Day 105: AberBEEN there, done that

07/11/2021

It was a slow start to the morning after last night’s non-scenic night tour of Aberdeenshire. It was another special day today. Eloise was quick to grab the presents for Super Mum, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Unlike her birthday, Eloise waited no time at all to start tearing open Mum’s presents. It was actually the second time she had opened them. Liam, Eloise and Lachlan had wrapped them a couple of days earlier, only for Eloise to give them a test unwrap, leaving us to have to wrap them a second time with a lack of wrapping paper.

After a series of quick video calls to family back home and then photos of Lachlan, we were off to find breakfast. We headed down to the Esplanade as we did not reach there yesterday. It looked like it was shaping up to be a nice day although it was chilly and blowing a gale. That North Sea wind was feeling fresh.

It may have been Super Mum’s birthday but Eloise was the real winner this morning. For breakfast we went to The Highlander Cafe Bus, an Anthony F inspired double-decker red bus repurposed as a cafe. To top it off, they were out of strawberries so Eloise’s chocolate waffle was served with marshmallows. She could not contain her excitement. There was a great view down the beach and of Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm, Eloise knew all about these now. Lachlan was happy to be along for the ride, ba-dum ching.

We then went to check out the University of Aberdeen King’s College before starting the drive down the coast to Broughty Castle, which did have a cool draw bridge. We climbed the tight helical staircase to the observation deck. Eloise instantly spotted the playground which was not visible from the car park, leading to a quick descent.

Broughty Castle is a historic castle on the banks of the river Tay in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland. It was completed around 1495, although the site was earlier fortified in 1454 when George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus received permission to build on the site. His son Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Angus was coerced into ceding the castle to the crown. The main tower house forming the centre of the castle with four floors was built by Andrew, 2nd Lord Gray who was granted the castle in 1490.

The kids were sleepy by this stage and happy in their car seats. We decided we would just drive about Dundee, grab some takeaway and continue the journey back to COP26 land, just in time for PAW Patrol with a side of Liverpool vs West Ham.

In the evening Scotland played Australia in the Autumn Nations Series Rugby at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. We did look at tickets but we were too late. The Thistles pulled off a slim victory over the Wallabies. Something about them managing more touchdowns or they hit the 8-ball in first or nailed more baskets from downtown.

Eloise fell asleep quickly again after a fun weekend. We then played our new card game ‘Mind the Gap’, Liam vs Sophie and Lachlan, winner takes all. We will have to get some practice under our belts before we take on the Londoners and best friends of the Blog Hazel and Tom.