11/06/2023
Saturday morning the kids were jumping up and down at the side of our bed, they could not wait to go downstairs and combine their two favourite toys, dino track and Peppa Pig’s house.
It was then funny faces down to the train station as we waved off Liam. I was heading over to Edinburgh to catch up with a friend who had made his way across from Adelaide. It certainly is tourist season, I could not believe how busy Edinburgh train station was.
Back home Eloise and Lachlan were in charge of keeping Aubrey awake. They both kept trying to feed her breadsticks through the phone.
At a more sensible hour, the Italians had arisen and were preparing for an action-packed day of sightseeing and pizza eating.
It was Tom’s first day in Edinburgh, so we made our way up to Edinburgh Castle, it was exciting to see that they were already setting up for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo which we have tickets for in a couple of months.
After all our Edinburgh Castle visits this must be the first time I had been here not on a Sunday. I finally go to hear the gun.
Back in Glasgow, Super Mum, Eloise and Lachlan were off to meet Emma and Jo at the Bearsden & Milngavie Highland Games, Eloise made sure to bring her new scooter. It was definitely a “sunny glasses” day.
Super Mum noticed that Lachlan was more than interested in the BMX stunts and kept an eye on him so that he did not get any silly ideas, he has always been fascinated by the half pipe.
Edinburgh Castle was packed, it was in fact sold out for the day. It was fascinating listening to all the different languages moving about.
After checking out the castle we made our way down to the Farmers Market for a delicious lunch.
As we were aimlessly walking about enjoying the sun the World’s first floral clock caught my eye, I quite liked it.
The first floral clock was the idea of John McHattie, Superintendent of Parks in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was first planted up in the spring of 1903 in West Princes Street Gardens. In that year it had only an hour hand but a minute hand was added the following year. A cuckoo which pops out every quarter hour was added in 1952. The clock was soon imitated across the United Kingdom and later throughout the world. In Edinburgh, the clock mechanism is set inside the plinth of the statue to Allan Ramsay adjacent. The first mechanism using salvaged parts from Elie Parish Church in Fife was installed by James Ritchie & Son A new mechanism was installed in 1934 and has been electrically operated since 1973. It is still maintained by James Ritchie Clockmakers.
It had been a Scorchio day, we had been trying to convince Nali and Grandpa DAVE that it does, in fact, rain here. However, the kids could not wait any longer and were impatient to make it rain.
Nali and Grandpa DAVE were also enjoying the humid heat making their way around Catania learning all about the culture.
Hannah got some crackin’ shots, been a very collaborative effort this one.
This morning the kids woke up in good spirits and were even more energetic than usual. We had to call in Kids Zumba, Eloise loves copying the dance moves and Lachlan loves copying his big sister, even tying his top around his waist to match.
We had to get out of the house and made our way to Braehead Shopping Centre. After climbing through the clouds in the Skye, Eloise is in the market for some hiking boots. The kids were buzzing when they spotted the scooter and bikes at Decathlon to try out. The biggest problem was that there were too many to choose from.
The kids thought this large store was a theme park, Lachlan did not know which direction to run and wanted to try all the sports.
Sadly, the hiking boots did not work out, Eloise happily settled for a ballerina dress. Lachlan has been upset recently that his new dino bottle had broken, luckily he stumbled upon another one. He is happily satisfied.
With the scorchio days, it is pool and frisbee daily to cool down and wear the kids out in the evening.
Not going to lie, FIK is having issues keeping tabs on where Nali and Grandpa DAVE are traveling through southern Italy, ending up somewhere near Palazzolo Acreide perhaps? It looks like they are having a great time with their travel buddies.
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