Scotland Day Three

 Yesterday's wind maxed out at 107 mph. No wonder walking was so tough.  Today was "just" in the 40's.  But so far we haven't needed brollies.  Count your blessings where you can find them I guess.

Today we headed to Edinburgh Castle for our tour.  Our guide was a lovely young ADHD woman who never stopped talking.  We learned a lot!

At 1 p.m. each day (except three holidays) this gun (the black barrel to the left) goes off.  It was for the benefit of seafarers so that they could reset their clocks upon their return from sea.  A tradition that is still kept.

Edinburgh Castle is a military garrison, and the most important of Scotland's over 2,000 castles.  The Tattoo that we will see on Thursday will be held in the attached (blue and red) stadium which you can see through this cannon turret.

 It takes about two months to construct this temporary structure on the parade ground and another two months to dismantle it each year.

Much of the story about the castle and about Scotland is related to this unfortunate lady.

Another lady spent time here too.

She was better treated.

Lots of old buildings, including this original church.

When Scotland claimed Nova Scotia, they didn't bother to do it in Canada - they simply moved some soil to this spot and had the ceremony here.  So, on our visit we stood on Nova Scotia soil.  

When in Scotland, do what the Scots do.  So I rubbed Hume's toe for good luck.

And after walking around the castle for a couple of hours, we then walked the mile and a half back to our apartment - with a stop for dinner.

A busy, but educational, day.

Tomorrow I plan to head to Salisbury Hill to see what I assume is a connection to my paternal grandfather.

Stay well.