UK Holiday- Day 2- Edinburgh

Edinburgh still delights.  I am becoming keenly aware that we will not have enough time in this city.  This is especially true when we sleep in until the afternoon, as we did today.  With any luck, that will be our only morning lost to sleep.  We definitely feel well-rested, though.

We rushed out to explore Edinburgh Castle this afternoon, but we were delayed by a street performer.  I don't know why we stopped to look at the juggler, or why we stayed in spite of his obsessive need to have everyone neatly in a circle around him, but I know why we stayed for the finale.  This young man was juggling knives.  Big, scary knives.  He asked Tony to hold one.  I was convinced he was going to ask Tony to throw the knife in when he was juggling and Tony was going to impale the young juggler.  Thankfully, that didn't happen.  Instead, he stood on Tony and another "volunteer" and juggled flaming sticks.  Thankfully, Tony survived.  It was definitely unexpected.  

Edinburgh Castle is at the end of the Royal Mile, at the top of a hill.  It is a daunting structure when you look up on it.  I suppose that's one of the reasons why it is built on a hill.  The views from the top are quite impressive too.  The entire city is visible from the top.  And, we lucked into another day of sun (or, more likely, slept through the rain).  There was an incredible amount of history there including an inordinate number of military uniforms and swords.  There were great stories of rebellion and battles fought on behalf of the queen.  We went to the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to her son Charles.  We saw the Scottish Crown Jewels and a prison where all types of soldiers, including prisoners of the American War for Independence were housed.  The grounds were the most striking part, though.  Large buildings made of stone with turrets!  It was very fun and we learned we both liked the buildings more than the contents within the buildings.
 

We walked back down the Royal Mile eyeing shops and potential dinner offerings and returned to our hotel.  After a shower and a bit of a rest, we headed out to dinner.  Tony found a tapas restaurant that was quite good.  I know, tapas is so far from Scottish food, but Tony reminded me that the remainder of the trip will be much less metropolitan and we'll have no shortage of options for traditional Scottish cuisine.  

After dinner we walked down to the palace.  It was too dark for photos.  I hope we're able to see more of it tomorrow morning.  I now know we booked too few days in Edinburgh.  I suspect I could stay much longer, but the rest of the country calls.