Day 2 In Edinburgh

After a refreshing 10 hours of sleep, we all awoke ready for a full day of touring.  We had purchased a Senior Pass for 48 hours that allowed us access to 5 different Hop-on-Hop Off tour buses.  What a great deal as no matter what bus came along, we could hop on and ride, and ride we did.

Our goal today was to see the Edinburgh Castle, so we headed there first.  We were so glad we had purchased tickets online as the wait line for purchase looked liked hours.  We walked right in and strolled through the extensive grounds of this huge fortress, actually built on volcanic rock. the oldest building was St. Margaret's Chapel built in the 12th century. This was a very tiny space, holding only 30 people.  We saw a wedding party heading into the castle grounds and wondered if they were having the ceremony in the chapel.  The views were spectacular from the castle grounds.  The weather was flawless with bright sun all day and a light breeze.  Next time, we will ignore Weather.com as it was not as positive.

We found another local pub for lunch, then toured some more of the city.  We especially enjoyed touring the St. Giles Cathedral which is considered the high Kirk (church) of the city.  

Bob and Joyce walked from the cathedral back to our apartment where we regrouped for dinner.  Just up the street, we found this charming local pub, Tolbooth Tavern which was delightful.  Everything was just perfect.  We learned on the tour today that J.K. Rowling went to school at the University of Edinburgh and studied to be a French teacher, barely 3 blocks from our apartment.  Our guide said she taught French for a few years, but has since quit her day job!

This the view from our apartment.

This is near the castle.

Second from the left is Colin, a Castle Guide who was most helpful in answering all our questions, both of the castle, but about Edinburgh in general.

 St. Giles Cathedral