Wednesday 14 October We head to the tour bus first thing. It's a beautiful clear sunny day. We get some breakfast from the supermarket in a mostly closed still mall and enjoy it in warmth and quiet. We decide on a tour bus and buy tickets. Off we go around the city. The guide tells us it's only about 60min. We decide to do round one with no stops. We have a small break at the end of tour one to sit in the park awhile. My legs are so cold from the open top bus. R...

Tuesday 13 October It's such a nice thing, time and privacy. We take our time eating and packing up. We take our bags with us and head back to the cathedral for more photos it's beautiful to sit in the sun. We head to the main square then along the river. At the bus station we figure out the next cheapest bus then head to a small park nearby for lunch. The bus trip isn't too long. Less than 2 hours. Edinburgh is amazing! Houses on hills and walled towns. Cobbled...

Monday 12 October We are up and waiting for the taxi in plenty of time and on our way by 6am. I have more bites again and not very happy about that. We are some of the first to get through and checked in. We have to wait awhile before boarding. There are lots of places to choose to sit on the boat and it's pretty empty compared to capacity. The ride is smooth and the glimpses of land beautiful. A great place to watch the sun rise. We are some of the first off a...

Monday 31 August I wake earlier than necessary unfortunately. I go down and collect our washing and fold it. We pack before a light breakfast. I'm feeling mildly ill. We leave not long after 7am for the train station. It's been such a nice weekend. It's very wet today. We get on the train and it's pretty deserted. Nana and grandad phone me for my birthday which is nice, but the connection is lost when we train through a tunnel. In London we head to Victoria stat...

Sunday 30 August We want to leave about 9:30am to make it to the Peak District by 11. I hang my washing load out and Jonathan cooks an English breakfast. Also a cooked NZ breakfast. The day is fine but overcast. We make it to the uncles house by 11:15 and visit with him and some neighbours, one who is to be our tour guide today. We travel through the hills and see the rolling moors and flowering heather. We stop in quaint little towns and see fields with stone ...