Let’s get the worst out of the way first: the Netherlands failed to complete their clean run of victories in the World Cup, succumbing to Spain in the final for a 1-0 defeat. Fair’s fair, Spain were the better team during the match and deserved to win. We were outclassed. Maybe in another 30 years…
We watched the match in the bar/restaurant of our hotel. There were a couple of other Dutch people present, along with a Spanish family. That was nice, because it wasn’t just disinterested people watching.
The good news is that Edinburgh is great, immediately placing itself high on my list of favourite European cities. I love the way the city is entwined and entangled in its surrounding geographical features. The atmosphere, character and architecture of the city are all lovely.
Edinburgh’s climate is less appealing. We’ve already had our fair share of rain with much more forecast for the days ahead. It’s also chilly, which is frustrating after the gorgeous weather we’d had in Amsterdam in the days leading up to our departure. In fact, the daytime temperature in Edinburgh isn’t even bettering the nighttime low in Amsterdam. That’s how big the difference is.
Food and drink recommendations are due for Chocolate Soup, The Advocate, Foodies At Hollyrood and David Bann.
In particular, Chocolate Soup has a fantastic selection of drinks and shortbreads, and Foodies has toys, crayons and books for the small people; not to mention delicious food, so it provided some very welcome relief after a morning spent hiking around Holyrood Park in high wind. The children really earned their treats today.
The National Museum of Scotland and Edinburgh Castle have provided some fun activities so far, plus shopping for kids’ clothes at M&S while it was raining outside.
Mostly, though, it’s fun to just amble around this beautiful city.
The drive up here from Newcastle was an easy and pleasant one, too. The ferry arrived almost on time and we were relaxed, well fed and ready to go. I would definitely recommend DFDS and this crossing as a mode of transport to the north of England. It’s so easy and the timing is perfect if you’re travelling with small children.
The border formalities took rather longer than expected. The guards at the port seem to take their work very seriously, much more so than the ones who work at the Eurotunnel, for instance.
We arrived in Edinburgh about three hours after docking in Newcastle, which wasn’t too bad.
Here’s hoping for dry weather tomorrow.