A sunny day in Edinburgh

It was, it really was.

Click an image to see a larger version.

On the walk to the royal palace, this building struck me as lovely.

Wouldn't you love to take the afternoon air in that little turret?

Along the way, a place called Oink was serving what looked a lot like pulled pork.

It smelled delicious, but I had already eaten, so I did not stop to sample the meat.

The Holyrood palace was a lovely old building, nowhere near as grand as most palaces I've seen, but nonetheless worth the time I spent roaming it.

The fountain in front was a particularly lovely piece of work, every image a bit different from the others.

The rules forbid photos in the palace, so I can't share any images with you.  My favorite bits were neither the king's nor the queen's areas, but rather those for Mary, Queen of Scots.

The remains of the abbey that once abutted the palace struck me strongly.

The gardens were also lovely, lush and full of life, but my favorite was this solitary tree.

Proud and strong and windswept, it embodied the spirit of the place.

On the long, uphill walk back, I saw this sign.

In my opinion, no one needs the haggis tower--and I say that with absolutely no knowledge of what the haggis tower is.

The main lunch of the day was beef on fries with chimichurri sauce, a dish two of us shared.

A young woman was selling gelato that she made.

How could anyone resist?  I certainly could not.  It was tasty, good but not great.

After a lot more walking, a stroll through the shady and interesting Greyfriars Kirkyard (a churchyard cemetery) was just the ticket.

After some rest and email, dinner was at the relatively new Edinburgh branch of the extremely popular Dishoom restaurant family.  The food was delicious, though way spicier than I'm accustomed to eating these days.

Tomorrow, I hope to visit both the castle and the Scottish National Gallery.