Edinburgh

Prologue: The original trip was planned in 2020, the rest is history. When we set about planning this, the original destination was Cuba, but a Canada transit visa thwarted us. We decided to make it Scotland+Ireland. Since we were only 2 months away from the trip, tickets too turned out to be a pain, especially because, thanks to Brexit, pretty much every European airport required a transit visa. And embassies were still reeling under post-Covid volumes. Long story short, we managed to land in Manchester via Doha right when the World Cup started. The adventure continued because there was a rail strike on the day we required a train to take us to Edinburgh. Thankfully, we had an inkling, so we had also bought bus tickets as back up. Absolute lifesaver. But thanks to delayed trains, our bus had to stop midway for more than an hour because we had ‘missed’ a few passengers! All of this meant that our planned time in Edinburgh was curtailed. And now we can begin!

Stay

We’re still not Airbnb people, so Ibis it was – Edinburgh South Bridge. It was about 10 mins from the bus and train stations and pretty much everything we wanted to see was within walking distance. They also served a great (though same) buffet breakfast. Having said that, I’d also recommend looking for options on Princes Street.

See/Do

Edinburgh Castle. If you want to go inside (the internet is mixed on whether this is worth it) , you need to buy tickets online.
Pretty view of the city from the castle grounds
Tolbooth Kirk, now known as the Hub
A short walk will take you to the Vennel steps that give you a different view of the castle.
St.Giles Cathedral has quite the majestic look
..and the inside is a different level. I loved the sense of tradition one gets as you go through the lists of people.
Greyfriars Kirkyard was extremely serene
Dunbar’s Close, along the Royal Mile, turned out to be an extremely pretty hidden gem
 Holyrood Palace, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.
Same place, different view (as you get out of the tour)
From Calton Hill, you get a grand view of the city. The sun chose to hide when we visited.
The Christmas Market had just begun on the weekend we landed.
Greyfriars Bobby spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died in the late 1800s. The pub was our lunch spot.
Scottish Whiskey Experience. An experience that’s absolutely worth it.

We visited the Camera Obscura but unless you have children who need to be entertained, I’d skip this. We also went for a Horror Tour, and though the guide did her best, the content itself was not worth the hour.

Eat/Drink

Haggis is a must-try, so long as you’re the kind who is not particular about the components! That, and black pudding, was part of the Ibis breakfast I could get used to!

D’s cider and my house Old Fashioned @Greyfriars Bobby
Did not become a fan of Cullen Skink, a thick Scottish soup with smoked haddock, onions, potatoes.
Game Suet Pudding – pheasant, and venison pastry in port wine sauce
Cider, and Old Fashioned again, this time at Copper Still
Chicken in Mushroom Sauce
Shelling it out

We visited in winter, and thus had limited daylight time – the sun set at 3.45! But we managed to see pretty much everything we had on our list. We did wish we had allocated a few more days. Overall, I felt Edinburgh exudes a certain character thanks to its rich history, and traditions. Except for the kitchens closing early in some parts, we totally loved the place.

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