We skipped the Hop On/Hop Off today as our two sightseeing stops took up the entire day so we wouldn’t have had time to see anything else. First up was Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s residence when she’s in Edinburgh. She was in here in July while waiting for Balmoral to be ready for her.
Palace of HolyroodhouseFountain in the front courtyardAn interior courtyardThe original cornerstone laid in 1671.
We were there when it opened and were able to tour the palace before it got too busy. As in the other Royal Palaces, this one also had a special exhibition. And just like in the other exhibitions, no cameras were allowed. This one highlighted the outfits the Queen wore to all 4 of her jubilee celebrations, including the two from this year.
We saw this dress from her formal jubilee portrait. Recognize the blurred background? It’s the Round Tower at Windsor Castle. The is the only one of the 4 jubilee formal portraits in which she wasn’t wearing a crown. She is actually quite understated but looks great.She wore the green dress on the balcony. This is from the actual exhibition. I found it online.
This was the only of her palaces where we were able to take pictures.
One of the original tapestries. Circle of Swords in one of the stairwaysThe Dining Room Her Majesty uses when she’s in town. Throne Room. The chairs were made for Elizabeth’s grandparents in 1911, King George V and Queen Mary.At the other end of the Throne room is this portrait of Charles II. His father was beheaded during the Reformation and he became King when the monarchy was restored. Presence Chamber. Where the Queen holds receptions and has audiences with high ranking individuals. The King’s Privy ChamberThe only painted ceiling in the Palace is in the King’s BedchamberThe Great HallThe Order of the Thistle Regalia. The Chapel for the Order is in St. Giles Cathedral that we saw yesterday. The Chapel was closed, though, so we didn’t get to see it. The Order of the Thistle is the greatest order of chivalry in Scotland.Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire; collar, badge, and star (GBE).
Mary Queen of Scots lived in the Palace between 1561-1567. The apartment is accessed via a narrow winding stone staircase. Peter didn’t make the trip so I went up and caught up with him afterward. This apartment was in the oldest part of the Palace.
Mary Queen of Scots Bed Chamber.Outer Chamber with displays of Stewart relics.
The ruins of the Abbey were closed for renovation so we weren’t able to visit.
Front of the AbbeyThe Abbey through the garden trees. Small formal gardens.
After we finished at the Palace and gardens, we headed over to the Queen’s Gallery which was just across the walkway. It was a small art museum containing artwork that has hung in one or the other of the Palaces. A steward told us that they rotate paintings between the Palaces and the gallery.
Portrait of Agatha Bas by Rembrandt van Rijn (known by his first name) painted in 1641. What I love about the Dutch masters (my favorite artists) is how life-like the painting are. You could see every detail of the lace and fan. Close up of the sleeve and fan. The photo doesn’t do it justice; it was absolutely stunning. This one is by Adriaen van Ostade titled The Interior of a Pheasant’s Cottage. The other thing I like about the Dutch Masters is that they frequent paint the lives of “real” people not just the aristocracy. I can’t wait to get to Amsterdam where we’ll go to the Rijksmuseum.
Next up was a bus ride to and EE store to recharge our phone SIM cards, then it was off the the Edinburgh Castle. Along the way we saw a few interesting things.
Scott Monument dedicated to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. This is the 2nd largest monument to an author in the world. The first is in Havana Cuba. I have no idea what these buildings are but I thought they were beautiful.
It was a long, uphill climb to Edinburgh Castle but Peter made it like a champ. We still had about 90 minutes before our timed tickets to enter the castle, so we stopped in at Cottonwood Restaurant for a lovely lunch.
I had a lovely rib eye steak sandwich with delicious mustard dip. Yes, Cynthia, I did take a bite before I took the picture. But it was just a small bite.
We had just enough time after lunch to chat with a few people about tomorrow’s Tattoo. We found out that if we arrive NLT 8:00pm, we’ll be allowed to enter the grounds early so we don’t have to stand in the queue. Also, if we wait for about 45 minutes after the show ends, the roads will be open again and they will call a taxi for us to get home. We were wondering how that was going to work and I was worried about Peter climbing that monster hill again. I’m very happy with this plan.
This is the end of the grandstands where we’ll be sitting tomorrow. We’re in section 7, row P. So if they start at A, our seats are about 16 rows back. We’ll have a great view of the Castle. This is the direction we’ll be facing. We’re standing on the parade grounds. This is the part of the Castle containing the State Apartments and the Scottish Crown Jewels.
Of course we weren’t able to take photos, but I found this photo online.
Crown used at the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots. Queen Elizabeth II has also used it at the opening of Parliament. Opening of Parliament in 2011. This is the room in which Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to the future King James II. It was a tiny room.
In another part of the Castle grounds we saw St. Margaret’s Chapel. It’s a small chapel built in 12th century.
St. Margaret’s Chapel on the Castle terrace.Small altar.
The windows were very small but they still used stained glass.
The view from the Castle was amazing. The sky was pretty cloudy but it was still pretty.
The final stop at the Castle was the Scottish War Museum…Peter was in heaven!
Ship’s bell from HMS Dartmouth, a Royal Navy Warship lost in a storm off Isle of Mull in 1690.Silver club taken from a military leader in the Indian Uprising of 1857-58.Doublet worn by a soldier during the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.
After the museum, we headed back down the hill to where we walked yesterday. We didn’t realize it at the time but the Edinburgh Castle is at one end of the Royal Mile and the Palace of Holyroodhouse is at the other. So, we were at both ends today. We walked quite a bit of it but certainly not the entire length.
We saw another bagpiper, this one in full regalia.
And another street performer.
We made it home around 4pm so it was a full day. We had ham/cheese sandwiches for dinner as we’d had such a big lunch.
Tomorrow we visit the Royal Yacht Britannia so that will be fun. Have a great night everyone and thanks for sharing our adventures.
