June 11, 2015

Scotland, The Director’s Cut

It was four days ago that I posted Anniversary in Scotland. At that time, I had hoped to include a brief video that my hubby took of an Edinburgh bag piper. Being a youtube newbie, I gave up.  After a little studying, however,  I am now ready to give it a try.  The quick video is included below.  For my wonderful group of email followers, I apologize for an earlier attempt that you received that had gone awry.  Here we go…….

Dale and I enjoying the Dalhousie Castle grounds.
May 30, 2015

Wedding Anniversaries-I am of the belief that each and every wedding anniversary should be commemorated in a celebratory manner by the esteemed couple. Over the years, for Dale and myself, this date has most often meant a nice dinner out, or occasionally a romantic weekend away.

Anniversary #35-Dale and I enjoy a rare dinner out while overseas.
May 28, 2013

Unfortunately, last year our special day was spent apart; over 6,000 miles apart! Dale was hard at work overseas. I was tending to things at home, including getting to know our precious new grand daughter, who had been born in April. :o)

Dale and I leave the church on our wedding day. May 28, 1978
To read last year’s post, “Annette and Dale Get Married, or Someday You’ll Look Back on this and Laugh”, click here.

Getting There

This year on May 28, Dale and I were together overseas, anticipating a flight out at 6 am the next day (Friday) for England (…another business trip for Dale). First though, we would enjoy the weekend celebrating our anniversary in Scotland. Embarking upon our adventure, we would land at the Manchester Airport, then rent a car, and drive the 4+ hours to Edinburgh.

The distance from Manchester to Edinburgh looked a lot closer on the map! :o)

That UK journey proved to be a beautifully enchanting canvas of varying degrees of green and dotted with fluffy white sheep, enhanced by a background of clear, brilliant blue sky interspersed with large, billowy white clouds.

I was enjoying the beautiful English countryside, and happy that Dale had that whole “driving on the other side of the road” thing under control!
May 29, 2015

Fluffy white sheep were in abundance throughout the
English and Scottish countryside.

One of the many awe-inspiring scenes that we had the pleasure of witnessing on our drive from Manchester to Edinburgh.

Our Destination

Our destination in Scotland was the Dalhousie Castle. It has always been a dream of mine to stay in a castle, so my sweet hubby booked one that I had found online.
It was located in Bonnyrigg, just a few miles outside of Edinburgh.

I was extremely giddy when I got my first glimpse of the castle, from the road.
To read more about The Dalhousie Castle, click here.

As we neared the castle, we were treated to a vision of medieval architecture. Although, it was past 8:00 pm when we first arrived (as shown in this photo), the sun would not set until almost 10 pm.

Our canopy bed was both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable, too.

Check out the decorated inside of the “roof” of the canopy.

Every room Dalhousie Castle was beautifully decorated.

We were delighted to find the castle hosting a wedding reception in this room while we were staying here. The young men in the bridal party all wore traditional Scottish kilts.

Prior to eating in the castle’s Dungeon Restaurant, patrons are seated in this cozy library, where drinks and pre-appetizers are served and orders for dinner taken.

Dale and I pose in the castle’s Dungeon Restaurant.
We enjoyed our anniversary dinner here after the day in Edinburgh.
May 30, 2015

A Castle in the Movies

Dalhousie Castle was built in the 13th century. It has been beautifully preserved and was an idyllic setting for our anniversary weekend, complete with delicious gourmet food and all of the modern day amenities.

The unusually delicate croissants, made on site, were my favorite breakfast item at Dalhousie Castle.

While staying at Dalhousie Castle, I was reminded of another castle, although this one was English, and part of the 1944 movie, The Canterville Ghost. (In actuality, much of the film was shot in Busch Gardens in Pasadena, California, and the rest at the MGM lot.)

A glimpse of the Canterville Castle in the opening of the movie.

This film, based on a short story by Oscar Wilde (Remember this author from high school English class?), is an enjoyable bit of escapism. Charles Laughton stars as the humorously tender hearted, and cursed ghost, along with the cute Margaret O’Brien playing the ghost’s descendent, and Robert Young as a likable American serviceman during WWII.
To learn more about this movie, click here and here.

Margaret O’Brien, Robert Young, and William Gargan sneak a peak at ghost Charles Laughton, in The Canterville Ghost.
This film is available on DVD,
and is occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies.

Edinburgh

Dale and I enjoyed the double decker bus ride into the city,
and even got some Edinburgh tips from friendly locals seated next to us.

The Scottish and English countrysides were painted bright yellow
with fields of blooming rapeseed.
This photo was taken on our brief bus trip into Edinburgh.

