Zuiderdam MegaVoyage 2018-2019, Edinburgh, Scotland, Part 3 of 3

Early this morning we left the North Seas to travel up the Firth of Forth actuary to South Queensferry Hawes Pier...I was able to get a number of nice scenic photos along the way…  One of my favorites is a photo of the Inchcolm Abby ruins and the Firth of Forth Bridge. We got the first tender and meet up with our tour guide for day... Andy of Tours by Locals (pictured with Cathy on the last photo) for our day in Edinburgh.  Ann and Cathy were very excited for their first visit to Edinburgh....my last visit was in 2009 and I was eager to return…. On our way into the city we passed the Daniel Stewart private school and made a stop on Castle Street for a view of Edinburgh Castle and Wojeck the Bear Statue. Andy parked our van and we started our walked up the Royal mile to the castle. We arrived just in time to see the Church of Scotland Assembly Parade. The best way to appreciate the historical past of Edinburgh is to explore the Royal Mile on foot. The main vein of the old town can be found in the west to east running Royal Mile that stretches from the aforementioned Edinburgh Castle to the Holyrood Palace. The Royal Mile is full of some of the best attractions in Edinburgh including the Scottish Storytelling Center, St. Giles Cathedral with its crown spire is a much-recognized landmark standing adjacent to Parliament Square, where the buildings now house the Law Courts of Scotland and countless restaurants and shops. The highlight of this area was the Edinburgh Castle that consumes the skyline sitting on a volcanic rock site 445 feet above the city and by no coincidence is the most visited spot in Edinburgh. Before doing the lower half of the Royal Mile, we viewed the George Heriot’s School, the inspiration for JK Rowling’s Hogwarts. Then we made our way to the start of the Lower Royal Mile, stopping at Flodden wall that separated the city and towns people from outside forces, including Canongate and Lawnmarket with delightful multi-storied houses and quaint side streets, Greyfriars Bobby, Gladstone’s Land, Jean Brodie’s steps, the heart of Midlothian and Grassmarket Street, the old Tollbooth, the Canongate Kirk Cemetery- Grave site of Adam Smith Author of “The Wealth of Nations”, to the bottom of the Royal Mile stopping at the Holyrood Palace, the Scottish residence of the Queen. Next, we went up to Calton Hill a spectacular view overlooking the entire city of Edinburgh...we took the walking path down Calton Hill and passed the Nelson Monument, the City Observatory, the Parthenon like structure known as the National Monument and the Dugald Stuart Monument.... We then made a brief stop at the Calton Graveyard...there is a statue from 1883 of Abraham Lincoln commemorating the lost American/Scottish soldiers and the Freedom of the Slaves. Our next stop was the Scott Monument, where I climbed the 250 steps to the top for another great view of the city. On our way out of the city we stopped in the New Town at Charlotte Square and admired the multimillion Georgian style townhomes surrounding the perimeter of the square...we made a brief stop at the stately Fettes College and revisited the Daniel Stewart private school before returning to South Queensferry. Today, we had no rain which made our touring much more pleasant...indeed, we did see a great number of historical sites of Edinburgh and loved every minute of this vibrant UNESCO World Heritage city…  This blog is in 3 parts, the first part is our sail into South Queensferry and the second two parts is our extraordinary visit to Edinburgh….  Thanks to Andy for a great tour!!!!