Day 9: Wed, 10 July 2019
22°C
LNER Depart York 09:54 Arrive Edinburgh 12:20
Old Town Apartment (29 Jeffrey St)
Café Edinburgh; Zenobia
Museum of Childhood; The Royal Mile; St. Giles’ Cathedral; Edinburgh Castle
Peter Rabbit
9,818 steps
We left York mid-morning on a train to Edinburgh. We were in a first-class carriage which came with pretty good breakfast. The scenery along the way was beautiful as we also went along the coastline. We found Mum and Dad at Edinburgh station. They took us to their apartment to kill some time before we checked into our Airbnb. It was nice to relax and catch up with them for a bit after carrying our luggage up 60-something stairs. Then it was time to go back down again and walk to our apartment. It wasn’t too far away from their place. After about a 20 minute wait we eventually found the guy. We had more 60-something stairs to climb but the apartment did not disappoint. It was spacious, bright, had nice views and was in a convenient location. It was also loaded with a big selection of TV entertainment. It was sunny when we first arrived but the day ended with showers. We had late lunch and later met Mum and Dad to go to the Museum of Childhood. It was a small and interesting place. Catherine was not in the mood to go walking again but we walked the Royal Mile, stopped at St. Giles’ Cathedral square and went to the Castle only to find it closed. There were lots of tourists and bagpipe players along the way. I got the stink eye from one of the many bagpipe players for taking a photo without giving a donation. For dinner that night, Phil brought us back takeaway pizza and kebab. We also watched Peter Rabbit.
Day 10: Thurs, 11 July 2019
22°C
Starbucks; Mackie’s of Scotland Ice Cream; Sainsbury's lunch meal deal; home cooked pasta
Edinburgh Castle; Princes Street Gardens; Scott Monument; Arthur’s Seat, Calton Hill; The National Monument; The Nelson Monument; Dugald Stewart Monument; The Scotsman Steps; Old Calton Burial Ground
Ant-Man and the Wasp; Despicable Me 3; Coco
20,047 steps
There was more rain in the morning. Nicholas was not happy to go out this time. We met up with Mum and Dad and walked to the Castle again. There were showers on and off. We went up to the gate of the Castle and took lots of photos among lots of people. We didn’t go inside the Castle so we walked down to Princes Street Gardens and found a playground at the far end. Just before leaving, Catherine slipped on some mud and bruised herself a bit. There was a nice man that offered us plenty of wet wipes to clean her up. We had a slow walk back to the apartment via Princes Street. Catherine and I stopped at a market and bought a handmade bracelet and a pretzel.
In the afternoon after getting frustrated trying to convince the kids to go out again, I went up to Calton Hill by myself. The sun was out and I saw beautiful views of the city, including Arthur’s Seat. On the way back, I bought garlic bread and a Vienetta for dinner and dessert. Mum and Dad came over for spaghetti bolognese (team effort). It was lovely to have dinner with them. They kindly offered to stick around while Phil and I went for a walk. We went up some marble stairs, The Scotsman Steps (a commissioned art installation), and then up to Calton Hill (again). We came back via burial grounds which included David Hume’s (philosopher) grave.
Day 11: Fri, 12 July 2019
23°C
Heritage of Edinburgh
Sainsbury’s; Museum Brasserie; Airport Burger King
National Museum of Scotland; The Elephant House; Victoria Street; Grassmarket Square
Christopher Robin
Airlink Depart Edinburgh City Centre 18:00 Arrive EDI 18:30
EJU2686 (Airbus A319) Depart EDI 20:30 Arrive MXP 23:50
Holiday Inn Express Milan - Malpensa Airport
20,047 steps
I noticed that my legs got quite a workout in Edinburgh. There are stairs and hills everywhere. Nicholas woke up happier this morning but this time Catherine was grumpy. We had breakfast and watched Christopher Robin before checking out of our apartment. We walked to Mum and Dad’s to leave our bags there for the day. Nicholas started to feel a bit under the weather as the morning went on. We checked out a souvenir shop, stopped by Sainsbury’s before going to the National Museum of Scotland. The museum was a pleasant surprise. It was interactive and there was a lot to see. We ate at the museum for lunch which turned out well. We had good food including Scottish soup called Cullen Skink. We spent quite some time at the museum before finding The Elephant House where Harry Potter was written. We explored some more and walked down pretty Victoria Street to Grassmarket Square. Then it was Mum and Dad’s place for an afternoon rest. We were planning to get an Uber to the aiport but there were no vehicles available. So at about 6pm we took a convenient airport bus from the city (across from Edinburgh train station). It was pouring as we left the city. We took a regional airline, Easy Jet, flight to Milan and arrived after midnight Milan time (1 hour ahead of Edinburgh). Other than the flight being delayed about 15 minutes, waiting at Milan airport for the bus to our hotel, almost losing Nicholas’ phone and checking in late night at the Holiday Inn with a group a people, the journey to our next destination wasn’t bad.
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