A late start and early finish to our first full day in Edinburgh. A late start because that is what seems to happen when we are settled in somewhere for at least a week. An early finish because the very high winds from the leftovers of Hurricane Katia that are pummeling this area made the afternoon conditions too unpleasant to remain outdoors walking around the city.

We managed lunch at a little Turkish dive on the Royal Mile called Cafe Truva (our lunches were very good) before heading to the east end of what they call the Royal Mile to visit The Palace of Holyroodhouse. Today the Palace is known as the official Scottish residence of Queen Elizabeth II. Built on the grounds of an abbey in the late 15th century, it, along with everything else involving the British royals, has a long and storied history of who lived here and who was killed here for the past five hundred years. Worth the visit for not only for the history, architecture and stunning abbey ruins but also for the gorgeous gardens.

For those reading this who might come to Scotland and be looking for restaurants, in addition to a good lunch at Cafe Truva, we have had very good dinners the first two nights at The Magnum on Albany Street and Amarone on St. Andrews Square.