liked it and enjoyed wearing the glasses quite a bit! And we did all learn some new things.

After the Loch Ness Experience we went to a small Writer's Museum. 

 

 
It has artifacts and works of Robert Lewis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. It is a small museum, but we enjoyed seeing letters and other items that were there. Sir Walter Scott is known for many things including the well known quote "What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." There is a massive monument to him on Princes Street. As we walked down Princes Street on this drizzly (but not bad) day, we came across this bagpiper. It actually looks colder than it was. It was probably around 40 degrees. But it was drizzling on and off so that's why hoods were up. 

Men playing bagpipes are all over the place. You can hear the music from quite a distance away. I think they significantly add to the charm of Edinburgh. We went and walked around an indoor mall for a bit. Then we went to 6:00 Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral. It is a very large cathedral. I have so missed Masses in English! I really enjoyed being able to understand the words. There is an international retreat going on so our Mass was concelebrated by the normal parish priest, along with four other priests from France, Sweden, Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina. That was really cool to me, too.

But it is probably the last English Mass we will go to until we get home this summer. The Masses here are much more like Masses at home. There were Eucharistic ministers, and it appears that the parish has many activities going on. Tomorrow we are planning on going to the Scottish National Museum and perhaps the art gallery. We'll see if the wind takes us anywhere else tomorrow!