Aviemore to London

Glasgow -another city with the usual old buildings, bars and restaurants.

Not as neat and tidy as Liverpool, but still a lot of characterful buildings.

Going North from Glasgow, first stop is Loch Lomond, and a boat trip there.

Worth the money and it is amazing how unpopulated this place is.

Narrow winding roads, a loud bang: it appears a campervan  coming the other way has removed our driver side mirror.

A few photo ops for views of hills and flowering heather, then Aviemore, where we will stay for two nights.  There is a side trip to Skye the next day, but we flag it away in an attempt to cure Rose's swollen feet.  Laundromat and a walk takes care of the day.

The next day, off towards Edinburgh, stopping at Blair Castle along the way.

Heavy peasant investment has taken place here. Other people probably thought it was marvellous,  but anything resembling antiques gives me the shivers.

Edinburgh.  Our hotel is about two miles from town, but is spacious and we have a wonderful view of the city with it's castle on a hill and church spires.

Our hotel is a Holiday Inn, about 3 miles out of town, but on the plus side, very nice and spacious.

It is Monday, 19 August,2013. Today we are on a tour of Edinburgh.  We were driven around the New town and then the Old town.  A quick look at Holyrood House.  This is where the Queen comes and has a tea party for 8,000 people. Seems a tall story.  Not a hugely impressive palace.

Then up the road to the Edinburgh Castle. Great views over the city.

That night, we went to the Edinburgh Tattoo.  I managed to acquire a mild head cold in Aviemore, so I was not looking forward to freezing myself for one and a half hours. To prevent a severe case of pneumonia, We went shopping in the main street, Princes Street, for a suitable jacket.

I was pleased to pick one up for 3 pounds. With bits of plastic wrapped around  my legs, I  thought this should be fine. No.  Normally I would not willingly subject myself to a show like that, but it was quite enjoyable.

To be on the bus trip with a cold is very embarrassing. I was quite pleased when I found out that at least four other people at the same cold at the same time.

From Edinburgh the next stop was York. As seems to be the normal on this tour, we only have a brief time to look at a small part of the entire city. Narrow streets with cute looking pubs and cafes. All the churches are starting to blur together. Another Holiday Inn.

On the road again. Stopped at William Shakespeare's birth cottage. The last stop  is Oxford. There are 39 colleges in Oxford, and we only looked at one of them.  If all of them are as  wonderful and nice as this one, then lucky students.  You could spend a month wandering around all these wonderful old buildings. Then back to London, dropped off near Waterloo station. We have a suspicion that a taxi ride in London is going to set us back around 50 pounds which is New Zealand dollars $100. So to trim that down, we decide to drag our suitcases all the way across Westminster Bridge.  Somewhere around horse guards, we flag down a cab.  14 pounds, including tip. What is for dinner? We could order room service, how much would that be? About 82 New Zealand dollars. So we check out Euston Station, just across the road. Burgers for 24 NZ dollars.