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Edinburgh Castle
View taken from Princes Street, just at the bottom of the Mound. Egg #2 says:
Thought I'd better write a bit about us Eggs to set our travel scene....
For about the last year, we've been getting our act together & making plans to leave the rat race, and seek fun and sunshine in countries that we've not yet visited. Two months ago, we both handed our notice in at work, rented out our house 30 miles south of Edinburgh (a seaside commuter town called Dunbar) and moved into a teeny flat in a central area of Edinburgh called Leith. We now have just over 8 weeks to go until we fly out to Bangkok to begin our adventures.
Its amazing how much preparation is involved in organising your life to have a break for a year. When you first decide to take the plunge, you tend to think about the most exciting aspects of whats involved, eg: winding up at work, organising your route, what will you take with you, how will you stay in touch with those back home, where will you stay, booking your main flight tickets etc... After a short while however, you become aware of the extent of the other things you're going to need
Edinburgh Castle.........again
This time from the Gardens below. At the end of the Festival, there is an amazing firework display, culminating in blazing lava-like flows down the rocks below the castle itself. Try to catch this if you are in the city at the end of August. to think about. We're now at the stage where we are deciding which travel insurance policy to take out, opening overseas bank accounts (Nationwide seems to be the best incidentally - they dont charge you for cash withdrawals from foreign ATMs) cancelling Direct Debits, selling our car, organising mail redirection to a trusted friend, and having our final jabs. It's all absolutely worth it , and it's such a wonderful feeling every time I think of all the new experiences we'll have, and the new people we'll meet, sights and sounds we'll encounter, I just can't wait.
As I said, we still have 8 weeks to go before we leave. Our trip itinerary is to stay 3 months in South East Asia, covering Thailand, Vietnam & Malaysia. We then fly to Perth for 1 month before skipping to Sydney just in time for the New Year celebrations. We plan to stay there for about 2 months, touring the area, but essentially basing ourselves within Sydney, where we plan to stay with a good pal of ours (hello Bingo!). After that we move onto New Zealand for up to 3 months, touring around (both islands of course!) then back to
Volcanoes in the city!
Salisbury Craggs, part of Arthur's Seat which is an extinct volcano close to the City Cente. Makes for a great walk if you go all the way round the path, with some stunning views. The walk up to the top of the 'Craggs' can be challenging on a hangover! 'Dynamic Earth' in the foreground - good 'rainy day' activity. Aus - this time up the East coast and a trip to the Red Centre. Depending on how long we stay in Aus for the second time, we may be able to fit in a visit to China - our last stop over is in Hong Kong so we figure that would be a good jumping off point onto the mainland for a while.
So, we have just under 2 months in Edinburgh before we go - which is fabulous. We both absolutely love this city, and have lived around this area for the last 14 years. Thus, we plan to fully take advantage of all the excitement that Edinburgh in Summer has to offer. There's so much to do and see over July & August here, gathered up among the myriad of Festivals which dominate the social scene for nearly two months. Best of all (in my humble opinion) is the brilliant 'Fringe' festival, which is a collection of music, comedy, dance and theatrical performances, playing at almost every time and place around the centre 24 hours a day. Later tonight I'll be on the internet booking up some gigs for us - the earlier the better as
Bloomin blooms.
Flower shot from Princes Street Gardens. Its lovely to picnic on the grass on a sunny day if you're fed up sight seeing. Grab a sandwich on Rose Street and cross Princes Street to laze among the flower beds and stunning trees. The castle is above you, and you're guaranteed to feel refreshed after a short while. the tickets at the start of each run are normally half price (practice for the performers you see!).
We are also doing our annual trip to 'T in the Park' this coming weekend & will have a blog to add afterwards. This is a slightly-smaller-than-Glastonbury affair with loads of brill bands on the showcase. Line up this year includes Travis, James Brown, Green Day, Foo Fighters, New Order, Prodigy, Snoop Dogg, The Killers and loads of others.
Check the website for more info. http://www.tinthepark.com/
We'll most probably upate this blog a number of times with home stories for those of you planning to come to Edinburgh. We are out & about all the time, and its likely we'll do some reviews of good drinking bars, clubs, events and restaurants, and general 'good stuff' to keep you amused while in Edinburgh.
In the meantime, here are some photos of little bits of our city, taken recently.
Bye for now,
Shaz.
PS - for those of you worried about coming to Edinburgh right now because of the G8 malarky - just be aware that the police presence at the moment is very strong, and incidents are being
Egg # 1 gets all arty
This is a shot of the Edinburgh Fringe festival brochure cover. We think its v. top this year. contained within key parts of the city centre - mainly around Princes Street and the West End area. Road interruptions exist, however alternative routes are available. We've not encountered any problems at all, simply by staying away from the main drag for a few days. Common sense checks are worthwhile though, and its best to talk with the authorities if you are at all concerned about any aspect of your safety during your visit (ie - I can't be held responsible if an activist throws a pansy from Princes Street Gardens at you - yes this has happened to some unsuspecting passers by).
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