Edinburgh day 3

After our big day of sightseeing yesterday and late night to bed, it was a huge effort from Maddy, Clare and Chelsea to be up by 5am to catch a taxi to the pool for an early morning swim session.




A quick pool side interview.

We must thank Laurel, the head coach of Warrender Baths Club for her hospitality over the past few days. We have been able to access a wide variety of sessions during our stay.
This morning Clare was asked by one of the boys in the squad to say " Skippy get out of the water there is a shark". Once we had "translated" his request Clare obliged!
Breakfast was again served at 8:30am and this morning we celebrate a special day, with Elena turning 14.

On Sunday Charlotte is also celebrating a birthday, so a birthday cake was in order for them both.

Today will be spent mostly around the cottages with several activities planned for the morning and early afternoon. We have horse riding with 2 x 90min treks and golf.
Some of the girls preparing to ride.

Jules feeling confident......

Getting ready to head off.

A group returns!

Golf was a played in perfect conditions, the greens were fast....especially after the girls smacked the ball down hill......

Mel Hickey has a great swing!

This one not so great.....

This afternoon we headed off for the final soccer match of the tour.
Pre match talk.

The synchronised warm up

Nice shot on goal

The match was fantastic!! We played the Edinburgh Private Schools combined team. They were very good but our girls played with great spirit and at half time we were 1 - 0 up thanks to a great goal by Mel Hickey and some outstanding goal keeping by Jules Bardoel! Edinburgh ended up winning 3 - 1 but our girls were fantastic!!
Post game eats!



Tonight the girls pack their bags, trying to get all their shopping in whilst staying under the baggage weight limit......
We have had a fantastic trip but are all looking forward to returning home.



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Edinburgh day 2

This morning started early with Jason and Chelsea up before 5am to get to a training session starting at 5:30. Several of the girls had expressed an interest in doing a swim session, until they heard what time we were starting! Thanks to Alistair for providing the transport to the session.

Breakfast was served from 8:30am, a much more sociable time!

We started our day in the city with a tour guide. It is a great way to see the city and gain a better appreciation of just what all the beautiful buildings are!




Our guide was informative and not that hard to understand!

The girls were keen to have a pic with the bag pipe player.

After a quick lunch break we spent 2-3 hours exploring Edinburgh Castle. There was so much to see and a return visit would be well worth while.





The girls spent a few hours exploring the shops and streets of the Main Street before we all enjoyed an Italian dinner. After dinner we decided to brave the horrible histories tour.

The tour went for 90 minutes and was enjoyed by all. Whilst a few of us were a little on edge through out, we all managed to resurface from the underground tunnels!

We are heading home now after a big day of sight seeing!

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Edinburgh day 1

After some tearful good byes in Newcastle we again climbed aboard our coach to head north. We soon arrived to a beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh.
Our host for the next 3 nights, Alistair, greeted us at the cottages, quickly unloading the luggage and showing the girls through their rooms. What a fabulous location we are finishing the tour off at!
The view from above our cottages.




Our host Alistair explaining the view!

Interesting choice of footwear for a hike Erin!




Chelsea at the Royal Commonwealth pool for the first of several sessions. The squad we swam with has one of the GB Olympians in it. He was one of only 3 GB swimmers to swim a PB at the Olympics.




Our last game of netball for the tour was against St George's Girls School. Our girls asserted their dominance early, but to St George's credit they fought back and the game reached a high standard with Firbank winning 28 to 23 This win has meant the girls in our A team have remained undefeated on tour!
Mr Russo's intro

Tomorrow there is a swim session starting at 5:30am, so it will be an early morning for some! Alistair has kindly offered to take us in for the session.
Afterwards we will be having a guided tour of the city as well as visiting the Edinburgh Castle, the girls may even find time to squeeze in a shop!
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Newcastle

Monday we arrived in Newcastle to a fairly nice afternoon. The girls had a quick bite to eat then we did a tour on the hop on hop off bus which was a great way to see the city.
We met our hosts at the Royal Grammar School and the girls soon headed off with their families for the night.
Tuesday morning Chelsea did a small swim with the Royal Grammar School team then we all headed off to the beach before a lunchtime shop. In the afternoon we played two netball games and Chelsea and Jason headed off to visit one of the local swimming clubs.
Fish and chips night.




Relaxing at Royal Grammar school




At the beach! Tyne Mouth








Having a kick

Mr Russo and Jules braving the North Sea

Always a photo opportunity.




On the millennium Bridge, the glare seems to have gotten to the girls!








The bridge in action...

Due to the wet weather we had to move the netball games to the university indoor courts which were an excellent facility to play in.
The first game was played in 3 x 10min thirds. Our "B" team played their game of the tour so far to come away with a convincing win.

Following on from the B teams lead our A team put in a strong game to also come out winners. This has our A team undefeated so far on tour.

Chelsea after her session.





The pool was old but nice. 25 yards was a new experience.

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