I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.( Robert Louis Stevenson)

Wednesday 3^rd June

Farewell to Edinburgh dinner for 2 at Garringue, French Restaurant followed by a stroll down to the Queen’s stop-over palace, Holyrood (at the other end of the Royal Mile)when travelling on summer holidays to Balmoral (still light at 10.15PM).

Yes, one must always be “on”, when the holiday itinerary has been planned by Mary. Only now the rotations of my spinning head are slowing down and a few observations are crystallising (but tomorrow we are off to London):

•    Edinburgh is a beautiful city, especially the old town with its castle, cathedral, palace, galleries and park (alongside the main railway line) in between the old and new town

  Dalwhinney single malt whiskey sits somewhere between Lagavulin, Talisker and Glenfiddich and might be our favourite whiskey with its lovely lingering botannicals – but we still looking

• -          The Scottish are straight to the point, proud of their fighting heritage and highlanders
• -          We have not seen any graffiti
• -          The National Gallery  of Scotland has a great collection including: Raphael, El Greco, Rembrandt, Titian, Tintoretto, a brilliant Rubens based on the story when Salome is brought the head of John the Baptist with a fork through his tongue, Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Degas & Rodin. The best thing about the Gallery is the lighting – there are sky lights mixing natural light with spotlights and it was a pure joy to see the 2 paintings by Raphael of Mary with Jesus playing with another child so clearly.

• -          We still have not worked out the traffic light system but it doesn’t seem to matter as apparently neither have most of the other people on the roads as long as we are all happy to wait until it is obvious we must stop or go
• -          The castle was heavy on the war history and displaying the honours gained in battle by individuals (mainly by highlanders in kilts) over the past 400 years and light-on about other aspects, such as how the royals lived. But it was interesting to see the actual Royal Order of the Garter on display with the Scottish Crown Jewels and then to see them in a painting around the neck of Prince Charles the 2^nd 1645ish or thereabouts, maybe, perhaps?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• -          Poets, writers and philosophers are honoured and we discovered an old graveyard on the Royal Mile, where the poet Robert Fergusson is buried. He had a short and sad life, and was an inspiration to Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson who have both contributed to maintaining his grave. A lovely statue is on the footpath outside. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Sir Walter Scott has the biggest monument I have seen outside Italy. It is possible to climb the 247 steps to the top, but we declined.

• -          St Giles cathedral is lovely, with some impressive statues and beautiful stained glass 
• windows and interesting columns
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• -          The Royal Mile is bookended by the Castle and Holyrood Palace