Edinburgh to London

We got up early the next day to pack bags. I cooked bacon and eggs for mom. We all took turns using the hair dryer on Dani’s clothes, because hanging them around the flat for two days hadn’t been enough in the rainy weather. We got everything packed and took our bags down to Left Luggage at the train station because we had to check out of the AirBnB.

We walked back up the hill for our Eat Walk Edinburgh tour. We were joined by one other American. The tour was interesting, but the food wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. Some was good enough that Ann went back with the girls to pick up a few things while mom and I made our way to the train station. We retrieved our bags and got to our platform.

Eat Walk Edinburgh (wearing our trip shirts)
From the left: Jerynn, Ann, me, Mom, Dani

As we waited for our train, we noticed that the earlier train had not yet arrived and was displaying as very delayed. We consulted the boards and discovered that our train had been removed. I went to the Virgin first class lounge and was told we could wait there or take another train to a different station in London. I returned with the others to wait it out, but the agent now sent us to try and catch the other train.

We ran across the station to the other platform. The platform was packed with people and people were grumbling that there was no chance of finding a seat on this train. I left my bag with Jerynn and hopped into the first class train car to take a look. I could see plenty of seats open, so I told everyone to get on. We managed to find unreserved seats and find enough places to stash our bags.

This train ride was a bit longer than our reserved train would have been. This wasn’t an express line, so it made more stops. Still, it was better than the alternative - lines were down on the tracks and I’m not sure our train ever came through that night. Once again, they served us several meals.

We got into London Euston and took a taxi to our AirBnB. There was no problem meeting the check in person, but she said that the heat had been left on so the flat was very warm. It turns out the London was having a heat spell, the flat didn’t have air conditioning, and only the patio door opened (all of the door-sized windows were locked for “safety” and the management company didn’t have a key).

Ann, Dani and I walked out to get groceries and wander Kings Cross Station for a bit. We also picked up McDonald’s for Dani. We got back to the flat at 10:30 and it was still hot.

Dani and I lifted our mattress out of our room and took it outside to sleep on the deck. At least it was cooler there.

Me, on our mattress on the deck

Dani and I asleep the following morning