Blogs from Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh October 21st 2023

Finally arrived in Edinburgh, a couple of weeks later than planned, just ahead of Storm Babet. Expecting the worst, we donned our macs and headed into the city. What a great city to explore, transport was plentiful, and I loved walking the Royal mile in old town. Its no wonder JK Rowling drew inspiration for Hogwarts here, with the turreted, dark stone architecture. It was a race to the castle as we were informed it would be closed tomorrow (due to the storm), we arrived just in time for the 1pm gun salute. The crowds gathered to see a man in uniform light an old WW2 Field gun, which was a little disappointing as I was expecting a cannon! We queued to see the Honours of Scotland (crown jewels) which were impressive, but most atmospheric was ... read more
Inside the parliament building-Holyrood House.
Britannia
First stop Edinburgh Castle

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh September 14th 2023

Today our cruise ship stopped at South Queensferry in Edinburgh. After getting off the ship we had to take a shuttle into Edinburgh. I booked tickets in advance to see Edinburgh Castle but somehow could not find the tickets online. So instead, Renata and I decided to walk the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile The Royal Mile is a street that runs between two significant locations (Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse). Along the Royal Mile, we 1. Took some pictures with Owls 2. Stopped by the Writers Museum, 3. Entered St. Giles Cathedral 4. Passed Tolbooth Tavern (Now a Scottish Pub. The building used to be a toll collection station, a Council Chamber, a Police Court and a Prison.) 5. Visited Bakehouse Close (the site of Alexander Malcom’s print shop and where Jamie and ... read more
The Royal Mile
Harry Potter Tour
Edinburgh

Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh July 3rd 2023

Today has all the hallmarks of the pick day in Edinburgh, early time slot to visit Edinburgh Castle, then a quick taxi ride to lunch with Anne. After breakfast in the our room, we headed out up the 200 meters to the entrance of Edinburgh Castle . As you walked into the temporary stadium which has been built for the Military Tattoo on the 4th to 26th August was as intimidating as walking into the Colosseum or MCG. After checking in we started the walk up to the Argyle Battery which also has 3 x 105mm Field Guns are position to fire a salute at 1pm each day. After the walk up we saw the cafe and decided it was time for our morning coffee, good thing we did as when we were leaving, the queue ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh July 2nd 2023

Todays focus was about touring the Royal Yacht Britannia once the queens boat and have lunch at The Fish Market in Newhaven. Our choice of transport for today was Edinburgh Trams, while they only have one route, it goes from the Airport to Newhaven through the centre of Edinburgh. While the reams are smaller, they are much quieter and smoother than those in Melbourne. Coincidentally the second to last stop from New Haven was Royal Yacht Britannia. We spend two and a half hours exploring the 5 decks on display, ranging from the top deck where the Queen and The Dukes cabins and the Land Rover Garage, all the way down to the Engine room and living quarters of the engineering sailors. The biggest ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh July 1st 2023

Today was all about getting around as much of the Tourist spots we can. We defaulted back to the Hop on Hop off Bus and their red line. We chose this for expedience, but tomorrow we had different choices. But before that there was Edinburgh Farmers Market just down the hill from our accommodations. We walked down to see some of their farm produce and maybe get breakfast. Our breakfast was a tale of two cities with Rose selecting a Falafel wrap and the Falafel's were cooked to order. She loved it and it was very good. On the other hand, I was seduced by the whole pig on the spit, but that is where it ended, the pork was bland and soggy, the milk bun fell apart from the moister and I picked the filling ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh June 30th 2023

Our time in Dunblane had finished and we need to be back at the Edinburgh Avis desk by 3pm. The plan for the day was to leave early, go to Dundee, St. Andrews, and then be in Edinburgh at 3pm or face an extra days car hire! There was a quick hours trip to Dundee, we stopped on the waterfront to admire the bridges and Off-Shore Oil rigs. We went into the city centre for coffee and cake and then on to St. Andrews. Driving into St. Andrews was a mystical experience, you just knew it was special. The first stop was the St Andrews golf museum which provided a walk down the history of the golf and housed all of the top trophies (originals, not copies as the St. Andrews Golf club house is closed ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh April 2nd 2023

This morning we walked toward The Edinburgh Castle for a special place Chrissy picked out for breakfast. It was called The Deacon's House Cafe and was known for its traditional Scottish porridge and haggis breakfast sausage. It wasn't supposed to open until 10:00 so we took our time taking pictures and checking out shops that were open (most don't open until 10). When we arrived they had opened early but there was still one table open. We ordered the porridge (which is like oats) and the breakfast platter, which had scrambled eggs, blistered tomatoes. haggis sausage, bacon, beans, and wheat toast. We shared the items we ordered because we wanted to try their scones and shortbread too. The haggis sausage was amazing. The porridge wasn't far behind. The porridge was topped with red fruit which added ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh April 1st 2023

Last night Chrissy and I flew from JFK to Edinburgh. I like the night time flights so you can sleep on the plane and be somewhat on the time of your arrival Country. Sadly we didn’t sleep very much…Chrissy much less than me. When we arrived we went through border control faster than any country I’ve visited. Our plane arrived 20 minutes early. We did disembarked the plane, border control, picked up our luggage, and we’re ready for our hotel taxi by 10:30. Our planed arrival time was 10:005 so I didn’t engage the taxi until noon. We couldn’t reach the taxi nor Booking, so we had to wait Our taxi driver was awesome. He was born in London and moved to Edinburgh when he was five. He shared a wealth of knowledge about the city ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh March 7th 2023

Wow! What a day!! We left our cottage at 8am this morning when it was just 1 degree!! We drove down to Norwich, and of course a light came on in the dash to tell us the air in a tyre was low! We stopped just before the hire car office to put some petrol in the tank and Tom put some air in the tyres - he had to insert a coin!! Air is not free! Anyway, when we arrived at the office, lovely Matthew (who put us in the car the other day) noticed the light still shining on the dash and had to take the car around to the service bay to check the tyre - he returned saying it was fine, but that we would get an email asking us to rate ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » Scotland » Midlothian » Edinburgh October 5th 2022

Today we split up and did different things. Don got up at 4:30 am and drove 1.5 hours to Saint Andrews to try to play the old course. Unfortunately, only the people who basically spent the night in the queue were able to get a spot so about noon, he headed back. I’m the meantime, I packed up our laundry and went to a local laundrette. It was a nice relaxing morning with my book. When Don got back, we went for a fish and chips lunch where a talkative Scotsman regaled us with stories about his naval family in the US. We walked from there to the National Museum of Scotland. It didn’t help us get too familiar with the history of Scotland, unfortunately. Then we did the Hop On, Hop Off bus around the ... read more
Don at Swilken Bridge.
Inside the national museum .
At The White Hart.




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