Our "home" in Edinburgh

The hotel we stayed at is actually a lodge belonging to some wealthy Scot family and now turned into a bed and breakfast set-up. The double bedroom was large and the attached bathroom is unlike ordinary hotel.. it is fitted with a jacuzzi..Zana had a fun time in there. The heater was working wonderfully. The bed is comfortable with generous layers of warm sheets.There are tea-making facilities and complementary sherry, replenished as needed. There is however no minibar, if you need to have anything cold you would have to go to the lounge minibar and tick the selected items and enter your room number.

Kildonnan Lodge has a dining room and its chef Matthew has ever presented dishes for Her Majesty the Queen and ever worked for Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber as the occupancy is low, you need to make an advanced booking if you want him to cook for you. The common lounge is tastefully decorated with plenty of oriental vases beautifully arranged. The fireplace with real fire really makes the room warm, unpretentious and homely. The breakfast is hearty and Scottish. But I just love my cereals, baked beans,poached eggs and toast with plenty of butter (only during this travel to keep me warm ok),honey,yogurt and the veritable orange juice.

Actually along this road where the lodge is are other similar mansions and a series of bed and breakfast small hotels, in fact in front of ours, are smart-looking terraced houses some of which have been turned into B&B. At this time of the year there are a lot of vacancies but not in August when they have some kind of annual festivals.

The way to the city is most convenient.There are many buses No 3,7,8,31,37 coming every three minutes and the bus stop to the city is just across the road and from the city is less than two minutes walk. The fare is 1.10 pound per person and you can get a day pass for 2.50pound and travel on any bus for any number of time. The journey to the city is about 15 minutes. We got the day pass, shopped till we nearly dropped and hopped on the bus, deposited our heavy shopping bags in the hotel room, rested awhile near the lounge fire and off again to the city for dinner at the Garfunkle's fish and chips..and returned before 9pm.. It gets dark here by 4.30pm and shops close at 6pm. Somehow it was not colder than London as we had thought.But coming back to the hotel was just like coming home due to its private set-up.

Train Journey to Edinburgh

As I suddenly find that I have to spend more time in the UK due to my ticket problem, I have decided to visit Scotland and where else to if not its capital, Edinburgh. Zana had done all the necessary bookings from rail tickets right down to hotel accomodation. We started early to catch that 0830hrs train at London King's Cross which was on time. Yes, UK public transportations are notoriously on time! After the Eurostar experience to Brussels, we did not want to take any more chances and decided to travel first class.

The journey was pleasant,the carriage warm and staff friendly. This train is modern and fast and offers WiFi facilities. The seat is comfortable with ample leg room and it seemed to me the passengers of this class were kind of more "decent".This train has a dining car and you can go and have your meals and being served in comfort and style there. The rest room is very clean and spacious, no sliding of door, just push a button and the door opens, once inside you must remember to push the "lock" button otherwise you would be in full view if someone comes along and press that "open" button on the outside.

Window views changed from city to countryside which was bleak with bald brown hills interspersed with green in some parts. Sheep were grazing in those green fields and they looked like giant cotton balls. Towards the end of the journey, one can see the coastal areas with deep green-looking sea with occasional white waves lapping up. One or two ships could be seen in the horizon.The journey took about four hours. We arrived at Edinburgh Waverly station at 1413hrs.

We took a cab to our hotel, Kildonan Lodge, A four-star small hotel less than 10 minutes from the station and the cost was 10 pound. Actually if you know the city, you can come out of Waverly station to Princes St and catch a red Lothian bus No 3 from there to the hotel for 1.10 pound per person! Despite having internet connection, we failed to check that bit :( Indeed 8.90 pound can get you two beautiful lambswool scarves at sale price...