I don’t know if you have noticed in the previous blogs how much sunshine we had been having.  Summers in south-central British Columbia have temperatures averaging 27-32° C  ( up to 34° or more for a few days).  (That’s about 80-95° F) The temperatures in Scotland had been 25-26° for the last week or so.  This was a nice normal temperature for us.  We were busy enjoying the sights and the sunny weather and didn’t think anything of it until we walked past this newspaper headline in front of a corner store.26° was NOT a normal summer temperature in Scotland.  The average in July and August is about 15-17°  (45-49° F).  People were being seriously impacted by the heat and there was great concern for the elderly.

The cafe where J.K. Rowling often sat writing the first Harry Potter book.  Somehow I think the alley on the right took you to a red light district.  Any place called Fleshmarket Close could not be too virtuous.

We walked to the other end of the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle to go see Holyrood Palace,  official  residence  of  the  Queen when  she  is  in  Scotland.  She  spends  one   week  here  every  summer while  she  carries  out  a range  of  official  engagements  and  ceremonies. The palace as it stands today was built between 1671–1678 in a quadrangle layout, approximately 230 feet (70 m) from north to south and 230 feet (70 m) from east to west, After we finished touring the grounds of Holyrood Palace we walked back up the Royal Mile and stopped at a few places along the way. We headed back to our room so I could get ready for the first pre-wedding activity; a bridal shower – High Tea at the Museum of Scotland Tower.

By this day all members of the wedding party had arrived in Edinburgh, and most of the guests.  The few remaining guests would arrive the next day.   There was a pub crawl in the evening for anyone who wished to come along.  There were four pubs on the list.  Everyone  was  enjoying  the  beverages  at  the  second  pub.  I don’t  think  very  many  people  made  it  to  the  third  one.  We  bailed about  11:30  and  went  to  our  hotel.