The Head Gardener had a bit of business today in Linlithgow, and I tagged along.  We had a lovely coffee in a nice wee shop in the square in front of the Palace, and then we walked up to the Palace.

My photo shows the Palace from the statue of Mary Queen of Scots, which was erected several years ago.  It has the quotation which was ascribed to her 'in my end is my beginning' in French, which I believe was her first language as she went to France at a very young age to marry the Dauphine and only returned to Scotland to claim her throne.

While wandering around I met a couple from Sacramento, California, who were staying in a flat in Edinburgh for six weeks.  It seems that they retired a couple of years ago and sold up their house and now use the funds to travel the world.  I am not sure where they stay when they return home between travels though.  They were very interested in the history of Scotland and we had quite a long chat.

When the business was over, we had a nice journey home in bright sunshine until we hit Shotts on the M8, when the traffic started to pile up.  But we made it home eventually.