Soooo one rattling 30 minute bus-ride into Edinburgh airport, a gruelling two hour wait for the departure gate announcement and then a totally unexplained two hour delay in departure (AND only a Boot’s sandwich for dinner) we finally arrived home at 1am last night. I make that...oooo, 9 hours door-to-door?! OUCH. I definitely look like it too, I may as well have walked from Edinburgh to London really. But, journey time aside, I do have to deliver (for the large part) a rather complimentary verdict on EasyJet - they’ve pretty much kicked Ryanair’s cheap ass and I sure won’t be flying with the latter again. EasyJet adopt a 'carry as much as you like as long as you can carry it alone' policy and I must say, me like. None of that soul-crushing weighing of bag to check it’s not 10 grams over the 10 kg limit, or squashing of bag into Ryanair’s custom-made bag-measuring apparatus just to prove it’s not over-sized. No last minute discarding of precious, prized possessions (my comfiest Nikey shoes en route to Sweden :( ) nor staff yelling in your ear when your boarding pass is folded in half (clearly you’re meant to have it laminated just in time for their inspection) - happy days!
In short, a wonderful trip. Edinburgh broke out in beaming sunshine yesterday giving us the chance to explore the city in a new light (the sunlight, that is). When I first heard that it’s often nicknamed the “Athens of the North”, I almost snorted with laughter. Edinburgh? Athens? Really? But I glimpsed it yesterday and I can’t be so sure/smug anymore. As grey and forbidding as it was on rainy, windy Wednesday morning, magnificent in its setting with the sea on the horizon, the Royal Mile was transformed into a hustling-bustling cobbled tourist hub, twee pubs, miniature boutiques, an eclectic mix of tourist shops and eateries lining the scenic walk from Castle Rock, on which sits the Castle (duhh), down to Holyrood Abbey. Except for the tell-tale red phone booths, the street could just as well have been lifted straight from the Mediterranean. We spent our remaining few hours shopping (for souvenirs, obviously) and recovering (at McDonald’s in the Princes Mall, base camp since day 1, refuelling and recharging station, total of 10 lattes (mum) and 10 hot chocs (me) consumed) before packing in to begin that monstrosity of a journey.
For now though, for a week at least, it's back to reality. The domestics. The academics. Whatever. A maddening pile of washing beckons (men eh?!) and the job search is on. Next post might be a picture post, so do keep eyes peeled. Wish you all a wonderful weekend. X
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