Everything Else I Did In Edinburgh

The second day I was in Edinburgh, my morning began with 2 presentations from Members of Scottish Parliament. For those of you that don't know in 1999 Tony Blair and the House of Commons passed an Act of Parliament that created a devolved Parliament in Scotland that took on certain responsibilities like education and health care. 

Then I went to visit Mark's constituency office downtown. I spoke with the three women that work there about how things work at the office. So now I not only know how Mark's London office is run, but how he works when he is home. Mark makes a point to respond to every single letter or email from every single constituent. He works very hard and is very in touch with his constituency.

The highlight of my day, however, was visiting the Edinburgh Castle later in the afternoon. Since the 12th century there has been a royal castle in that spot although few of the current building pre-date the 16th century. Either way, it is older than almost anything you'll find in the states.

front entrance of the castle

The castle was absolutely gorgeous and the view of the city was absolutely beautiful. I cannot imagine living there. Another cool thing I saw inside the castle was the the barracks were they kept French and American prisoners of war during the "American War of Independence" or Revolutionary War.

For dinner I had haggis which is a traditional Scottish dish.  For those of you who aren't grossed out you probably don't know what it is. According to Wikipedia it consists of sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, andsalt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.

At night we took advantage of the hopping night-life in Edinburgh and celebrated my friend Nicki's 21st birthday.