We've arrived!!! and what a beautiful city. Love it already. Simply crawling with tourists like us and of course packed with fringe performers. 

However, the day did start in Doha - very early. The best ever surprise was the fantastic A350-900 plane we flew to Edinburgh on, we were ecstatic, it was the one we thought we were going to be on from NZ! 7.35am we left sooo quiet, it was like an electric CAR! Actually Kevin did have a good point, this one may not have the fuel capacity for the 17.5hr from NZ to Doha. - that was a 777-200LR, Lukas, you might like to google them on your new tablet and show Ebs and Cohee the difference. 7hr flight.

Something I never mentioned yesterday, I like to follow the paths or routes on the in flight entertainment, I know nothing of the rules and regulations of flight paths, airways etc,  I just thought the closest route was taken unless at war and then they flew at a higher altitude. Kevin & I were trying to work out why we had traveled up the gulf of Oman, cut across Oman and headed back down - over the Persian Gulf to Qatar? A VERY long way around. Earlier today a very proud Qatarian (I’ll call him that), who was trying to help us get our 2 bottles of gin back from customs! was telling us about the “aviation blockade” which UAE, Saudi Arabia, Baharain and Egypt had imposed on Qatar a year ago. Anyone interested can read about it here. https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/comment/2018/1/8/how-qatar-is-overcoming-the-aviation-blockade. 

He also told us (succeeded in getting our gin for us too!) that Qatar has been voted the 3rd best  (it was 34* at 11.30pm) airport/hub in the world, Singapore still leads.

The blockade was very noticeable when we departed today, the flight literally followed the coast of Qatar. Frustrating trying to follow where we were going as the map wasn’t that big and it wasn’t in English, got some amazing pics from the window tho. Arrived Edinburgh 12.50pm, collected bags and WALKED OUT- just like at our domestics - they weren’t after our gin.

Informative Scottish taxi driver, £25 - to 7 Canongate (cab rank rightout side), our home for the next 6nights. Beaut little apartment, cannot fault it, met the owners, delightful couple. Always my first concern is to get a sim in the phone & pad, (£15ea for a month of free calls & texts 500mb data), as usually that got us walking. Collected our prebooked Tattoo tix for this evening 9pm show, went grocery shopping, got talking to a scots man walking with us who said, Edinburgh is flat - it just has lots of hills! Enjoyed some street entertainers - crowds everywhere, we’ll be well ready to leave after 6 days! 9pm after sausages for tea we collapsed into bed.

We're on Viber and have phoned Sherben & the kids, just like talking to them at home.