Scottish Parliament

 I had hoped to get back for the First Minister's question time, but it was all booked and the last before Christmas - maybe next time!

The Parliament building certainly creates an impression. A modern concrete confection nestled below Arthur's seat and opposite the Palace of Holyrood, it is one of those buildings either loved or hated, but certainly unable to be ignored. Created by architect Enric Miralles and opened in 2005, many aspects of the design are symbolic.

 The Main Hall inside the public entry has a low, triple arched ceiling of polished concrete resembling a cave or castle vault and is rather dark, but vast and spacious.

The Debating Chamber, above the Main Hall is the opposite and is light and airy with massive overhead oak beams, sycamore and glass to "shine the light on democracy". Certainly different to many of the parliamentary chambers I have visited. There are no set seats and no massive tables, it would be interesting to get to a sitting session.

Virgin Money Street of Light

 An event that lights up Edinburgh's old town, with over 26 arches and 60,000 lights that create a stunning canopy overhead in the Royal Mile..

 The lights are synchronised to music played and sung by choirs from across Edinburgh and provide a 20 minute spectacle enjoyed several times nightly, with some nights about 5000 people in the space. Thank goodness last night it was no where near that crowded and there was plenty of room to move about and getting home after was ot a big challengs

The Palace of Holyroodhouse

 Still a fully working Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is open for viewing, but not photographing, inside at least. The Queen spends several weeks there over the summer and conducts her Garden Party, welcomes dignitaries, installs new knights etc and hols receptions and other state occasions.
The Abbey was founded in 1128, and is now in ruins. The castle grew from the extensions of the monastic buildings, surrounded by gardens,  the kings preferring to live here rather than at the castle.
James 1Vconverting the royal lodgings in the Abbey into a Palace

    Mary, Queen of Scots came to live at Holyroodhouse after her return from France, and her quarters are open for viewing as are the State Apartments, Great Hall, Dining room etc and the all the major rooms of State still used by the Royal Family for official purposes.

There are some amazing tapestries and art works in addition to many of the artifacts relating to the various occupants. Many of the art works by  famous Scottish artists can also be seen n the Queen's Gallery

The Espy, Portobello

With a name like The Espy, and being a Melbourne girl of a certain generation, I had to go visit this pub. Situated on the Promenade, like it's counterpartt in St Kilda on the Esplanade, the Esplanade Hotel certainly has an "Aussie" touch. The publican, I believe, is a Melbournian, and I don't know if the hotel has always been the Esplanade, but it is now. is welcoming and has a great menu, with a few Aussie

I little closer to the beach than our Espy, but itprobably is in a better state. The last I heard I think our Espy was in danger of being demolished for the inevitable progress.

The food is good, the staff friendly and the Aussie theme prevails, although there were no other Aussie's around that I could hear. I believe the owner has another pub in Edinburgh, this time with a Kiwi theme.

Edinburgh Farmers Market

Yesterday I went off to the Farmers Market. held every Saturday morning on Castle Terrace at the base of the castle. I am sure there are lots more stalls in the better weather, but there was a good choice of Organic vegetable, lots of exotic meats and fish and a variety of other goodies. Enough to fill my backpack with some food for the week at least.

Rosslyn Chapel

 What an amazing, enigmatic and mystical building this is, After an hour's journey an buses and with the rain coming down I had my doubts as to my choice of days to visit, but I am so glad I went, it is a wondrous and beautiful place. Built over 2 intersecting ley lines, it is a stunning example of medieval architecture and the art of the stonemasons. The interior carvings are wonders to behold.


Founded in 1446, the still functioning chapel has a long and interesting career, which culminated in the fame brought about by the publication of Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. The book and subsequent film provided the infamy which resulted in a virtual flood of tourists and the therefore the money necessary to continue the much needed renovations.

 Because it is still a working chapel, with regular services, baptisms, weddings etc, photography is not permitted within - otherwise I don't think many would ever leave - there is just so much to see. The only problem is that much of it involves looking up and that becomes very hard on the neck after a while. The stonework is amazing, with carving filling every nook and cranny and the barrel vaulted roof is just fabulous. You could spend days exploring and still not appreciate all the work involved.

The chapel also has supposed connections to the Knights Templar and the Freemasons and so the messages presented by all the interior works can be interpreted either in a Christian biblical way of in terms of the Templars and Masonry

There are many claims, suppositions and theories about Rosslyn all of which create an aura of intrigue and mystery, which is a wonderful place to visit even on a cold winter day.

 I did visit today especially because there was a harp recital for the Christmas celebration, and the 13 year old played beautifully. The harp was perfectly suited to the chapel and the atmosphere was very tranquil and peaceful. A lovely visit.

Edinburgh Castle

 On my first day I went into the centre to buy my bus pass, and as it was such a lovely day - well it's all relative, the rain had stopped, there was no wind and there were moments when the sun peeped out, I decided to follow the upward winding road towards the Castle on the hill. The hills sure are steep around that part of town!.

But finally I made it to the castle. The good thing about traveling out of season, is that there are hardly any other people - no long queues of other tourists, and as I had bought an Historic Scotland Pass, I didn't have to wait at all. Again it was all uphill from there, following the winding path and listening to the audio as I went. As you can see the views were pretty spectacular, with clear views over the old town,the new town and out over the Firth of Forth.

 I will go back for another visit, this time I will make sure I am in the front when the 1 o'clock cannon is fired - somehow people came from everywhere and I couldn't see much at all, and I would like to do the guided tour also, but it was a good start.

