More on the castle...

Again, Laurie did a fantastic job on the blog so just a few notes...
 
The stained glass in the great hall was beautiful.  Very similar to Stirling Castle.  The Great Hall in Edinburgh has Victorian influence because it was remodeled several times.
 
The armaments in the Great Hall and the canon outside are all on loan from various places including the Tower of London.
 
One of the neat things was a small cemetery where the dogs that belong to the armies that have protected the castle were allowed to burry their dogs.  Royal treatment!
 
Much of the castle is devoted to various war memorials. The National War Museum of Scotland was a superb memorial to those Scotland has lost since WWI until today.  Every name is recorded.  No pictures are allowed out of respect to the dead.
 
Also very interesting were Honours of the Kingdom and the  Stone of Destiny which was taken to Westminster Abbey in 1296 and returned to Scotland 700 years later.  The Honours have a very interesting history as well, since they were hidden once in an abbey for 8 years and then walled up and stored in a giant shipping crate for 111 years!  After being saved from Cromwell, they became some of the oldest surviving regalia in Europe.
 
Edinburgh Castle is more touristy than Stirling.  In part it is because Edinburgh is more touristy...it is the city most foreigners come when they want to see "Scotland".  Many take a detour from London to see Edinburgh and maybe Loch Ness.  As nice as the Edinburgh is, there is so much more to Scotland and it is a shame to think you've seen the country from one city.
 
Pictures aren't allowed in many places in the castle for a range of reasons including security, and respect for the memorials so we got a really good book from the gift shop that supplements the visit nicely.

Dinner was really good. We had "pub food" on Rose Street. The men's toilet had all the essentials, including Whiskey flavoured condoms.
 
After dinner we had a nice hike up to the National Monument, the Observatory, and a great view of the castle.  Since this is where the observatory is, not surprisingly we had a stunning view of the city as well.