Although we really only spent a few moments in each of these churches, St. Giles’ Cathedral and Rosslyn Chapel were highlights in my day today.

Here’s what’s on the St. Giles’ website:

St Giles’ Cathedral, founded in 1124 by King David I, has been a working church for almost 900 years. A backdrop to Scotland’s turbulent religious history, it has seen the seeds of civil war sown and been John Knox’s parish church during the Reformation. It is still an important centre for civic services such as the Kirking of the Parliament and services for Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.

Of course, the very first thing I noticed was the organ!

By some stroke of luck, Bill Potter walked around to the back of the case, and guess what! The organist was just coming out of the case, and I had the opportunity to talk to him. Michael Harris told me the organ was built by Rieger in 1992. He noticed that I was carrying a Three Choirs Festival bag, and I told him we were going there next week. When I got back to the hotel, I looked for his information on the St. Giles’ website, and guess what, he started his career as a chorister in Gloucester Cathedral! He was Organ Scholar at St. Peter’s College, Oxford, and continued his studies at the Royal College of Music.

In the afternoon, Bill and I took the public bus out to Rosslyn Chapel, the church made famous by Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code.”

The chapel is in the town of Roslin, about seven miles south of Edinburgh. It was founded in 1446 by Sir William St. Clair, who envisioned a grand cathedral. He intended to create the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, the centerpiece of an educational institution. He founded the town of Rosslyn (now Roslin) to house his workers, hired master masons at a salary of £40 a year and oversaw the creation of a beautiful gothic building with a profusion of carving. Work on the chapel continued for nearly 40 years.

But in 1484 Sir William died. When he was interred at Rosslyn his ambitious plans were buried with him. The building fell into disrepair, and it was because of Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code,” that worldwide attention focused on this church — and it was a miracle! Now a trust has been formed to perpetuate care of the building.

We were not allowed to photograph anything inside the chapel, but I found these images on the internet. There are hundreds of intricate sandstone carvings with images of the Green Man, leaves, flowers, the Seven Deadly Sins, an angel with bagpipes, and much more.

My favorite part of the chapel was the Apprentice Pillar. Legend has it that it was carved by a young apprentice while the master mason was away researching the design of the pillar. On his return the mason, who did not expect to find it finished so beautifully, killed the apprentice in a fit of jealousy. The master mason was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to death.

In the morning we went to Edinburgh Castle, which has been used as a human habitation since the Iron Age. It is one of the oldest fortified places in Europe with a long rich history as a royal residence, military garrison, prison and fortress.

We saw the Crown Jewels of Scotland but were not allowed to photograph them, so I found this image on the Internet.

After our visit to Rosslyn Chapel, our next task was to go to the Apple Store and diagnose the problem with my computer. Luckily the store was on the same busline, and the Apple Genius figured out the problem quickly. All I needed to do was purchase a power adapter for the UK and I’m back in business! We celebrated by eating Japanese food tonight.

By the way, I updated last night’s post to include the fact that I ate (and survived!) eating my first haggis! But they were haggis bon-bons not traditional haggis as served in the animal’s stomach! Before I came to Scotland, I decided I was not going to eat it, but at the last moment, changed my mind; not because it looked tempting, but I thought one bite wouldn’t kill me. It actually wasn’t half bad. I only ate one but I think Bill ate at least three!