Back from London/Edinburgh trip...

[redzinner]

Thanks for the memories kristilew! I did this same trip with my daughter many years ago ... no apps on phones then though. We went without a tour and had an absolute blast on the tube, double-deckers and cabs. We took the train to York too, stayed a few days in York, rented a car and motored around the Yorkshire countryside, and then took the train up to Edinburgh. Loved Edinburgh. The Castle dominates the entire city-scape and that's probably why I liked it.
Your photos brought it all back ...

 

[disneyholic family]

We stayed at the Barcelo Carlton hotel, which was on North Bridge, right at the corner of the Royal Mile. I liked the location more than the hotel itself, although the hotel was perfectly fine.

The room was very spacious, which I take to be rather unusual in a UK hotel room. It was clean-ish, but not notably clean. The bathroom was pretty, but did not have a good shower at all.

The biggest issue we had was that very few people who worked in the hotel spoke anything other than Spanish. This resulted in many mixups, from trying to request enough towels each day (unsuccessfully) to the wrong order at every breakfast and bar stop (breakfast was included in our fee, and half an hour of wireless access, otherwise very expensive, was included with a bar purchase.) On the other hand, the front desk staff was Scottish, and like everyone else we encountered in the city, genuinely the kindest, friendliest, most caring people we've ever encountered. We had to leave very very early on our final day, and they had bag brunches made up for us to take with us to the airport.

I would stay there again, but only after looking around on tripadvisor to see if there was a better option with just as good a location.

thanks for that review!!
i just looked it up on trip advisor - it's rated 71 out of 129....
just ran through the reviews, without looking at prices, i'd like to stay at the balmoral....no doubt it costs an arm and a leg (maybe two of each )

 

[kristilew]

thanks for that review!!
i just looked it up on trip advisor - it's rated 71 out of 129....

that sounds about right. We did not choose it ourselves - it is a couple blocks from DH's office and they have a deal with the company.

SayHello, I assume it's a Spanish chain. I only mention the language because if one spoke Spanish, as so many do these days, it would not have been a problem at all. (Sigh, adding language courses to my to-do list now...)

 

[sayhello]

SayHello, I assume it's a Spanish chain. I only mention the language because if one spoke Spanish, as so many do these days, it would not have been a problem at all. (Sigh, adding language courses to my to-do list now...)

I'm in the same boat with the Paris part of my K&L's trip. I barely speak a word of French, and mis-pronounce the little I know. I've been trying to download a French lesson podcast someone recommended to me, but I haven't been successful yet...

Sayhello

 

[kristilew]

I'm in the same boat with the Paris part of my K&L's trip. I barely speak a word of French, and mis-pronounce the little I know. I've been trying to download a French lesson podcast someone recommended to me, but I haven't been successful yet...

Sayhello

You should be able to get a translation app for your iTouch. Then you can type in what you want to say and it should say it for you. Or at least show you the French phonetically.

Though, when we were in Paris, we found as long as we made any effort to speak their language, they were very forgiving of incorrect prounounciation. I found the people much more friendly and kind than I had been led to believe before we went.

 

[WDW Lover]

All the details and photos you provided are awesome! Makes me want to go!!!! Wow! It looks incredible!

 

[kristilew]

Thanks for the memories kristilew! I did this same trip with my daughter many years ago ... no apps on phones then though. We went without a tour and had an absolute blast on the tube, double-deckers and cabs. We took the train to York too, stayed a few days in York, rented a car and motored around the Yorkshire countryside, and then took the train up to Edinburgh. Loved Edinburgh. The Castle dominates the entire city-scape and that's probably why I liked it.
Your photos brought it all back ...

That sounds so fun! DD and I have been watching Downton Abbey on PBS like it's our job, and now I'm dying to go back adn spend some time driving around outside of the city.

All the details and photos you provided are awesome! Makes me want to go!!!! Wow! It looks incredible!

Thanks! Glad you liked it. I always want to know what everyone did on their trips, so I figured I'm probably not the only one!

 

[living20057]

Thanks for sharing. You listed some good apps. Did you find any other good apps? Which double decker bus did you use?

 

[kristilew]

Thanks for sharing. You listed some good apps. Did you find any other good apps? Which double decker bus did you use?

I think I listed the ones we used the most. I have a currency converter app, but as the pound was basically one and half times the dollar, I didn't ever use it. I suppose you could count the pocket frogs game app - I passed many hours on the plane feeding and breeding my little froggies

The bus we took was just a regular city bus, not a double decker tour bus or anything like that. (I kept reading that there were no double deckers anymore, but I think that must mean that there are very few of the old fashioned ones. All the regular city buses we saw were doubles. And actually, we did ride on one of the old fashioned ones one day, too.)

Anyway, we took the train in to Paddington station, then went outside and caught a bus going to the museum. This was a little confusing because the app made it look like there was a Paddington Station bus platform, when really it's just the Paddington stop on the street near the station. So we had some comical conversations asking where the buses were and the station attendants telling us, no this is a train station. But it all worked out. The bus stops are very easy to use, with scrolling signs telling you what buses are coming next, how far out they are, and where they are going. There are also helpful charts and maps on the walls of the shelters. Once you figure out what bus you want, it's very hard to miss it.

 

[Phil Cirrone]

Thank you so much for all this information.