I write this while on the train in Italy! A bit late I know. A smooth and delightful one hour trip from Napoli (Napels) to Rome. Mind you it took almost two hours drive to get here from Sorrento. We had hoped to train from there to Napoli but were warned against it as theft is rife and gypsys plague the trains so we paid for a taxi instead.
Our wait in the train station was a confirmation of what I’ve been observing the last 5 days. There are no men so stylish, as the Italian man! On arrival into Sorrento we played a game of spot the ‘Italian’, which comprised of checking if a guy held a man-bag clutched to his chest. However, it’s not just that. They are sooooo well dressed- dare I say it better than their women folk!
I’d bought Steve several polo shirts in Macy’s while in NY plus new shoes so really he could have blended in (minus the bag of course; ‘ get real Heidi I’m never carrying one of those’) yet where are they? In London of course and instead he has brought his ever-faithful Ts.
This kind of brings me round to the other men I’ve been viewing recently. Those in Scotland.
Before I sound like a desperate housewife, this is just to note that the weather was so amazing in Edinburgh that half the city stripped off. The park next to Holyrood Palace was full of families in their undies turning bright pink in the first days of summer. Unfortunately we also saw a three year old, whose busy father had ignored his toilet request promptly do the largest poo I've ever seen just by the water/fountain next to Parliament House. While my family rolled around laughing and I asked around trying to find the man a plastic bag and some baby wipes from appalled passers by he took a dozen photos and sent them to his wife while his kid proceeded to do more. He then left his kid in the water where other kids were playing while he got rid of it and presumably so the kid could poo/drown in the fountain. If he was trying to prove to his wife he wasn't capable of caring for a minor he made his point...
We had really lucked out in accommodation. Like York I’d found a property so close to Edinburgh Castle that we were next to the ticket office. The only downside to our stunning house apartment in Ramsey Gardens (found on Airbnb) was that the scaffolding for the Edinburgh Tattoo was being erected about 2 meters from our windows and woke us at 7 every morning. However, in a house of 10 there was no such thing as a lay in. All children were paired off with playmates and the adults divided the activities and the kids. Steve and my brother Darryl took the older two boys for a fast run to the top of Arthurs Chair followed by exercise camp at the base. I took the older girls for a more leisurely hike to the same followed by a bit of unexpected rock climbing when we went off the path, followed by a picnic of Scottish fudge to keep the energy up. The girls and I also went to Holyrood Palace. This working palace also has Mary Stuart’s rooms and a special exhibition of the Queens’ clothes to celebrate her 90th birthday. They provide, like many of the places we have visited, two types of Audio; an adult and a child’s version. Young Millie (my niece) had the time of her life wandering around the beautiful palace and gardens and we finished up with a High Tea in the café.
Tobie and his wife took the youngest two to the Botanical gardens and camera obscura which Steve later visited with the older kids and they loved.
We all spent a morning at National Museum of Scotland, which is free (please give a donation), educational and lots of fun. We learnt about the geographical make up of Scotland as well as the cultural, religious and royal history of this land and it took a lot of work to drag the kids away from the animal section (AGAIN!)
All the adults had been to Edinburgh castle previously, and honestly the crowds are off-putting so we decided to head to Stirling Castle instead. This was a GREAT move. Stirling Castle is only an hour away by train and is an important piece of the Scottish/English history. If you’ve watched Braveheart and can remember ‘Robert Bruce’ it is this area where he had a battle (post Wallace) against the English King Edward 2nd. Every Scot we met suggested a visit to the Bannockburn visitor centre and post visit we agree that this should be on everyone’s to-do list when visiting Scotland. This has to be one of the best visitor experiences we’ve ever been on. An interactive battle played by visitors and hosted by a history buff member of staff gave everyone a much better idea of what went on and was a lot of fun in the process.
The castle itself was a great and quiet walk around. Staff gave detailed accounts of what rooms were for and on this, one of the hottest days of the year, the inside of the castle was still cold so one can only imagine how cold it would be on the other 360 days of the year!
Other notable visits included a visit to Greyfriars cemetery! This is the cemetery that JK Rowling visited when writing the Harry Potter books and you can find the names of some of the characters that she used.
Given the number of kids we didn’t eat out much but had a few pub meals down at Grassmarket, which is full of great restaurants and only 5 minutes down a lot of steps from the castle!
Lots of photos shown of our few days in Edinburgh and I’ll get to Sorrento soon!
