Edinburgh and Then Home!!

      That's right! Edinburgh, Scotland!!! I'm sure some of you reading this last blog may have already visited Edinburgh before. I was so excited and, seriously, NOT disappointed with my time there. Edinburgh, to me, really was what they say about it....absolutely marvelous! We spent 3 travel days only in Edinburgh and then we met up with our old friends, the Eadys and traveled a little outside of Edinburgh. That, too, was so wonderful. Are you ready to see what I saw in Edinburgh? Let's go!!!

     We left jolly ol' England from the Birmingham Airport and took a bus all night to Edinburgh, It was so wonderful to let the driver do the driving and to allow us to look and see if we wanted to or close our weary eyes and rest. After traveling all night and passing through English towns such as Nottingham (no Robin Hood seen that night) and Leeds, we arrived in Edinburgh at 8:00 am the next morning. We then made our way to our bed and breakfast place to drop off our luggage and traveled again at the mercy of Edinburgh bus drivers into the city. 

Happy to be on the bus!

When this appeared the next morning, my heart rate hit an all-time high! 

Here is one photo of the beauty Scotland has to show. Wow!!!

     For a short history on Edinburgh, the city has been the capital of Scotland since the 15th century and is the seat of Scottish government. Believe it or not, the Edinburgh area was first inhabited around 8500 BC! Edinburgh city is divided into two main parts, the old city and the new city. Both of these parts of the city are now UNESCO World Heritage sites. The city has long been a centre of intellect and education, particularly in the fields of medicine, Scottish law, literature, philosophy, the sciences and engineering. Edinburgh is proud of the many, many inventions that have come from inside her, including some of the most famous peoples in many areas that have roamed the earth. It is the second-largest financial centre in the United Kingdom, and the city's historical and cultural attractions have made it the UK's second-most visited tourist destination. It is full of history, culture and the arts. It simply is just amazing.

     We started our morning by using their well known and well used hop on/hop off bus system. We traveled around the city twice while listening to a wonderfully informed tour guide who brought the city alive for me. Ernie sat up front to hear every word that was said and I sat in the open back portion of the bus to photograph my heart out. I took sooooo many photographs, but will only show you several from the bus ride. Here we go!

This is Scott's monument and was the first famous monument that we saw. It was built to honor Sir Walter Scott, Scotland's most famous writer

This is a photo of the skyline of the Old City of Edinburgh

This is a photo of Edinburgh's clock tower

The Edinburgh Castle

There were churches everywhere! This is St John's Scottish Episcopal Church

One other famous church in Old Edinburgh. This one is Tollbooth Kirk

This is known as the old clock on the old building. Kind of a catchy name, don't you think?

Arthur's Seat is a large hill where you can hike up to the top and get a awesome view of Edinburgh

The beautiful, well worn cobblestone streets as seen especially in the older streets areas of Edinburgh

Our bus ride even took us out to the east of Edinburgh and to the coast of the North Sea

     When we hopped off the bus, we walked down the Royal Mile starting near the Edinburgh Castle. What a treat that was for me. For years, even before our mission, I have wanted to walk down that street! The Royal Mile is the oldest street in Edinburgh and is a straight mile line from the castle down to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the King or Queen of England could stay while visiting Scotland. More about that coming up. Our walk brought me many surprises and memories for a lifetime. 

 I'll never forget my time walking on this street. It was so awesome in every way!

Just a few steps down the street we stopped to hear this bagpiper. For those of you who know me well enough, I LOVE bagpipes. To hear them played on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh became, then, a bucket list crossed-off item

Then just a few more steps further down the Royal Mile, this awesome duet entertained us with delight. I also love this picture. Every time I look at it, I can still hear them playing! It brings joy to my heart

People walking up the Royal Mile which is loaded with shop after shop after shop!

And those shops are one right after another. You literally could spend a day just walking in and out of those amazing shops

Every now and then you would find a small narrow passage way that might lead you to a quiet park or a wonderful eatery

Near the bottom of the Royal Mile is John Knox's home. John was a very famous religious reformer who lived almost 500 years ago. This home is his original 500 years old house

     While walking down the Royal Mile cobblestoned streets, we came to St. Gile's Cathedral. St. Gile's was founded in 1124 by King David I and has over 900 years of history including John Knox, who preached the new protestant religion and Mary Queen of Scots, who wanted Scotland to be Catholic once again. This Protestant/Catholic struggle still goes on today. The cathedral itself is one of the most beautiful cathedrals that I have ever witnessed. Seriously, I could have photographed the inside of that place for another hour or two. I WAS in heaven. If I ever go back to Scotland, I WILL return there. Words can hardly express its true beauty!

