Day 2 - Edinburgh

Alexander very much enjoyed the novelty of all three of us being in the same room overnight and decided that personal space was optional. At some point in the early hours he joined us in bed, diagonally, like a tiny starfish claiming territory. No complaints though, his smile made it all worth it! He was up at 5.45am. Naturally.

Alexander and I enjoyed a solid couple of hours of The Wiggles before anyone else stirred. There’s something deeply calming about sitting in a quiet Edinburgh living room at 7am watching four grown adults sing about fruit salad while your son does some interpretive dance.

Kyle and Sophie left for work and we got ourselves organised for the day. When we were over at Christmas we’d desperately wanted to try Di Giorgio’s but it had been fully booked. This time, we were determined. We arrived for breakfast and for a while at the start, it was just the three of us in the place. Peak exclusive dining.

The staff were brilliant and the food was even better. Alexander demolished banana and pancakes and then, in a moment of confidence, loudly demanded more banana from the waiter. To his credit, the waiter delivered. And Alexander actually ate it, which felt like a personal victory. Because it was half term, one of the waitress’s daughters was helping out. Alexander absolutely fell in love. He couldn’t stop staring, smiling and waving. At least he was distracted. But honestly, what a wee player.

After breakfast we headed into the heart of Edinburgh. The weather, however, had other ideas. It was beating into us sideways and Alexander was unimpressed. Even the sight of a historic castle perched dramatically on a volcanic rock did nothing for him. Centuries of Scottish history versus one tired toddler…the toddler won.

We met our friend Hannah Martin and went to Make Believe, which is essentially a soft play café with two floors of toys. I suspect this is not what Hannah envisioned when we suggested “let’s grab a coffee”, but she embraced it fully. She was in the ball pit, at the toy kitchen, building towers - completely committed. Fair play to her.

It was warm, dry, and we successfully wasted an entire hour. Which, with a toddler, is a huge achievement. There was a brief moment of tension when some boy seemed unimpressed with Alexander using the train set, but thankfully the child’s mother intervened before Alexander had to handle it himself. Conflict avoided.

I made the tactical decision to get Alexander a snack there, under the assumption that children’s snacks were included in the price. They were not. £1.25 plus 25p tax for a single orange. A single orange. I briefly considered asking for a payment plan. They must be absolutely minted in that place. Hannah had another meeting that afternoon so we said goodbye and set off along George Street in an attempt to get Alexander to nap. He was far too nosey and curious for sleep. Edinburgh is apparently too interesting to miss.

We then bumped into Ross and Emma - Anna’s cousins (you’ll remember them from Chapter 14). In my mind, this was the perfect moment to glide into somewhere like The Balmoral, park the pram by a roaring fire, sip gin in deep armchairs and let Alexander drift off peacefully. In reality, that vision was never going to happen. We ended up in All Bar One having cocktails. Which, to be fair, was still respectable. Ross and Emma brought Alexander gifts, but he was far more interested in playing with the ice cubes and sampling Anna’s cocktail via straw.

Technically he was just sucking the straw, but I’m fairly certain he absorbed enough for what could be described as a toddler nightcap. If he slept through, we’d know why.

As time passed he grew increasingly tired and slightly chaotic, so we said our goodbyes and committed to Operation Nap. Finally, in the warm maze of Uni Qlo, he surrendered. Out cold.

We did what any responsible parents would do in that moment: immediately went for lunch at Amarone. With Alexander asleep, we took full advantage. Carbonara. Pizza. A bottle of wine. When he remained asleep by the end, we added another glass and a tiramisu. It felt rude not to.

Even walking home through sleet didn’t wake him. Honestly, I was impressed. He finally stirred when we stopped in a shop for milk and snacks. Inside was a man wearing a hoodie with actual metal spikes coming out of the hood. I had so many questions. I decided I did not need answers.

Back at Kyle and Sophie’s we reset, let Freddie out into the garden and before long Kyle was home. That evening we headed to Thamel, a Nepalese restaurant. Alexander was about to meet a collection of my friends for the first time. Harriet, Fraser and Ally came all the way from Glasgow, Steven joined from the other side of Edinburgh, and Jerome and Kirsty heroically travelled downstairs from the flat literally beside the restaurant. Fair play. I do wonder who booked that location, Jerome…

The food was genuinely excellent. Service outstanding. I’d absolutely go back. And so, apparently, would Alexander. Dinner was at 6pm, dangerously close to his usual 7pm bedtime, but his later nap bought us flexibility.

He sat in his high chair the entire time. The entire time. Normally we get five minutes maximum before chaos. He happily ate rice and chips and even dipped his naan into curry. I could not believe how good he was. Perhaps Nepalese cuisine suits him better than pasta. A culinary awakening.

Eventually we had to call it. Some of the others went to a nearby pub to watch the Arsenal match, while Anna, Alexander and I got the bus back down the hill. Alexander went straight to sleep. We finished our Netflix series while waiting for Kyle and Sophie to return.

A day of soft play, sleet, cocktails, curry and surprisingly excellent behaviour. London tomorrow!