Fringe impressions …with Mutti
We managed to have someone else to look after the girls, so my Mutti (girls’ Oma) and I went out into town to take in the Fringe and do some shopping.
We started with a look around the International Book Festival – first time for us both. The “Spiegel tent” is beautiful, think next year I’ll go in on one of my “Hobbits-free days”, enjoy a cuppa and a nice book! I bought some small guides for walking in Edinburgh & Stirling while Mutti was writing some postcards.
Doesn’t Mutti look like she’s an author ready for book signing? 
Next stop was Lakelands – I wanted to get some Doctor Who Cookie Cutters (and feel a return visit coming along to get the one with the Cyberman and also to get the chocolate mould …
Quick walk through St. Andrew’s Square (no East Lothian touritsty things out this time) to St. James’ Centre where we had a subway for lunch – yum.
Onto a bus to get up the bridges, then we walked up and down the Royal Mile to take in the “Fringe Atmosphere”. Have to admit I quite like going to the Festival for a day during the festivals, but that’s it. I love watching the street performers, but I don’t necessarily like the “Flyer attacks” you get. The flyerers 
seem to “swoop down” at your as soon as they see you have a hand free. However, to give them their due, if you say “no thanks” they leave you alone. It’s just the mass of them on the Mile I could do without, really.
Decided against a cuppa at Starbucks (looked busy) – I STILL miss Chocolate Soup!! – and just walked down the lower part of the Royal Mile to pop into the Nutcracker Christmas Shop (another of my Mutti’s traditions while on Edinburgh visits) and then a Cappuccino and Hot Chocolate plus cake at Cafe Keno, a small cafe beside the Museum of Childhood.
A visit at the Fudge Kitchen was a “must” of course, and this time I actually managed to take a photo of them making the fudge – when I popped in in the past they were already done with their work.
Decided against a trip to Stamper’s Grove as it was getting too close to dinner prep time so we went to the bus stop where we just missed our #31. Mutti suggested we just walk to the other bus stop (prior to ours), as the buses won’t be too full with Festival revellers. When I asked her “are you sure?” she just answered “It’s not that far” …
My Mutti didn’t remember that the bus stop is actually quite a walk away (only 10 mins, but slight up hill and through throngs of visitors!), so we missed the next bus but fortunately when we arrived at the stop another bus arrived for us to board easily. She’ll probably mortified knowing that I blogged about this, to be kept “on file” forever.
All in all it was a nice day out just with my mum, without the girls, and getting a bit of the Festival feeling. This year we’re going to see 2 shows, one being our friend Rob Deb’s “Big Bang Theory Of Life” Show (Free Fringe) which we’ve seen on the 6th, the other one is the “Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets” (20th August), which we haven’t seen at the Festival since the girls were born – and I kinda miss Kev’s puppets. 
A wee taster below – beware very very strong language … for a reason! Fairly new topic too.
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Rinda