St. Gile's Cathedral as seen walking down the Royal Mile

I'm telling you, when you can see detail like this, you know that you are in for something very special and I certainly was not disappointed

Look at those arches! What did I tell you?!

Every step in that building just seemed to get more beautiful than the step before

I CANNOT put into words what this looked like in person. I was in awe!

Beautiful stained glass windows on every wall

The cathedral got more and more amazing the further I went

What awesome detail done hundreds of years ago. I'm sorry but modern cathedrals can never match up to this one! EVER!!

The blue of the ceilings almost took my breath away. 

This is the Chapel of Thistles. I couldn't believe what I saw inside this small room. I know this photo is small, but let me tell you that the detail inside of it was more than amazing. It literally was hard to walk away from this room. Literally!

     The next day, we went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This is the official palace for the crowned ruler of England to stay in when visiting the country. The palace was very nice with lots of staff members asking visitors to follow the rules established. The main rule was that while inside the palace, you could not take any photographs. The photos that I have included in this blog are from internet sources so you could see what it looked like inside. Let's go see!

Here is the outside of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

This would be the gate that the crowned ruler would use to enter the complex of the palace

When the crowned head is visiting, the royal guards take their place here also

This is the insignia above the main entrance to the palace. Did you know that the unicorn is the official animal for Scotland since the 15th century?

Inside the palace grounds

This is another internet photo showing a ceiling inside the palace made of horse hair and plaster. The wall tapestries, which are around 500 years old, were so incredible to see 

Here is an internet photo of the main dining hall

and of the throne room,

the King's bed chamber,

and the room made for Mary Queen of Scots when she lived in the palace s

Once the tour inside the palace ended, you could take a walk outside into the Royal Gardens. It was, as you might expect, very pristine

and wonderfully manicured. Just right for a king or a queen!

Visitors are also invited to go into the abbey ruins, which is today a marvelous example of a medieval edifice

This abbey was built in 1128. Though it is in ruins, it was very beautiful

See what I mean? Amazing!!!

     Our second from the last day day in Edinburgh was spent going to the Edinburgh Castle. The castle itself sits on Castle Rock and over looks the city and some of the waterways. Castle Rock is literally an extinct volcano with a very strong foundation. Though Castle Rock has a long history of holding some type of defensive system to protect its peoples, the Edinburgh Castle, as it stands today, has been in existence since the12th century. The castle is also home to St. Margaret's Chapel and the Royal Treasures of the Kingdom, or the crown of Scotland and the Stone of Destiny. The Royal Crown was hidden during the Second World War in David's tower for protection. The castle also fires off the one o'clock gun, a timed signal given everyday exactly at 1300 to allow any close maritime vessels to realign their ship's clock to the right time. The practice of firing the one o'clock gun continues to this day every day except Sundays. I LOVED this castle! If I was never to see a castle again, this would be the castle I would want to see. What a way to end our time while serving a mission for the Lord. Here we go!

Welcome to the Edinburgh Castle

This is an old lamp that lit the way into the castle. Notice the Coat of Arms over the castle door

St. Margaret's Chapel. A place for peace 

Looking down a canon shaft with a view of the city

This does read 1566. Like other castles, new buildings were added when needed. On this castle many of the buildings are dated

This is a replica of a first edition King James Bible

This is a portrait of King James who was a Scottish king

Looking up inside David's tower. This tower was used as a prison

The one o'clock gun had just been fired. The ground beneath my feet actually shook

Inside the older part of the castle looking through a window

A great fireplace to heat a cold stone walled room

One of the doors to enter into another room in the castle 

This was amazing! There was a ceremony going one that day in the castle and a bagpiper was playing as the procession marched by. I loved it!

One of the many soldiers that I saw on the castle's grounds

Looking out over the upper view of the castle

The Great Hall of the Edinburgh Castle

Armour once worn to protect the king

A bench for rest near a castle window

We were able to view behind protective glass the Royal Treasuresof the Kingdom, as it is called. The treasures include the Crown of Scotland, the ancient sword and saber, the septer and the Stone of Destiny recently returned after King Charles's coronation

     After we completed our tour of the castle, we joined with my friends, the Eadys. I have known Julie for 30 years this year. She lives in England and she and her husband drove 4.5 hours that morning to spend a day with us. Wasn't that so wonderful? Both Julie and her husband are amazing people and very good friends that I treasure with all my heart. While we were together, they drove us to several places like the Kelpies, Falkirk Wheel, and down to St. Andrews, a city on the south of Scotland.

