Scotland, Part 2

Due to a few last-minute changes of plans, here is Scotland Part 2....a few days delayed.

Other than being the birthplace of Golf (which is reason enough to love a place), Scotland has a lot of other cool old stuff to see.
Rob and I went into Edinburgh to see the very formidable Edinburgh Castle, home to Scotland's Crown Jewels and the Stone of Scone (pronounced 'Scoon'...apparently it's not supposed to rhyme). The castle has been in use since the 12th Century and has been a stronghold for both the Scottish and the English at different points in history.

Me in front of Mons Meg, a 'Medieval Supergun'

Then, because we couldn't get a good picture of the castle up close, we hiked up Arthur's Seat (a really big hill on the other side of the city).

Much better...

We also went to Stirling to see the appropriately named Stirling Castle, one of the most important castles in Scotland.

Just b/c my maiden name is Schneiber doesn't mean I can't pretend to be Scottish royalty...

We learned a lot of interesting Scottish history, then stopped in to see the people who are weaving a replica of the medieval Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries. Each tapestry takes a team of 3 or 4 weavers, working 6 days a week, about 4 years to complete. The level of detail was really incredible.
After the castle, we hiked up to see the monument honoring Mel Gibson...I mean, William Wallace....

Freeeedommm!

*actually, this is a statue of Robert the Bruce, but he's in the movie too. So that counts...

Saturday morning we had to leave to catch our flight to Istanbul, but Scotland was beautiful and we already can't wait to go back!