Edinburgh, Scotland

When I was probably about 8 years old I first saw the movie, “Mary, Queen of Scots”
with Vanessa Redgrave in the starring role. After that movie, I had an
appreciation for two things. 1)Mary Stuart and 2)Scotland/Edinburgh. I could
write a dissertation on Mary, Queen of Scots, but she is probably my most
favorite “victim of history” of all time. My 2^nd favorite is Tsar
Nicholas II of Russia. This isn’t a blog dedicated to Mary, but I have to
comment on her. I may change my mind in a few years, but it came to me that I
don’t think she would have the same problems if she would have been raised in
Scotland instead of France. Her French mother, Mary Guise, “held down the fort”
in Scotland while her French relatives and the French royal court raised Mary in Paris. If Mary could have been in Scotland around protestants and the John Knox crew, I truly
believe that maybe even if she remained Catholic, she would have had protestant
buddies and more Scottish support. Oh, well. She was so cool.

A lot of people do not know how intelligent, religiously tolerant, politically tolerant, and
clever she really was. However, she had a horrible taste in men. It’s also
worth noting that it is through her that we have our Elizabeth II,  the future Charles III, and the future William V. It wasn’t from the barren Elizabeth I who ordered Mary’s death.

Haven, Ammon, Nana, & Carter

Sean and I were in Edinburgh for about 4 days in 2007.This
time we were there for 4 hours. LOL. Edinburgh castle is perched on top of an
ancient, extinct volcano, and that was our main focus for Nana and the babies
to see. The temperature was about 50, but it was VERY WINDY.

We enjoyed the castle. Remember how I said I had to climb
the lions at Trafalgar Square, or take swim lessons so I can swim better for
Carter and Ammon. I wanted Carter and Ammon to see that I wasn’t afraid to
dance. I engaged in a Medieval dance with a Scottish countess, Countess Euphemia. I enjoyed it!
Before Carter and Ammon I would have not dared do something like that!

Haven doing the Middle Ages “Mambo”

The Scottish crown jewels are also at the castle. Several
other cool things: 1) a dog cemetery dedicated to the dogs of Scottish
soldiers,2) Mons Meg the largest middle ages cannon every built, 3)awesome
dungeons, and 3) St. Margaret’s chapel which dates back to about 1070. After the
tour, we ate lunch at St. Giles café, and we did some shopping. Oh, yeah, don’t
forget the bagpipes! It was an awesome day!

Mons Megs