This was our first stop called the Kelpie, the mystical water horse of Scotland

This is a huge metal sculpture of 2 horses and are absolutely incredible to see up close. It was so awesome!

Next, we went to Falkirk Wheel. This invention and the only one in the world, helps move a canal boat from a lower level of water to a higher level of water when locks just won't work

By using the same amount of energy that 4 hot water kettles would use to heat water, this canal boat "ferris wheel" rotates the top boat down while taking the bottom boat up. Very creative and it really works!!

Ernie and I sitting in an extra large beach sling chair. It was much easier to fall into the chair than it was for us to climb out!

We also went to a famous town in southern Scotland called St. Andrews. What make this town so famous? Two things....the St. Andrews Golf Course, where the game of golf began and St. Andrews University where Prince William and Kate Middleton studied, meet each other and fell in love. This is Main Street St. Andrews!

St. Andrews is one of the oldest places in Scotland dating back between 10,000-5,000 BC! It, too, housed a castle, now in ruins and a cathedral. 

The castle/cathedral complex was huge. It also had a large old cemetery

This is the headstone for Tommy Morris. He and his father invented golf and the golf ball, which today is pattern after the original ball. 

This is another view of St. Andrews beautiful and well groomed cemetery

Several blocks away from the castle ruins is the beautiful beach called West Sands Beach. Of course I walked down to the water's edge. You should have known better than that! I love any beach!

There was an awesome picket fence that lined a sandy path which lead you to the beach. It so reminded me of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. So peaceful and refreshing to my soul

The famous St. Andrews Golf Course. Golfers come from all over the world to get a chance to play a round here. They say that if you want to make a reservation, you have to do it 12 months in advance! Crazy!!!!!

Oh!!!!! Look who is standing on St. Andrews Golf Course grass. Yep, it's me!!! Amazing!

St. Andrews University is literally spread over different parts of the town. We noticed that there were even some very high fencing around some areas possibly to keep paparazzi away

On our drive back to Edinburgh, we couldn't believe our eyes as we past by this road sign. There is actually a small town in Scotland called Muirhead. We had no clue that this was a real thing. This also was not a coincidence that we drove by it. This was a perfect way to end our time in Scotland, don't you think?

Ernie, Kathy, and the Eadys

This is a replica of the corner stone that President David O. McKay saw while he served in Scotland. It reads, "What e'er thou art, act well thy part". The original stone sign was placed at the Scotland/Ireland Mission home, but since 1984, it has been moved to the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City

We had to walk one-half mile at 0245 to get ready to fly home on June 8, 2023. This is what the Edinburgh Airport looks in the middle of the night

As we waited for our gate to open, Ernie fell sound asleep. He barely woke up in time to make the flight

Are we so happy to be on the plane or what???

We flew from Edinburgh to Amsterdam and then to Salt Lake City. It was an eleven hour, 5 minute flight!

What a beautiful photo of the atmosphere God created for us!

Now there is 4 wonderful children who love their parents. It was the best reunion ever!!!

My first American meal at where do you think? Cafe Rio, of course!

Megan loving her daddy....

and Rachael loving her momma

Banners and balloons were decorated both outside and inside of our home. Even neighbors left us messages welcoming us home from our mission. It was a very nice surprise.

     What a blessing to make it home safe and into the loving arms of our sweet family. They mean the world to us. From the start of our mission to the very end, Heavenly Father has not only guided us to allow us to grow, but has protected us every step the way. How grateful we both are to have served, loved and returned with honor. We will always remember our time in Ireland with the sweetest of feelings. We pray that we will never lose our ever deepened love for our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

     One last testimony. God lives. Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the Restoration. The Book of Mormon truly is the most correct book on the earth and a man or woman CAN get closer to God than any other way. We do have a living, breathing prophet on the earth today, President Nelson, whose only desire is to keep us on the covenant path. Both Ernie and I know better today and without a single doubt that the gospel is true and does bring both joy and peace as commandments are obeyed and covenants are kept. May God continue to bless each of us to find our way back home to Him!

THE END