Edinburgh

I've scheduled a trip to Scotland for June! Woohoo!! I'm so excited! Here is where we'll start our journey.

"Edinburgh has been the capital of Scotland since 1437. The origin of the city's name is said to come from the Brythonic Din Eidyn (Fort of Eidyn) from the time when it was a Gododdin hillfort. In the census of 2001, Edinburgh had a total resident population of 448,624, making it the 7th largest city in the United Kingdom. "

"Edinburgh Castle (above) is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, and is Scotland's most famous (and most visited) landmark. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC. As it stands today though, few of the castle's structures pre-date the 16th century.

The Castle stands upon the basalt plug of an extinct volcano which is estimated to have risen some 340 million years ago during the lower Carboniferous age. Standing 121.92 metres (400 feet) above sea level, the Castle Rock is a classic example of a crag and tail formation.

In the 1st century the Romans recorded the Votadini as a Brythonic tribe in the area, and about 600 the poem Y Gododdin, using the Brythonic form of that name, describes warriors feasting "in Eidin's great hall".

The city is affectionately nicknamed Auld Reekie, Scots for Old Smoky. This is because when the only fuels available were coal and wood, all the chimneys would spew lots of smoke into the air. "

"The Scott Monument (above) is a Victorian gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It stands in Princes Street Gardens. It is built from Binnie shale quarried in nearby Livingston; the oil which continues to leech from its matrix has helped to glue the notoriously filthy atmosphere of Victorian Edinburgh to the tower, leaving it an unintended sooty-black color. It is often noted for looking like a "gothic rocket ship."

"The Palace of Holyroodhouse (aka Holyrood Palace) (above) has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scotland since the 15th century. After James VI became King of England in 1603 and moved to London, the palace was no longer the seat of a permanent royal court. James visited it again in 1617 as did Charles I in 1633, when he was crowned as King of Scotland in Holyrood Abbey. In modern times, monarchs have spent at least one week every year formally holding court in the Palace in Edinburgh. The present Queen still uses it when she is in Scotland for State occasions."

Check out Edinburgh at night. In summer, it doesn't get dark here until about midnight, then the sun rises a couple hours later, around 2 or 3 am.

"Famous people from Edinburgh:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was born in the city's New Town

J. K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, wrote her first book in Edinburgh coffee shop, Nicolson's Cafe
Sir Sean Connery, actor, famed as the first James Bond

Shirley Manson, lead singer for the band Garbage "

(Historical Information quoted from Wikipedia)