Sunday, July 7, 2013

Can You Guess?

Can you guess where we are?  
This new kit I treated myself to today is a clue. 
Another clue or two: It's 8:45pm and the sun is still brightly shining.  
Sunrise was at 4:37am here and the sun will not set until 9:57pm.

Photographic Clues

Given up? Or do you think you know...
We left London this morning on the 9:00am train to Edinburgh, Scotland.
The train journey took us past lovely York, then Durham, Newcastle, and Berwick upon Tweed before arriving at Waverley station.  

Mom and I were last here in 2004 and it is wonderful to be back.

First off we walked over to the National Museum Scotland.

Not to see the Egyptian mummies - they were a pleasant surprise.

As were these 10 pieces of the Lewis Chessmen.  There are others at the British Museum which we've also seen.

We truly went there to see the newly opened Mary Queen of Scots exhibition.
She was fascinating woman.  The daughter of James V and Mary of Guise, Mary Queen of Scots was promised to the dauphin of France and moved to live in the French court when she was just five years old.  She did marry him and was Queen of France for a year before his untimely death.  She then returned to Scotland to rule there.  

The upper right photo is a beeskep and bees that form part of a much large piece she stitch with Bess of Hardwick while a prisoner of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. I found a blog post with several more photos of this amazing tapestry.  Take a look!

From the museum it was a short walk down the Royal Mile to Holyroodhouse Palace where Mary Queen of Scots resided from 1561-1567.

The new Scottish Parliament building is just the next building up the hill from the palace.

The Royal Mile is awash in historic buildings and small narrow passageways which are called wynds or closes. You can see one such opening in the photo above just to the right of the yellow and red building.
If you chose to go and explore the passageway...

...you might stumble upon this charming scene.
This is Whitehorse Close.

Edinburgh has lots of compelling vistas.



The Castle, the Palace, Sir Walter Scot's Monument, John Knox's house, Arthur's Seat...

I even saw a couple of interesting pillar postboxes.
This one has no royal insignia whatsoever.

Mary has asked about the food we've eaten lately.  As she is set up in Google as a "no-reply" I cannot contact her directly so will answer on the blog. We tried flash fried whitebait as our starter at a pub this evening.  I'd compare them to sardines both in size and taste.  
I also want to thank everyone who has taken the time to comment the last several weeks during our Epic Adventure!  I so enjoy reading the comments and your enthusiastic responses keep me going!


15 comments:

Margaret said...

Oh how wonderful! Love seeing everything! Love your new kit too! Wow wow! It's all so cooooool! Love Mary Queen of Scots. Of course, I love Queen Elizabeth I too. :D

Mouse said...

oooooo nice kilts and lovely scenery too and that cute allyway into the close too ...
love the castles and the historic buildings too ... was it any cooler for you ??? love mouse xxxxx

cucki said...

Wow so beautiful..
Lovely kit :) and sweet photos.
Love x

Giovanna said...

You picked a lovely day to be in Edinburgh. Enjoy Scotland, it must be beautiful at this time of year. I'm a great fan of long daylight - more hours of easy stitching :-)

Barb said...

You are The Best tour guide. I am so enjoying "our" trip abroad. Thank you a million times over for sharing this wonderful holiday with the rest of us!!! :-)

Samplings from Spring Creek said...

Your travels look amazing--thank you for sharing

Barb said...

It is our dream to go to Edinburgh. Thank you for putting all those temptations in the form of photos on your blog!

Annette-California said...

This is way cool. Your in Scotland! WOW! Have you gotten to taste oatcakes? I have read about them in some books, but not heard of anyone tasting them. Beautiful photos and the 1831 chess pieces remind me of the chess pieces in Harry Potter, the first movie. And Holyrood Palace? so cool. Great new chart you got. Loved seeing your Queen Mary exhibition photos too. Great post. Are you going to see Glamis castle? I had seen on TV they have a piece of linen, framed that the story is - its from a fairy that fell in love with a human man. She was granted so many years in the human world, but when she had to return she gifted her shawl. The shawl would grant 3 wishes. During world war 2 - some pilots from Scotland each had a photo of the linen and carried that photo with them at all times. All 4 of them returned safely home. Have a great time. love Annette

Annette-California said...

This is way cool. Your in Scotland! WOW! Have you gotten to taste oatcakes? I have read about them in some books, but not heard of anyone tasting them. Beautiful photos and the 1831 chess pieces remind me of the chess pieces in Harry Potter, the first movie. And Holyrood Palace? so cool. Great new chart you got. Loved seeing your Queen Mary exhibition photos too. Great post. Are you going to see Glamis castle? I had seen on TV they have a piece of linen, framed that the story is - its from a fairy that fell in love with a human man. She was granted so many years in the human world, but when she had to return she gifted her shawl. The shawl would grant 3 wishes. During world war 2 - some pilots from Scotland each had a photo of the linen and carried that photo with them at all times. All 4 of them returned safely home. Have a great time. love Annette

Chris said...

I was wondering if you would be heading up to Scotland. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful pics. The chessmen are amazing. So cool that you saw the exhibit on Mary Stewart.

hazel c UK said...

Reading your posts a like a mystery tour you never know what place we are going to visit.

So glad you enjoyed Scotland a beautiful city.

Trace safe.
Hugs
Hazel c uk

Vickie said...

So fun! Thank you Beth. I have enjoyed this post. =)

Mary said...

The kilts were an easy clue...Scotland must be beautiful...who wouldn't like to live in a close? Mary has always been a favorite queen and Antonia Fraser's novel is one of my favorite to reread. Thanks for the food update. If I ever win a lottery you are coming with me to be My Own tour guide..hahaha.

Melanie said...

Ooooo, Scotland,!!!!! I'm going to go out on a limb and say I will love everything. Lol

Carol said...

Now you're in Scotland?!! Oh, what a trip, Beth--I would love to be there with you as my husband's family has Scottish roots. I am continually amazed that you've kept up blogging each and every day of your trip :)