A few things from a trip 12-9 to 12-25, 2022
1. In each city we stayed in RS book recommended hotels. They were all as described. A special shout out to Kingsway B&B in Edinburgh. The best cook to order breakfast ever! Gracious hosts and transportation from B&B was easy.
2. Transportation: I designated a credit card that I kept zipped in an inside coat pocket just for transit so I didn’t have to keep getting in my wallet. Edinburgh tap in, London tap in and out, Paris still paper tickets(carnet of 10).
3. Strikes 🤦🏻♀️. We had a train canceled between Edinburgh and London (not a strike day). After 2 1/2 hours in the cold they put us in a taxi with 2 others from Edinburgh to Newcastle (2 hr 45 min)then train from Newcastle. They refunded price of ticket. I was impressed! You wouldn’t get that level of help in the states.
4. We arrived 2hours early for Eurostar but they wouldn’t let us get in line until a hour before.
5. We usually leave Europe with about 300 euros for our next trip but cash is not needed anymore. Even the public toilets have a swipe screen. It was actually hard to use our cash at times. This time we’re coming home with about 50.
6. A shout out to Cadenheads in Edinburgh. Super helpful and gracious even though we knew little about Scotch. Also add Craigmiller Castle (in suburb of Edinburgh) to your places to see list. A+.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14723 posts
Thank you so much for your trip report! Notable to me is that you apparently got back in to SEATAC Saturday?!?
Good to know about your experience with cash. I'd been able to do mostly ApplePay in Italy in October and came home with more money than I probably need. It's hard to get out of the mental mindset for how much starter money you should have for your next trip, isn't it?
Posted by
Nashville, TN, USA
3871 posts
Renee, thanks for your trip report with lots of good information.
We'll be in Edinburgh at the end of our trip to England next year, so will keep Kingsway B&B in mind.
Have added Craigmiller Castle to our Edinburgh plans; thanks!
Amazing about all of your train adventures!
Glad you arrived back in London in time for your Eurostar trip.