Edinburgh and the banks are closed...

Monday, 25th April - (Catch-up)

We had understood from people here that Easter Monday wasn't a holiday in Scotland, and Liz's kids had gone back to school, but when we got the train in to the city, (about 20 minutes), many shops were open, but a lot weren't. And the banks were closed!! I had wanted to transfer the balance of some accommodation to a place in Sandwich, but couldn't do it today.

So, we opted to take a city tour on one of those open topped double decker buses. We hadn't done this  last time and had missed seeing a few things. We got Seniors fares again, and took the tour to the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. These are really lovely and worth the praise they get, so we had quite a while there looking at Trilliums, and other bulbs, and some lovely alpine plants. There is an enormous tropical glasshouse but this is not our thing, so we decided not to pay the entry fee, and skipped this. Then went down to Leith and the harbour where the old Royal yacht Britania is on permanent display. It was one of those get-on/get-off tours, so we had a look at the yacht, and then had a really nice lunch in the Ocean Terminal shopping centre, and shared a very simple pizza and some really nice Italian beer.

The bus is easy to negotiate the steps up and down as you can steady yourself on the rails, and we went on to Holyrood Palace, which we also hadn't done last time. But they wanted 14 Pounds each to get in and we were by this stage very tired and so just had a cuppa, and went back and got the next bus back to Waverley Station

Cards and Banks, and money...

Thursday, 28th April - in Edinburgh - (an aside)

We've really had no trouble using our cards, except that some machines and/or checkouts don't like the Travelex Cash Passport, and I have been signing in those cases. The actual cash is easy to use, but the coins mount up very quickly. (I can now appreciate Australia having gotten rid of our small coins!) Tip: when the coins build up, and you have a purse full, use the 1 and 2 Pound coins for small stuff like coffee and papers, and parking machines, and laundromats, otherwise you'll need a bigger purse! Then, dump the small pence in donation jars, or tips glasses.

We were advised by my cousin Ann to try and use ATM's inside banks, and we have mainly done that, or at least used ones in very busy places with lots of people around. We've also taken out as much cash as we can each time, which saves on having to use ATM's more than you need to, and then we then share out the cash between us, so neither of us is carrying it all. This has worked out well so far.

Met a couple from Australia, who were staying at the apartments at Northcliff as well, and we were on the local station, preparing to go into Edinburgh. We explained that the ticket machine was card only, and he wouldn't use it, and said that every time he used his card overseas, his bank (ANZ), was charging him $10.00!  Lee and I withdrew GBP 500Pounds ($770), and St.G charged us $3.20 (ish) for the Foreign Conversion fee. I'd be changing banks pretty quick if I was that man!

The other good thing is that the exchange rate has been steady, if not getting better, since we've been here, so all is good. And, we are managing really well within our budget, and not skimping either.

The only problem is that there are soooo many beautiful things you want to buy, and you can't bring them back, either because they are restricted, or you would need an extra bag for them.
We are investigating the pros and cons of either paying excess baggage, or sending stuff back and paying the postage/freight.