Last Day in Edinburgh

the entrance courtyard of Holyrood Palace

The kids and their new hats

The Iona treasure

In the Chinese garden

We had a great day today!  It was our last day in Edinburgh.  :(  We have been enjoying the many different people around us.  This morning at breakfast one table was speaking German, another French.  There were many Italians at the museum.  Tomorrow we leave for Iona by train, ferry, bus and ferry again.  It will take us all day to get there.  Mary is pleased since she has decided she is not fond of cities.  We will be in the countryside for six days.  I'm not sure if we will have such easy access to the internet during our country time, so this may be the last post for a few days.  Today we visited Holyroodhouse Palace, a royal residence (when they are in Edinburgh every summer) and the rooms of Mary Queen of Scots.  Next we went to the Scottish National Museum.  This museum was far from boring with fascinating displays of Scotland from ancient times to present.  I especially liked the pictish artifacts and the Lewis Chessmen (viking chess pieces carved from walrus tusks in the 11th century).  Mary liked the exhibit on trains and the model ships.  There is so much treasure there (ACTUAL treasure) that it boggles the mind.  We saw the treasure that was discovered on Iona.  The monks buried it when the vikings raided them and no one found it for a very long time.  At the end of the day, we walked the Royal Botanical Garden again.  This time we went to the Chinese garden where there are more varieties of Chinese plants than anywhere outside of China.  We have had some really good family times together.  When we get back, be sure to ask Mary and Sean about the cocoa slurping contest.  By the way, if you click on the pictures you can see them better.