EDINBURGH

After a fun packed Glasgow day, we had to go to the Capital for a few days even though it was minus Leo. I have to admit being a tourist in Scotland may be my new favourite thing ever!
We (mum, dad and me) managed to borrow our next-door neighbours flat which is in a truly fab location in Edinburgh CBD for a few nights so we could go explore, act like tourists, eat all the good food and really just get outa Largs for a few days.
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I’ll start with the food scene as it’s truly wonderful. Now, we don’t eat anywhere fancy but I want to give special mention to Cult Espresso where we ate breakfast both mornings (even though we had brought all the DIY breakfast items we would need for these 2 mornings). The coffee scene in this place is wicked, it’s so well done, the boys in there really know how to pour the most delicious flat white. 

​As for the food, I experienced the best waffle I have ever had in my life. It was so good I had it both mornings, while mum had smashed avo and dad the almond croissant - a little nervous as the breakfast menu items all contained some sort of fancy words and flower petals. Well, the second morning we ended up all having the waffles and I converted my parents into eating in cool, hip places with great vibes and try new things! – DELICIOUS! 10/10 highly recommend dining here. For dinner, we went to Zizzi’s, a fancy Italian food chain but it was super tasty and as a recommendation got for the Skinny pizza – half pizza, half salad but with all the flavour. Now, for our last dinner in the city we went to 10 to 10 delhi which is a super Indian restaurant which has the best indoor décor and seating I have seen in a long time! So comfortable, it’s like dining in your lounge but with great food! We also ate in Rocksalt in Leith, as well as a few drinks in Bannermans and Wetherspoons.

OK, so moving onto Leith and Edinburgh. We decided to do the Leith walk, which is the longest road in Scotland from the CBD to Leith by the water. The walk itself is lovely and despite it being bloody freezing, there are tons of great café’s bars, and like the rest of Edinburgh – beautiful architecture.
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If you have only 1 day in Edinburgh, of course I would recommend spending your time in the centre, exploring the castle, Princes street and the Royal mile, but we decided to do our own off the beaten track experience with a few touristy things thrown in. However, I did manage to go see wee Grey Friar’s bobby which is possibly the most visited monument in Edinburgh.

The best thing we did however, was hiking Arthur’s seat! Located literally next to Hollyrood palace you can start the hike which takes 2 hours (according to google). The hike, which is not strenuous but does get steep and can be slippy, will take you to unobstructed views of the city. This large, grassy hill is the remains of an extinct volcano that erupted 350 million years ago. They say that the highest point named ‘Arthur’s seat’ was the location of the legendary Camelot – who knows?
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Upon reaching the summit, we all nearly got blown clean off as the weather, despite being sunny was horrendously windy. The views however were spectacular. What a fantastic vantage points to view the city and get some exercise in after 2 days of continuous eating. After many, many photos we made our way back to the car (which you can park at the car park for £1 an hour so it’s really good value).

​Edinburgh is expensive, and it’s the capital so expect to pay city prices for everything but if you like a good walk and taking photos of incredible things then I urge you to add this to your Bucket list in Scotland as it is definitely worth the time and money!