Saturday in Edinburgh

Our first stop Saturday morning was going to be Edinburgh Castle, which opened to clueless tourists at 9. Wanting to beat the crowds, we decided to leave early, and got there at 10, albeit a little later than we first planned...we were delayed by breakfast, overall a good thing to be delayed at. Here's some of what we saw (not pictured are the Scottish Crown Jewels, called the Honours, and the Scottish War Memorial).

Okay, okay, this isn't the castle. This is Edinburgh from the castle, with the Firth of Forth and the land of Fife beyond it.

The emblem above the second of several massive gateways.

Watch out! Ben's shooting...at least it's just a picture, not an Englishman.

In the great hall - all the weapons are antique, and date back to the era of James V.

So, is this thing sharp?

Meet "Mons Meg," a Middle Age weapon capable of hurling a 300 pound stone approximately 2 miles...it was a gift front the court of France to King James V, to use against their common enemy. It was used instead to fight James' rebellious nobles.

You remember in my last post I had a picture of Edinburgh Castle from the Sir Walter Scott Memorial. I simply reversed the from and of portions.

This is the HMS Sir George. It was never an actual ship, just a model. But way back in the day, two French POWs had nothing but time on their hands...and apparently some materials. That was in the late 18th century.

My ever studious brother...(this is at the John Knox house...as is the next one, a warning at the start if the house)

On our way home, we got to hear a guy plays the Saws, an amazing instrument requiring only a bow (violin, cello, or custom-made) and a saw or two. Stick the handle betwixt your legs, and bend the blade to one side. If you rub the bow across the NON-sharp edge, you'll get a very unique sound, but be careful! If you move the bow horizontally, you will get a different note, and if you bend the blade more (or less), you will also reach a different note. Again, I'm having difficulty uploading videos on my iPod. I shall say, though, that he played the Saws quite well.

A weird thought is this, that Ben and I will leave for home in just over 3.5 days. It's been a great time, and it seems over too quickly.