Edinburgh dispatches: Longniddry, kitchens, buses

I lived with this view of Edinburgh Castle for two years and everywhere you go in Edinburgh's centre it confronts you and yet I can't get enough of it.  So grand and majestic.

We visited an old work colleague in Longniddry on the weekend.  She and her partner are charmingly hospitable.  We were treated to homemade soup and homemade bread.  It was such a treat after holiday eating.  They took us to a swing park for Sylvia and then on a walk to see wild boat.  The wild boar were nowhere to be seen but there was lots of mud on the path beyond this fancy gate.

Sylvia is so excited by double decker buses.  I understand.  They were magical to me at her age too.  She particularly loves sitting up the top in the front seat.  Sometimes she counts buses.  Her favourite has Maisie cat on it.  I regret I don't have a better photo.  If only those buses didn't whizz by so quickly!

I wish I could tell you that this kitchen was just like the one in my holiday accommodation.  It is not quite so fancy.  This dolls house is in the Museum of Childhood on the Royal Mile.

The kitchen at our first holiday flat was far more modern but a lovely place to cook and eat.  It is the same kitchen where I cooked a Christmas dinner for 10 some years ago.

This is the bedroom in the same flat.  We really loved the flat and were sad that due to booking at such short notice, we could not stay there for all of our time in Edinburgh.

I booked a second flat which we moved into about a week ago.  It is fairly ordinary compared to the warm welcoming flat we had at the start of the trip.  The kitchen is so badly equipped that we have had to borrow a chopping board and salt.

I made some macaroni cheese out of this packet on my first night here and it needed seasoning.  Given the lack of salt, I crushed up a packet of Worcester crisps to sprinkle on it.  Possibly the culinary low of the holidays!  At least the owners have replaced the old fridge that wasn't doing much chilling when we arrived.