Portobello Promenade

 Sunday was a total reprieve from all the bad weather. The sun was shining, there was some blue sky and blissfully, no rain or wind. So Millie and I grabbed her ball and headed for the beach.


Many of the locals had the same idea and there were lots out walking the promenade and along the beach with their dogs. It was delightful, and as you can see Millie loves the beach and her ball.

 Portobello is only 3 miles from the city centre and contains the town's only beach. The suburb has gone through it's seedy days, but I am told is on the up and up now, and is quite delightful. The area contains a mixture of Victorian and Georgian architecture and some delightfully quirky buildings.

There is even a pub called the Espy- right there on the promenade which brings up thoughts of Melbourne and the famous or more likely infamous Espy on the Esplanade at St Kilda. Have to go visit there!


Great spot to be living for the next month, 'cos I love walking on the beach too.

Home from Skye

Our final day was quite a day- the weather was so bad there were times when I actually wondered if we were going to make it safely or at all. Started the day with the news that the Forth Road Bridge had developed some cracks and was to be closed for up to 3 weeks, and as the bridge is the major route from the north it was going to cause some delays getting back to town. Added to that was the weather forecast of gale force winds and rain - great outlook for the day.

We did manage most of the photo stops without too much rain, including Eilean Donan and Urquhart Castles and then headed for Inverness for a brief look and a lunch stop.

Here I did think I was going to be blown into the River Ness the wind was so strong. As you can see the river is flowing full and strong.
After several more stops along the way at some prehistoric burial cairns and finally the lovely Victorian town of Pitlorchy, it was a very roundabout route to Edinburgh through gale force winds and driving rain- certainly not an enjoyable trip. The motorway at times was at a complete standstill and the road covered by sheets of water.

After finally arriving I had my first experience catching the bus home from the centre, still in driving rain and strong winds, and in the dark - I looked and felt a total wreck by the time I blew in the door. But the house was lovely and warm and Nicola had again cooked a lovely soup.

It was good to be home but it was a great trip

Photo Fanatacism or Selfie Absorption

I had to have a laugh on the trip watching people and their cameras, and came to the conclusion that we are a society totally absorbed in seeing ourselves on screen. With the advent of digital photography, smart phones and the horrendous "selfie stick" tourists spend more than 1/2 their time photographing themselves in front of whatever, often making silly faces or "funny" gestures.

I watched in wonder as a man marched through a very crowded Heathrow airport, selfie stick held out in front and talking to himself as everyone else had to scatter to avoid being poked in the eye by his selfie stick or run over by his trailing trolley.

On my Skye tour I traveled with a family of 3 from Singapore and a young couple from Hong Kong and watched in wonder as they took la multitudes of photos - selfies, individual and group photos in front of everything, every time we stopped. Then of course, there was the obligatory photo of every plate of food to be consumed. I really do wonder how many of these photos are ever viewed again, and how much of the sights and scenery peole actually saw as they pose and organised, or maybe I am just getting cynical as well as old!

The Isle of Skye

Accommodation on Skye is predominantly Bed and Breakfast, and tourism plays a vital role in the island's economy, so there are a large number of these establishments. Our 2 nights were spent in Kyleakin, a small fishing village that was left behind when the road bridge was built, and is off the main tourist route. The driver explained that other tour companies controlled most of the bookings in the main city of Portree and so later companies are unable to find accommodation there. We had 6 in the tour group and 3 of us were at Cliffe House, comfortable and friendly and the views were lovely, but the village very small and nothing was open in the evenings, including eating places on the Thursday night - a bit of a challenge!

There are many small villages on the island and many single cottages scattered throughout. They stand out because there is no vegetation, much of he island being peat bogs, so it is a vast and bleak, lonely  landscape.

At the top of the island is Kilt rock, with it's spectacular waterfall down into the ocean, and the Quiraing, with it's rocky outcrops and formations dominates with a brooding presence. There is a walking trail right through the area, and even in winter we saw some intrepid walkers on the trails.

The main town of Portree is considerably larger and a very pretty port town, with it's colourful buildings along the port.Unfortunately, our time there was all to short, and dominated by the necessity to find an early dinner, as nothing was available in Kyleakin.
The complete lack of any form of nightlife on the journey gave me a chance to catch up on sleep and get over the jet lag, so there was a good side to it all.

The Highlands

After a day to re-adjust and get to know Nicola, Millie and my new home away from home, I set out on a 3 day tour into the Highlands to the Isle of Skye.
The first thing I have to say is that the weather has been appalling, until today, since I arrived. It has rained continually creating quite severe flooding and on Friday, the last day of the tour, the winds were gale force and made traveling pretty scarey

 That said though, it wasn't too cold, and we did manage to spend lots of time out of the bus at most sights, although the wind was too bad for the ferry trip to Skye.








After leaving Fort William we followed the railway line, famous  as the line that carries the Hogwarts express (Harry Potter, for those who don't know) to Glenfinnan to see the viaduct over which the train traveled followed by the flying blue car - too windy when we were there

 As the ferry wasn't running it was back to Fort William and onto Skye, stopping first to photograph the famous Eilean Donan castle, quite a brooding presence with the lights. It was only 4pm. but there are not many hours of daylight at this time of year.
The castle has featured in many movies - Highlander, James Bond's The World is not Enough and even in a Bollywood blockbuster.