The Museum of Childhood and the journey home

We started today with breakfast in the hotel and packed up and checked out, leaving our luggage at the hotel so we could do a bit more exploring.  We went and had a look around the Museum of Childhood.  I really enjoyed it and many of the toys took me back to my own childhood and I particularly enjoyed the old-fashioned games that were on display.
After the museum of Childhood we went to Jenners, the big department store, to pick up a few presents for people back in Oxford and at work.
Lunch at CQs Café rounded off the day in time to pick up the luggage from the hotel and walk back to Edinburgh Waverley rail station for the 3pm train back home.
It's been a really good six days and I can't believe how lucky we have been with the weather.

The last full day - Calton Hill, HMY Britannia and the Botanical Gardens

We started today with another nice breakfast at CQs Café on the Grassmarket and then walked up to Calton Hill.  The Scottish National Memorial is on Calton Hill as is the Nelson Monument.  The latter is open for tourists so we climbed it to enjoy the view across Edinburgh.
After visiting Calton Hill we stopped by at Greenside Parish Church, the childhood church of a friend in Oxford, and then got a bus along Leith Walk to Leith Docks. 

We had lunch at the Ocean Terminal shopping centre and then did the tour of the HMY Britannia.  Britannia was the last Royal Yacht, in service from 1953 to 1997 when she was decommissioned.  He is now permanently at rest in Leith Docks and belongs to a charity that is doing a fantastic job of preserving her as possibly one of the most historically important ships of the 20th Century.  We had afternoon tea in a lovely tea room on board the Britannia.

Later we got another bus along to the Botanical Gardens.  We'd asked the driver to let us know when to get off the bus at the closest point to the Gardens.  Sadly he forgot so we wasted quite a while sitting in traffic going further than we needed to, and walking back to the stop at which we should have alighted.  The annoying consequence was that we got to the Botanical Gardens too late to see inside the glasshouses but we were still able to have a good walk around the grounds.  There is a lovely Japanese Garden as well as a rock garden with some interesting plants.  The whole site was extremely well kept and were disappointed not to be able to see the contents of the glasshouses.
After a break back at the hotel we had our final evening dinner at Ondine, a lovely if slightly expensive fish restaurant.

Edinburgh Castle, Scottish National Portrait Gallery and a pub quiz

We started today with a climb up from the Grassmarket to Edinburgh Castle.  We toured all the buildings and sites and were lucky again that the weather was so good.  We heard the 1pm gun firing too.

After the Castle we walked up to the National Portrait Gallery which has just been completely refurbished.  It was fascinating and included some wonderful artwork as well as there being a musical concert playing while we were there.
We went for dinner at another Liesl-recommended restaurant called La Garrigue and had another wonderful meal.  Following that we went to the New Town Bar and took part in the quiz.  We didn't win the quiz but Gordon did win £25 in the higher-or-lower bonus round!

Scottish Parliament, Arthur's Seat and Holyrood House

We walked to the East end of the Royal Mile today and started with a visit to the Scottish Parliament, which I think is a rather ugly building.  I hope it doesn't look as awful in 50 years as Oxford's County Hall does today!

The weather was quite good so we next climbed Arthur's Seat via St. Antony's Chapel.  The weather was lovely and sunny by the time we got to the peak at just over 250 metres.

After the climb we had some lunch at Holyrood Palace and then did the tour of the Palace and the Queen's Gallery.  There was some wonderful art in the Queen's Gallery including some Fabergé eggs.  The Palace itself was an interesting tour although much like many other public visits to Royal Palaces. 
After spending the day in the Holyrood area we walked back up the Royal Mile and to the Hotel for a rest.
We ate out at a lovely Indian Restaurant called the Spice Pavilion, in the New Town, as recommended by our friend Liesl.  It was an amazing meal and we both hugely enjoyed it.

More Museum of Scotland, St. Giles' Cathedral and Whisky Wisdom

We went back to the Museum of Scotland this morning after a hotel breakfast.  We also visited St. Giles' Cathedral and then went to a session at the Jam House that was part of the Science Festival and called "Whisky Wisdom". 
After that we visited "The Oxford Bar" where Inspector Rebus drank in the Ian Rankin novels.  We had dinner at an Italian restaurant called Gusto, on George Street.  We came back to the hotel around 2300 for a fairly early night.

Five days in Edinburgh

I've been to Edinburgh a few times for work but never just for pleasure so I'm looking forward to this break.  We travelled by train and had an 0707 start from Oxford and had to go via King's Cross.  Despite that we were in Edinburgh by 1330.
We walked to our Hotel - the Apex City Hotel on the Grassmarket - and checked in around 1430.

After unpacking and a little rest we went for a wander and explored a bit.  We popped into the Museum of Scotland and had a wander up to the outside of Edinburgh Castle.  We had dinner at a restaurant called Viva Mexico.