Edinburgh: Part 9 - Day 8: Back to Stockholm

Day 8
Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 8.

30/9 Day 8: Flight back to Stockholm

Costs
(A) Food
(1) Breakfast at Cafe Blush - Bagel with scrambled eggs £6.20, Regular mozzarella melt panani £8.75, Cappucino £3.30 each
(2) Lunch at Oink - Pulled hog roast roll (Oinks size) with apple sauce £7.20

The Story

30092023: Today, we fly back to Stockholm. We were both satisfied with our trip and looked forward to going back. This is how our Airbnb looked like. We were allowed to use the kitchen and the garden but we did not have time to do that. I would certainly have if I had time. The apartment was very cosy. Well, the owner lives here. 

For breakfast, we stopped at a random cafe that was opened at 8am. My boyfriend was very hungry so we stopped at the first cafe but we got our food about an hour later. I wished we went further because this cafe charged additional 10% to the amount to pay without informing us. 

We walked into town and enjoyed the walk, took random photos and soon, it was time for lunch. I found a restaurant called Oinks which served some yummy pulled pork in a bun.

This is my pulled pork wth sage and onion stuffing and apple sauce. Really good! The downside is that this place does not have a toilet.

Then, we took the tram back to the airport. We bought a return ticket when we arrived in Edinburgh. 

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Here are the list of places I went. You can click on the link and be directed to the posts immediately. 

Day 1 - Arrived Edinburgh airport

Day 2 - Walking tour, Scotch Whisky Tour Experience, Arthur's Seat

Day 3 - Drive from Edinburgh to Portree

Day 4 - Explore Trotternish Loop (Post 1 and 2) - Fairy Glen, The Quiraing, Kilt Rock, Brother's Point, Old Man of Storr

Day 5 - Explore the other part of Isle of Skye - Fairy Pools, Talisker Distillery, Neist Point Lighthouse

Day 6 - Drive from Portree to Inverness. Stopped at Loch Ness and Eilean Donan Castle.

Day 7 - Drive from Inverness to Edinburgh. Went up Calton Hill

Day 8 - Flight back to Stockholm - this post

I have mentioned some of my expenses in each post and I did have other expenses which are not illustrated in the respective posts. For total and different category of expenses, I will sum it here.  

1) Flight - SEK4011
2) Accommodation (Airbnb) - SEK5231,63 per person

3) Food - SEK4376,06 (my expenses)

4) Car rental - SEK2516,13 per person (5 days)

5) Activities - SEK447,41 per person (entrance fees)

6) Petrol - SEK644,49 per person (3 times pumping)

7) Parking - SEK159,44 per person

Total Cost for the trip SEK17386,16 for 8 days, 7 nights. I was really pleased with this trip! An unforgettable birthday trip for me in beautiful Scotland. 

Edinburgh: Part 8 - Day 7: Drive from Inverness to Edinburgh

Day 7
Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 7.

29/9 Day 7: Drive from Inverness to Edinburgh. Check out from Inverness at 10am. Took a break at Creiff at 12.50pm. Checked in at Airbnb in Edinburgh at 2.20pm. Returned the hired car at 3.30pm. Went up Calton Hill. 

Costs
(A) Food
(1) Breakfast at Simpson Garden Centre - Breakfast with 6 items including toast and brewed coffee £10.99, Scone £3.49
(2) Chocolate drink break at Chocolate Gallery, Creiff - £5 per cup 

(3) Dinner at Mama's Comfort Food, Edinburgh - Shepherd's Pie £12, Soda £2.40, Treacle & date pudding £6.50

(B) Accommodation and car
(1) 1 night at Airbnb at Edinburgh for 2 persons - SEK1225,29 including service fees of SEK183,82
(2) Petrol at WM Morrisons Station - £40.75 (1liter = £1.587)

The Story

29092023: Today, we drive back to Edinburgh. There is a one stop shopping centre that has a restaurant next to the Airbnb that we stayed. It is a 5 minutes walk and lots of locals were there as the breakfast has an attractive price. Plus one gets brewed coffee twice. We were so full and I did not utilise the second time coffee. My boyfriend took latte and he paid the difference between a brewed coffee and a latte. 

After breakfast, we made our way to Edinburgh. We drove on the motorway and stopped at Creiff for a break. There, we had a chocolate drink. Nice to have a warm drink in windy Scotland.

We decided to check into our Airbnb in Edinburgh so that we can leave our luggages in the apartment before returning the hired car. The Airbnb was located in town and we had to drive through the traffic in town to reach Arnold Clark office. Along the way, we pumped in petrol as we had to return the car with a full tank. There were no cheap petrol stations along the way. We had to pump at the most expensive of all - Morrisons! We returned the car without needing to pay any damage fees. Yay! Then, we walked back into town and decided to visit Calton Hill. This is a very small hill and it is easy to get to the top unlike Arthur's Seat. Equally windy but much easier. We thought we could wait to see the sunset but it was so windy and very cold!

The view of Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill.

The Walking Tour guide that we did told us that the Greek-like structure was a national disgrace. I did not think he was serious until I researched about it. 

The National Monument, a commanding neoclassical structure on Calton Hill, stands as a tribute to the fallen Scottish soldiers of the Napoleonic Wars. The plan was to make a replica of the Parthenon in Athens, with each stone being exactly the same size as the originals in Greece. Unfortunately less than half of the £42,000 required was raised in a public appeal, and only 12 columns were finished, leading to the monument’s nickname a ‘National Disgrace’. Source from Edinburgh World Heritage

Edinburgh: Part 7 - Day 6: Drive from Portree to Inverness

Day 6
Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6.

28/9 Day 6: Drive from Portree to Inverness. Stopped at Eilean Donan Castle and Dores Beach at Loch Ness along the way. Fed Highland cows.

Costs
(A) Food

(1) Lunch at Redburn Cafe and Giftshop - 2 cafe latte, 1 scottish pie, 1 cornish pie for £12.35. Feed cow £1

(2) Dinner at Johnny Foxes, Inverness - Cheese tart £7.25, Fish and chips £15.50, Cullen skink £15.50, Cask ale £4.85, Menebrea alcohol-free £2.95. Total £46.05

(B) Parking fee
(1) Eilean Donan Castle - £3 for 2 hours.

(C) Entrance fee
(1) Eilean Donan Castle - £11 per person

(D) Accommodation

(1) 1 night at Airbnb at Inverness for 2 persons - SEK770,45 including service fees of SEK115,64

The Story
28092023: Today, we check out from our B&B. For my warm breakfast, I had sausages, fried egg and tomatoes. As my portion is small, I got two fried eggs. We bid our host and hostess farewell and drove out of Isle of Skye.

I tried to take a photo of the bridge but it was not easy.

We stopped at Eilean (means 'island' in Gaelic) Donan castle. The castle is about 30 minutes drive from Portree. We had ample of time today. There were many cars in the carpark and there is a limited parking time. Well, the castle is small so there is no need to spend many hours here. One has an option to choose between 2 or 3 hours. We paid for 2-hours parking. We bought the entrance tickets at the ticketing office. There are many castles in Scotland I chose this castle because this is a must-see castle and one of the most beautiful castle in Scotland. I did not want to be 'castled-out'.

Even before entering the castle grounds, the view was amazing! And it is mostly thanks to the brown sea kelps, a kind of seaweed. No photos were allowed inside the castle. We got a view of the kitchen, the main hall, and the bedroom.