We spied Edinburgh Castle upon the hill as we rode into the city.

Imposing Edinburgh Castle was extremely busy, with an hour and a half wait just to purchase tickets to go inside. Dale and I opted instead to survey the outside of the castle, and instead headed toward town and to another famous castle. (See below the Canongate Tolbooth photo.)

Heading away from Edinburgh Castle,
the way was lined with shops and historic buildings.

Tartan-clad bagpipers play beautifully along the Edinburgh streets.

To hear  this bagpiper, click on the youtube video below.

Kilt makers could be found throughout Edinburgh’s busy streets.
I snapped this wedding kilt and lovely Scottish wedding dress in
John Morrison’s display window.

Dale, who has the name Burns in his linage, had to stop for a photo here.

Canongate Tolbooth, now a museum, was built in 1591.

I was very excited to have the opportunity to see an authentic royal castle!
Palace of Holyroodhouse,
is the official residence of Her Majesty, The Queen in Scotland.
Thanks to the audio tour, Dale and I learned that Mary, Queen of Scots
had once lived here.

The 12th century gothic ruins from Holyrood Abbey on the Castle grounds are hauntingly beautiful.

I fell in love with this gold tiger with rock crystal eyes and teeth at the
Gold Exhibit, displayed at The Queen’s Gallery of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. This piece came from India, and was made around 1785.
To read more about this gold tiger, and the rest of the collection,
click here and here.

We went from a gold tiger’s head to a real roasted hog’s head!
This was in the window of OINK, the Scottish hog roast sandwich restaurant.

As you can tell from Dale’s expression,
the OINK pulled pork sandwiches were good!

Having spotted a post card of this cute little pup in an Edinburgh gift shop,
I immediately recognized him from the Disney movie, Greyfriars Bobby, and right there and then, wanted to locate his statue! My ever-patient husband assisted me in tracking down the Edinburgh monument, erected in this
legendary canine’s honor.

The 1961 Disney movie, Greyfriars Bobby, about this famously loyal dog
is available on DVD.

Walt Disney with his four-footed star from the film.
To read about other Disney films set in Scotland,
click here and about the history of this dog here.

Dale and I had seen much of Edinburgh for just one day, and I was one tired Annette.
I was anxious to head back to Dalhousie Castle to relax and partake of our scheduled anniversary dinner in The Dungeon. Dale, having spent one day in this charming city, several years earlier, implored me to take in just one more sight.
It required a hike up quite an incline to Calton Hill.
I must say, the climb was worth it.

Dale stands on Calton Hill with a stunning view stretched out behind him.

Another beautiful view of the Firth of Forth (Try saying that one
10 times very quickly in a row!).
This is an estuary, or firth, of the River Forth, and flows into the North Sea.

The impressive Holyrood Castle from the perspective atop Calton Hill.

The unfinished Scottish National Monument stands tall on Calton Hill.
To read more about this monument and Calton Hill, click here.

It had been a wonderful day in Edinburgh!

The Rosslyn Chapel of The Di Vinci Code

Sunday morning came too quickly. Our anniversary weekend was rapidly coming to a close. Dale and I sadly bid the captivating Dalhousie Castle good-bye, setting out to find one final Scottish landmark before hitting the highway (or carriageway, as they say in the UK) toward England. A 15-minute drive from our temporary castle digs, led us to the stately, 15th century Rosslyn Chapel, best known for its part in the 2006 movie,
The Di Vinci Code. Steeped in legend and intrigue, some believe that the Holy Grail is buried within Rosslyn Chapel’s walls . An interesting aside; Rosslyn Chapel is privately owned by the chapel founder’s descendants. To read more about Rosslyn Chapel, click here and here, and click here for an interesting article about the chapel and the legend.

Finding our way to Rossyln Chapel proved a slight challenge,
due to it’s out of the way location, but it was well worth the effort.

Rosslyn Chapel is amazing from every angle, Holy Grail, or not.

A Celtic cross grave stone (center) is one of many in
the Rossyln Chapel Cemetery.

Collegehill House, a building just outside of the chapel,
displays a plaque in honor of the building’s original use as The Rosslyn Inn, naming some of its distinguished visitors. Click on the photo to enlarge.
A renovated Collegehill House may now be rented out
for lodging, and sleeps 6.

Thanks for reading! :O)

Annette

I attempt to post my blog bi-monthly, please look for my next post around June 25. A huge thank you to all of my faithful blog followers!

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Love and special thanks, to my hubby for contributing several photos for Anniversary in Scotland, and my previous blog posts!