quote on wall outside ParliamentJuly 23, 2010
Our breakfast group from Canada, Mexico, France, and Denmark discussed the many places people had been and how great the local bus service was. Not having ridden an Edinburgh city bus before, I opted for a trip To Rosslyn Chapel on bus route 15 that Robin recommended. Initially – and unfortunately – seated on the top deck in front of an American woman who not only sneezed and coughed incessantly in my direction, but also proselytized to her seatmate all about American politics in terms of absolutes that made me cringe, I made a dash to a seat towards the front of the double-decker bus. There I met Eko, a young Japanese woman who was traveling around Scotland for a couple of weeks, and she filled me in on some of the details of the chapel. See http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/ for more information and pictures on this intriguing structure!
Our breakfast group from Canada, Mexico, France, and Denmark discussed the many places people had been and how great the local bus service was. Not having ridden an Edinburgh city bus before, I opted for a trip To Rosslyn Chapel on bus route 15 that Robin recommended. Initially – and unfortunately – seated on the top deck in front of an American woman who not only sneezed and coughed incessantly in my direction, but also proselytized to her seatmate all about American politics in terms of absolutes that made me cringe, I made a dash to a seat towards the front of the double-decker bus. There I met Eko, a young Japanese woman who was traveling around Scotland for a couple of weeks, and she filled me in on some of the details of the chapel. See http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/ for more information and pictures on this intriguing structure!
We arrived in time for a lovely tour by a docent who not only gave us the mere facts about this 500 yr old beauty of a chapel, but also informed us of the meaning of its presence to the local area. After suffering the ravages of weather for several hundred years as well as the unintended ill effects of renovation in the 1950s, the sandstone of the chapel was now sufficiently dried out and an all-encompassing scaffolding was starting to be dismantled. In fact, the docent remarked with a look of sheer joy on his face that a sunbeam came through one of the windows during his talk, the first time that had occurred in 13 years. Of the many unusual architectural characteristics of this chapel is the fact that there are Christian, Pagan, and Masonic symbols throughout the church. Some may remember seeing them from the movie “The DaVinci Code” that included a scene from the chapel.
Photographs of the chapel were prohibited, but below is a postcard of the apprentice's column.
Here is a list of the remarkable details that I found interesting:~ details of corn/maize in an archway. Keep in mind that this chapel was begun 50 years prior to Columbus’ 1492 journey to the New World, so that begs the question - how did they know about this North American crop, corn?
~ angel playing bagpipes. One of the dearest images I saw both at Rosslyn and at St. Giles’ High Kirk in Edinburgh
~ angel hugging the Gospel
~ stars, crescent moon, and sun motifs on the ceiling, as well as the rows of forget-me-nots, roses, and lilies
~ several green men, longtime Pagan symbols
~ musical notes in the form of carved tubes decorated with different Masonic symbols
~ statue of the murdered apprentice, his weeping mother, and the guilty party condemned to forever gaze upon the incredible masterpiece of a column carved by his apprentice in the master’s absence
We finished our tour of the chapel with sausage and haggis sandwiches, Eko’s introduction to traditional Scottish cuisine, and headed back to Edinburgh. I was in good exploring company!
Eko wanted to find the Elephant House, the tearoom where JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. We did locate it and sat at table 9, where Ms. Rowling wrote. Scores of muggles wrote many fond messages on the walls of the loos, thanking her for that splendid series!
Table 9Visiting Scotland entails walking, eating, and drinking, then repeat the cycle, and we began the next escapade of the day by walking by a very entertaining and charming street performer, our king in shining armor. Along with many children and their stuffed animals, we were knighted by him.
Across from him was the stately St. Giles High Kirk, which is worthy of a much longer visit than we could get in that day. 
It is a beautiful church inside and even with the steady tourist movement you could sense an ability to find peace within. On down the street we walked to the Parliament building where the top quote is located – very cool architecture! – and then climbed to Arthur’s Seat and the Salisbury Crags. The weather was gorgeous with a deep blue sky that complemented the sunset-drenched rocks of the crags. It was a nice bit of exercise that of course had to be offset by a nice dinner at The Abbey Bar (and its menu of 50 Scotch whiskies). I had the Scottish game casserole which included in its delicious brew venison, partridge, duck, wood pigeon, pheasant, hare, and rabbit in a red wine sauce. It was a very pleasant ending of a fun day sightseeing with a new friend, and we parted ways with each other’s contact info. Amazing how small the world can be – residents of Seattle and Yokohama meeting in Edinburgh!
Salisbury Crags
Eko and me at The Abbey
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