Edinburgh

At first Joe and I weren't all that thrilled with Edinburgh--maybe because it rained 24-7. But by the end of our three days there we managed to find our way out of the tourist area and into the "real" town, and I can see why so many people really enjoy that city. We stayed at the Cherry Tree Villa, which was a fantastic bed and breakfast we found in Rick Steeve's travel book. He's not a huge travel nerd on PBS for nothing. He had great recommendations throughout the book.

There are some pictures of Edinburgh castle, which we toured, and some of the stained glass windows from St. Gile's Cathedral in Edinburgh. There's one of a lady with a sheep. We'd come to understand how important sheep were later in the trip, when we couldn't hardly walk anywhere without stepping on them or their leftovers.

We also took a day trip to Rosslyn Chapel, which is the chapel featured in the end of the Da Vinci Code. It's as intruiging as the book says. They had a great "tour" (it's really small, so you just kind of sit in the center while the lady points out stuff with a laser pointer) that included part of the crypt below. There are many theories about what might be inside the walled-up part of the crypt, from the original cross and the holy grail to Elvis. There are some pictures of the intricately carved interior of the chapel and some of the gargoyles on the exterior. There's also one of a "green man," which is one of the mysteries of the chapel. It's a pagan symbol of fertility, and there are over a hundred carved in this little church.