I had intended to go down to Leith for the day, but once I found out Bus 35 to Ocean Terminal had a stop at Holyrood Palace, it was nice to kill two birds with one bus trip.
This is Holyrood Palace from the forecourt. When the Queen arrives, the place becomes this grand parade ground where she gets presented with the key to the city (or palace? I forgot).
The main quadrangle. This was as far as I could get with picture taking since no photos were allowed inside. The decor was commissioned by Charles II, with the idea that people going to the King's apartments passed through a series of grandly decorated rooms before reaching his, which included increasingly elaborate plaster ceilings (the last one had a painting in the middle). There was also a lot of emphasis on the Stuart heritage, and the gallery where people are granted the Order of the Thistle is filled with restored paintings of Scottish monarchs. Interesting tidbit: Mary Queen of Scots lived here for a while before being forced to abdicate in favour of her son, and part of the tour includes her private apartments where her secretary was stabbed to death by her second husband. Morbid stuff.
The ruins of the abbey connected to the palace. Similar to Rosslyn Chapel, it was attacked by an anti-Catholic mob and most of it got torn down. :(
Afterwards, I hopped on the bus to Leith, which is about 20 minutes away. It's been gentrified a fair bit, although the little I properly saw consisted of uniform blocks of flats next to the docks. There were also these cute little "I Love Leith" signs (didn't get a pic sorry) along the way, which reminded me of the meet-and-greet people they have down at the Navy Yard metro station to make the place more friendly and approachable.
I couldn't get a full size picture of HMY Britannia, given its size and location. But it's absolutely amazing both in and out. As per the Royal Family's wishes, it's not particularly flashy, but I liked the combination of simple elegance + souvenirs from trips.
Not the best picture of the outside; on the upper deck looking down at the lifeboats and part of the port side.
The Duke of Edinburgh's bedroom. I know it's probably not what one would expect from the Queen's consort, but that's pretty much in keeping with the decor of the rest of the royal apartments. Audio commentary mentioned that the sheets/blankets are identical in style to the Queen's, only without the lace.
A stuffed wombat in the fan! It was given to the officers as a gift from a Lady in Waiting (presuming that it would be well looked after) and instead they used it to play "wombat tennis", which involved chucking the poor fellow into the fan and then batting it around. That same room contained a little wooden monkey that no one was supposed to touch, but somehow managed to move around every day before ending up in the glass case behind the bar. The things you do when you're stuck at sea for days on end looking after the Royal Family.
The royal barge used for going ashore, specially designed so that everyone could see the Queen and Prince clearly.
There were a lot more photos, mainly of trivial things such as the massive laundry room (with separate collar and cuff pressing machines) and the admiral's ensuite bathroom (a rarity, since even the other officers had to share facilities), but it was fascinating how all the crew have specific tasks to keep things running smoothly, ranging from 6 outfits for the Royal Marine Band (all to be stuffed in their tiny little lockers) to having their caps off outside so the royal family wouldn't have to keep returning salutes because they would technically be out of uniform.
All in all, a pretty good day. And I came back with a wombat of my own! Iz kyoot :D
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