Day two Edinburgh

Our morning began at 8:30 on a sightseeing tour with a new guide. He was a jolly chap who liked to tell jokes and play on words. Seems to be a Scottish trait.....my dad was so similar! We toured the 200 year old “New Town” . We saw the residences where famous scientists, inventors, novelist, including Alexander Graham Bell, Sir Walter Scott, Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde lived .  It was pointed out to us the difference between a “close” and a”wynd” .....it goes like this.....an entrance called a close will be “closed” from 10pm to 6am, while a “wynd” never closes, its open to the wind to let people pass through 24 hours a day.
We drove up to our first stop, Edinburgh Castle. I had not been there since about age 9 and dare say I didn’t pay much, if any, attention to the history. Today was a different story although it was getting to be difficult to remember it all! Fascinating  history that goes back 350 million years when the rock that is Edinburgh castle was volcanically formed. It really is an architectural  marvel and it’s no wonder that it has never been successfully attacked.
We were able to view the Crown Jewels although no photographs.  I had been told by someone that the “real” Crown Jewels were in England and the Scottish ones were “paste” it is actually COMPLETELY the opposite! The crown and other jewels had been hidden for hundreds of years, Oliver Cromwell came up from England once a year for 7 years looking for them to no avail. They were so well hidden  none in Scotland knew where! It was Sir Walter Scott who found the hiding place in Edinburgh castle and had them excavated. He was led to them by the study of some old manuscripts. Another area of interest was a little dog cemetery up at the top of the castle where the pets and service animals of serving soldiers were buried.  The view from the castle is outstanding, but the wind at that level was cold. The day was a bluebird one with puffy white clouds! We left the castle at 11:30 as it was starting to get busy.
Next stop was Holyrood Palace. This is where the queen takes residence when she is in Edinburgh. It is located below Arthur’s Seat.  Bodyguards that are marksmiths with bow and arrow are known to practice their craft up on top of Arthur’s Seat. Today they are ceremonial but still active shooters.
The Palace is small by palace standards , drawing rooms, bedrooms, dining room, ball room which is used for visiting heads of state, and portraits of  important people over the years adorn the walls.
I entered what was  almost the last room for viewing , it was a small room and I was immediately  drawn to the largest painting in the room and in a split second thought it was what I thought it was !!!
There was a security person in the room and I approached and asked if he knew the artist of this painting? He did not but said he could find out in a minute. I think he was also happy to relieve the boredom of the job. He was back in a flash with some papers in hand and said “The artist is John Pettie”.  I was a bit lost for words and then told him this artist was my ancestor. He seemed quite thrilled as well! We chatted for a bit about the whereabouts of his other works and he gave me a code number to trace....which I have tried to do without success. No problem as he is easy enough to find in the Scottish Portrait Gallery.  This “event” was quite fortuitous as the painting, which is of Bonnie Prince Charlie was only moved from the Queens private room to the public viewing area room 5 weeks ago. It is said to be the best painting of Bonnie Prince Charles.  I was not able to take a photograph of the painting, but at home I have a postcard image which was sent to me by my cousin Rae after she had viewed the painting in the Queens gallery by Buckingham  Palace last October.
It was back to our hotel, The Hilton, just on the rise over North  Bridge above Waverley Train Station, which is at one end of Princess Street, very central and a lovely hotel.
After a short rest, some of our group were off on an optional tour to Rosslyn Chapel which is a 40 minute drive outside Edinburgh Center.
Rosslyn  Chapel was begun by William St Clair 3rd prince of Orkney in 1446 and was finished but not complete for 40more years. William St Clair was a Mason , the guide asked if there were any free masons in the group, one man raised his hand.....I thought of my brother in law Billy and my dad who were masons. The St Clair ancestors occupy the family home a short 10 minute walk away, and the chapel is in regular use by the family. Imagine being able to trace your roots that far back. We listened to a 20 minute  talk by a volunteer historian that included many antedotes about the very intricate carvings that covered almost every surface. One such story was about a pillar that had been carved by an apprentice stone mason, while the master stone mason was abroad searching for inspiration to complete the last two pillars. When the master mason returned to find the apprentice had carved one pillar on his own accord, the master Mason was so enraged he stabbed him to death. Elsewhere on the walls a small head of the apprentice was carved and on another pillar the head masons head was carved where he would be facing the pillar carved by his apprentice for infinity.  Finally the Rosslyn Chapel was the chapel used in the filming of the Da Vinci Code. Since that time annual visits have gone from 36;000 per annum to 170,000!
I took many photos outside the Chapel but none allowed inside.
It had been a long day of sights when we arrived back at the hotel at six pm.
Tomorrow my time will be free from about 3pm.
What an amazing day.