Mysteries of the Past

So this morning I left the hotel & went straight away to Rossyln Chapel. A tiny chapel in the middle of nowhere-ish (it was legitimately a suburb), it was made famous by its appearance in the book & film, The DaVinci Code.
The chapel has been owned by the same family since it was built & is the 7th generation of descendants of the Earl William Saint Clair who had the chapel built in memory of his father. It was supposed to be a full church, but it never made it beyond chapel-size. It is used as a community church & has regular Sunday & weekday services.
The interior decor is extremely unique for the time, combining both pagan & Christian imagery. It also has connections to the Knights Templar and, it’s speculated, the Holy Grail. There is a myth that a bit of music, played the right way, at the right time, will reveal the Treasure of Rosslyn Chapel (TM). There are vaults below the floor (which are said to be as deep as the ceiling is high) containing what they believe to be at least 24 bodies, dead family members of the Saint Clairs. However, because these are relatives the family has refused excavation of the vaults, which is understandable. But the mystery remains of what all lies beneath.
Thus, with all this mystery, it was quite crowded when I got there. Still, you have to appreciate the beauty of the place. It’s made entirely of sandstone & completely hand carved. It took two years to complete a single column. There are carved hidden images everywhere of Green Men, maize (done 100 years before Columbus set foot on American soil, btw), other exotic plants like aloe vera, skeletons, Christ figures, and many more. It is something you have to see.

I caught the bus back to the city & after a quick lunch decided to head over to the National Museum of Scotland. On the way there, I stopped by a free family history/genealogy fair. Of course I was tourist-looking & the only person of color there. So people kept asking me: Do you have Scottish ancestry?
I tried not to be offended as it was a legitimate question & not meant in malice, but it did push a button. This one woman did look at my face extra close like she was searching for the feature that would reveal my Scottish-ness.
Once I did get to talk to someone, I found out that they couldn’t help me. The farthest back I’ve gone in my family tree is 1800s Nova Scotia. They only had records from Scotland. I did, however, get some helpful websites for ship passenger lists & a some pamphlets on how to search local Scotland records. So, we will see if I can break through the barrier of the past.

I finally made it to the museum. It was pretty cool. All Scottish history all the time, pre-Christianity & post. I really liked it. It was a small museum but it had a crap ton of artifacts & information. I would have liked to stay longer, but they closed all too soon.

I spent the evening hanging out with my friend. We made a chili/soup dish with rice. Turned out deliciously. Then we watched Bladerunner. I fell asleep near the end. I was not impressed by this movie. It was just too weird for my tastes.

We walked to the train station & my friend showed off their mad hoola-hoopin’ skillz while I waited for my train.
I realized that I forgot the code to the hotel door & was relieved to find it open when I got there.

Tomorrow will be my last day in Edinburgh.