Day 2: Edinburgh Sightseeing

My knee was much better today. Our first stop was Holyrood Palace. I always enjoy touring palaces and
castles and this one did not disappoint. The grounds were beautiful. Once inside the palace, the docents
were dressed in period costumes and provided information about the rooms and answered any
questions. In one of the rooms were some golf clubs and the docent showed us a golf ball that was filled
with feathers and covered with leather.

At one point to get to the room where Mary Queen of Scots’ friend, David Rizzo, was murdered meant it
had to climb a set of 28 narrow, steep high steps. I decided to try it. I went slowly and had no trouble or
pain.

Our next stop was Edinburgh Castle. It was very crowded. I had been there in 1973, but my impression
there were more buildings to see now than in 1973. After touring the castle buildings, John and l walked
around and then got some lunch. While we were at lunch I read one of the Tauck information sheets
and learned that there are both Scottish pounds and British sounds and Scottish pounds are not
accepted in Britain. The pounds we had gotten from the ATM on our first day in Edinburg were Scottish
pounds. So we started using the cash instead of our credit cards to make sure we used up theThen we
headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner and the Tatoo.

It was pretty chilly tonight so everyone was dressing warmly and wearing layers. I wore my earmuffs and
socks and I was glad I did. Plus John “rented” cushions at the venue for y pound each. The Taboo was
great. Hot only was the music great & inspiring, but there was dancing and projections on the Castle
walls of colors and images. The Tatoo also included fireworks. The Tato started at 9pm and lasted until
around 10:45pm. John and I waited until the crowds thinned out some before we tried to leave. We got
back to the hotel a little before 11pm.

Need to finish packing tonight. We leave at 8am tomorrow for the Lake District.Read more