We did some sightseeing in Edinburgh last week and started at Edinburgh Castle (like everyone else!) It is the most popular tourist site in Scotland with more than a million visitors each year. It was built on the top of an old volcano in the Middle Ages and was virtually impregnable. It is huge with several museums, lots of cannons (one of which is still fired at 1:00 every afternoon), a chapel, a cemetery for soldiers' dogs, a royal palace, and the Scottish crown jewels!

St. Giles Cathedral is the "birthplace of Presbyterianism" and dates from the 14th century.  It was home to John Knox who became pastor there in 1559 and launched the Scottish Protestant Reformation. Today he is buried inconspicuously outside the cathedral in the parking lot under a small placque located in parking space 23.

Rose and Dianne and the aforementioned John.

In 2005 Edinburgh was declared the literary capital of Europe for its many esteemed writers over the centuries, from Sir Walter Scott to Robert Louis Stevenson to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to J.K. Rowling.  The Elephant House is the coffee shop where the now rich and famous welfare mom wrote her first Harry Potter novel.

Statues abound in Edinburgh.  This one is of the philosopher David Hume.  Note his shiny gold toe which visitors rub for luck, much like Abe Lincoln's nose in Springfield.

Probably the most beloved statue is of this much celebrated little Skye terrier named Greyfriars Bobby, which has stood on this site since 1873. He was the devoted companion of a local farmer. After the farmer died, the story goes that Bobby faithfully slept in the local churchyard on his master's grave each night for the next 14 years! There is a popular pub named for Greyfriars Bobby across the street.

Holyroodhouse Palace is the home of Queen Elizabeth in Edinburgh.  It is usually open to the public unless the queen is in residence.  Unfortunately we were not able to visit because the queen's representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was staying there. (We did visit the General Assembly though!)

Edinburgh is steeped in history in every direction. The streets are cobblestone and the buildings are hundreds of years old. Yet in the middle of it all sits this strange-looking modern structure which is the Scottish Parliament.  What were they thinking? :(