Scottish Parliament and People's Story

Sorry for the long hiatus from blog writing. I really haven't done anything worth blogging about since I got back from spring break, just a lot of relaxing, and now studying (sort of) the last couple days.

But today I did do something worth blogging about. A few friends and I went to the Scottish Parliament building to take a free tour. It was very informative, and we learned a lot about the symbolism behind the building which made us appreciate it a lot more. If you've seen the building from the outside, you know that it looks pretty strange, but every tiny detail is symbolic of something, and it's actually really creative.

Inside is beautiful. There's still symbolism on every square inch of the place, but it's all light wood and marble and windows. Lots and lots of windows (that pretty much all have stunning views of Arthur's Seat). The Scottish Parliament is very open to anyone who wants to see it. Anybody is allowed to sit in on debates and committee meetings, and everything is filmed and broadcast online so anyone can watch. It's built on the principles of openness and transparency, and the building definitely reflects that. The galleries to watch debates and meetings aren't separated by walls, everyone can see everything. It's very cool, and very different than Westminster. There's also a lot of really cool, symbolic artwork.

There were only a few places we were allowed to take pictures, but one of them was from the galleries in the debate hall. The tour took us down on the floor, but for some reason you're not allowed to take pictures from there.

Debate hall:

View of the crags from debate hall:

Model of Parliament so you can see how it's supposed to look like a branch growing out of Arthur's Seat:

After parliament, Alix and I went to an old church, Canongate Kirk. We couldn't get in, but we walked around the graveyard (saw where Adam Smith is buried) and enjoyed the fact that spring has finally come! All the trees are out and it's beautiful. I'm sure I'll have more pictures of spring scenes in the days to come.

Canongate Kirk (and spring trees!):

Since we were in the area, we decided to stop by The People's Story after that. It's a free museum in the old Canongate Tolbooth that's about the people of Edinburgh. It was pretty interesting, and had many of the mannequins that are so popular here that we've grown to know and love.

So I can cross 3 more things off my list of things to do in Edinburgh! Only a couple more left; I'll definitely be able to finish everything before I leave (3 weeks from today).

By the way, the sun is really throwing me off. It doesn't set til about 10, so it's still broad daylight late into the day. This makes me think that I have all the time in the world to study, when in reality it is after 5 pm now and I haven't done any studying today.