We arrived at Edinburgh airport at about 8am and took the bus to the city center. We alighted at Waverly Station and walked around to find our bearing. Turns out, we are the bottom of the hill, and our hotel is at the top of the hill. Oh dear. Thus began our long uphill journey. At 830am before breakfast. Halfway up the hill, we called a time out and decided to stop for breakfast. Our first breakfast in Scotland was a Full Scottish breakfast, consisting of eggs, vegetarian haggis, mushrooms, baked beans, tomato, toast and hash browns. Yummmmm.
Breakfast!
After breakfast, we continued our journey uphill and finally reached our hotel. We couldn't check in yet as it was too early so we left our bags there and went off to explore Edinburgh.
In front of the hotel.
Our hotel is on the Royal Mile and was in between Holyroodhouse Palace and Edinburgh Castle. We decided to go to Edinburgh Castle first and then go to the palace the next day. We made the 1/2 a mile trek to the castle from the hotel (uphill again!). By this time, the skies were getting darker and we were praying that it won't rain.
The view from Edinburgh Castle is amazing. It's at the top of a hill so you can see the whole of Edinburgh city center from it. We should have taken more pictures but decided to just enjoy the view instead.
At the front of the castle
There was a tour guide who brought us around the castle. He told us all about the history of the castle and its many inhabitants. I was never good at history at school (not a fan of remembering key dates etc) but I love learning about the history of a country, and Scotland is well known for its colourful history. I was so entranced over the country's history that I even bought a book on Scotland as a souvenir!
We spent a good 3-4 hours at the castle. We finally made our way down the hill to the hotel to check in. But not before stopping to try Scotland's infamous snack, Deep Fried Mars bar. We forgot to take a picture (darn it!) but the husband loved it. I'm not a fan of chocolate so didn't really enjoy it but it was definitely an experience.
It was about 230 by the time we reached the hotel. The husband was dying to go the loo by then so I hurriedly went to reception to collect our bags and check in. We were told then that our room was flooded as one of the pipes had burst earlier that morning. They had arranged for us to move to another sister hotel just down the road. So off we went to this hotel. We checked in and went to our room. Upon seeing the room, I was not impressed. We paid for a 3 star room and this room is 2 stars, at best. We marched back downstairs with luggage in tow, and I asked the receptionist to call the Manager at our original hotel. I spoke to her and said I was not happy with the quality of the room. The carpet hasn't been hoovered, the bed covers did not cover the whole bed, and the lights were flickering. Please arrange for us to be moved to another hotel which is at least the same standard as the original hotel, or better. In the end, they sorted out another room for us at another hotel, which is about 5-10 minutes by bus from the city center, but they are offering the Executive Suite at the hotel. We didn't mind the bus ride if it meant getting a good night's sleep, so off we went to hotel no 3. This time, all was well and finally we have sorted out our accommodation. So much for booking in advance eh?
We went back into town after this to just visit the main high street, Princes Street. My feet were aching by this time so I decided to get myself a new pair of trainers. We went to a few shops and finally settled on a pair of Sketchers Tone-ups. Thank god for the £10 pounds off voucher at JJB Sports. My feet have been saved :)
We decided to call it a day after the shops closed. We had Indian for dinner and was back in the hotel by 830pm, just in time for The X Factor. A lot of drama in day 1 in Edinburgh, but still enjoyed the whole experience :)
All in all sounds like a good holiday :) Thank goodness they were able to provide you a better room!
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