My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
To make it easier for you to follow our 2026 Spring European trip from the beginning I’ve linked the blog posts in order.
You can go to the first blog post of our trip by clicking on this link.
At the end of each blog post after that, there is a link to the next day’s blog post.
Before leaving Aberdeen this morning we drove east to the coast and the mouth of the River Dee, to check out some of the infrastructure for the off shore oil and gas industry.
Next we drove west and stopped to visit Crathes Castle Garden and Estate. The site is owned by the National Trust of Scotland. We enjoyed touring the tower house. It was originally built in the 1500’s.The walled gardens were beautiful and so peaceful.
Before we left we had coffee and shared a house made scone with jam and clotted cream in the estate cafe.
Then we drove on to Douneside House set within the grounds of the MacRobert Trust Estate. That’s where we are staying tonight.
This morning we rented a car and drove north along Scotland’s east coast. Just after we left Edinburgh we stopped at a spot overlooking the Firth of Forth, to admire the three Forth bridges.
Tonight we are in Aberdeen. We are staying at the wonderful. Malmaison hotel. We had an excellent dinner in the hotel restaurant.
This morning was the first time in a while that breakfast hasn’t been included in our hotel reservation. It was kind of a nice break.
I love Edinburgh Castle. It is my standard by which all castles are measured. It has so much history. It’s in a commanding position overlooking the city. It has been attacked multiple times over the centuries and it is the iconic center of Scottish history.
I thought the audio guide was really good. There were some great free museums inside the castle too.
I was at Edinburgh Castle almost exactly 60 years ago.
Next we did part of the Rick Steve’s walking tour down the Royal Mile.
For dinner we walked to an Indian Restaurant called Celestia and had an excellent meal.
Tomorrow weren’t a car and head north. To read that blog post click here.
Saturday morning we caught a plane for the short hop from Belfast to Edinburgh. Then we took the Airlink Express bus into the center of Edinburgh. Our rooms at the Le Monde hotel weren’t ready so we left our bags and went to a nearby pub for lunch.
After lunch we were able to check in.
In the afternoon we rested and played cards. About 7 we went to a wine bar for dinner.
To read tomorrow’s blog post click here.
Friday morning we walked to the Ulster Museum. Along the way we stopped to check out Queen’s University.
Ulster Museum is just around the corner from the University. We spent a lot of time walking through the museum. It was very well done and fascinating.
After we left the museum we had lunch at a nearby cafe called Maggie Mays. It was such a beautiful day that we sat outside in the sun.
Next we walked through the botanical garden.
We took an Uber back to the hotel then rested until dinner.
For dinner we were going to walk to a pub nearby. But we didn’t have reservations and it was Friday and they didn’t have a table. We went to a few more with no luck.We were standing outside one place and some very nice ladies stopped and suggested several places. We ended up at a wonderful place called Mr Deanes.
Tomorrow we fly to Edinburgh. You can read tomorrow’s blog post by clicking here.
Marion's Blog 