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Published: March 8th 2023
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Wow - what a day we had today! Mind you, we didn’t sleep too well on this heavenly mattress. It could’ve been something to do with the nightclub across the road disgorging its drunk patients at 2am. We had thought the freebie earplugs were cute - we were on the 5th floor! Anyway! Tom went off and got us a Scottish breakfast from the same Maccas he used to go to a few years back, last time we were in Edinburgh, about 2018 or 2019. They now offer everything in vegan and vegetarian as well as the usual. And they do porridge! It was awesome!
After brekkie we wandered down the hill of the Royal Mile to Canongate Kirk, where Tom’s 3 greats grandparents were buried along with several other family members. It was easy enough to find, right near the main path behind the church. After photographing it, and completing the transcription, we ventured to the front door, and found it unlocked. The minister was inside and he took some time to discuss the changes made to the church through the years. we slowly walked back up the hill, enjoying the architecture of the area - it was beautiful. There
were amazing views down various side streets.
When we returned to the hotel, which is only 33 years old, but built to fit in with the surrounding architecture, we checked out and commenced our walk to the tram station over in St Andrew Square. The tram runs between the airport and the city and takes about 35 minutes. From there, we went to the Car Rental Centre and picked up our next rental car. The little rental man was Italian, and his daughter is doing her PhD at Sydney uni. We had paid for a little Kia but were given a Toyota Yaris hybrid car that had only done 3 miles! It is lovely. Tom is really enjoying driving it.
From the airport we took the city bypass road and drove on down to Berwick upon Tweed (where my 2xgreats, 3xgreats and 4xgreats grandparents lived, were baptised, married and died - this area is following nana Robinson‘s family still. Her Eke family from Norfolk moved up to Northumberland and married into the Robinson family - that’s her maiden name as well as her married name, although pop was no relation, his Robinsons had come up from Staffordshire).
We were
compiling a shopping list when it started snowing. There was a Morrison‘s grocery store, which was so much more like our Coles and Woolworths. We bought 3 dinner-type meals, 4 varieties of porridge, bead, milk, jam, 2 single cereals, digestive bikkies etc. AND a litre of Famous Grouse (our very favourite blended scotch whisky) and 2 bottles of McGuigans for $80!! Amazing. The snow had finished when we emerged with our loot but it was still looking threatening so we continued on to our accommodation without stopping along the way as planned. And of course it snowed along the way, and villages and hills were covered in snow. Then it would be brightly, intensely sunny! Bizarre.
We eventually arrived at Rothbury, way out in the hills away from everywhere, and it’s just beautiful. Our 2 bedroom apartment is gorgeous. We decided to just have a quiet night in with one of the curries we bought today. And as I type this, it is snowing outside.
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