The Palace of Holyrood

One of the more romantic places Jon and I went was Holyrood Palace. The Holyrood Palace is the official residence of the Royal family when the pass through Scotland. It's really old and is the setting for some pretty historic events. One of my favorite historic residents was Mary Queen of Scots. This is where she lived when her wicked cousin, had her friend/lover? murdered. The story of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth is probably a favorite of a lot of anglophiles, which I am slowly becoming. Anyway, there is a room that contains many, many personal effects of the Mary and other famous members of the British royalty. One of the creepier things we saw in this room was a cast of Robert the Bruce's skull made from his found remains which were interred somewhere else, perhaps at Edinburgh castle but I don't really remember. My head is pretty crammed with royal knowlege.

Not to be overlooked is the abbey at Holyrood. It was built by King David I after he saw a white stag when hunting. It may have been some kind of vision or something. Again, I'll have to study the story a little further (crammed head needs much sorting). He built this abbey which is now a romantic ruin. Here is my photographic contribution.