National Museum of Scotland...

Like national museums in London, admission was free to the National Museum of Scotland. This lovely cast iron hall dates back to 1866. 

My favorite piece was the Millennium Clock Tower, made in 1999 in the form of a medieval cathedral standing 33 feet (10 meters) high. Not only does it mark the passing of time, but it serves as a summary of the best and worst of the 20th century. 

My favorite section was The Nave because of the convex mirror positioned in such a way as to have a really artsy reflection of the escalator. Little did I know at the time, that there are also figures of Lenin, Hitler and Stalin as reminders of the worst aspects of the 20th century. At least there was also a celebration of better times with a playground of animated characters, including a Chaplin-like figure.

From 2009, Kitchen Necklace was very clever, shown here along with the 19th century Delftware plate from which it was cut.

This smaller old-fashioned hall was filled with planes and other technological advances.

Ashlynn was quite excited to pose with the stuffed remains of Dolly the Sheep, the first successfully cloned mammal which Ashlynn had learned about in Biology class. 

The rooftop of the museum offered great views.

At first glance, I thought this was a Quidditch Pitch, the sport played on broomsticks in the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, who wrote much of the first books in cafés in Edinburgh. Although it was actually a temporary stadium for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (referring to military bands, not body art), I couldn’t help but think that it could have helped to inspire the famous author.