A Weekend in Edinburgh

In recent years I have been determined to see different countries and explore different cities but it occurred to me that I have barely seen the UK and what it has to offer. When I was little we would holiday in Devon or Cornwall almost every year so my summer holiday memories were quintessentially British but besides that I haven't ventured much further afield.

For our 3 year anniversary, Jonny and I decided to visit Edinburgh. A few people I  know plus a couple of bloggers had recently been and only had good things to say so we booked the short flight, a well-priced little hotel near the castle and we were away.

We took the tram from the airport to the city centre and luckily for us it stopped right outside our hotel, Cityroomz. We had booked this hotel on a bit of a whim, not really sure where the ideal location would be but we were pleasantly surprised. It was modern, right in the heart of the city and most importantly, warm. It turns out Scotland really is as cold as people make out - especially in January.

We took a stroll to Edinburgh castle. I say a stroll, I mean a climb. WARNING: Edinburgh is hilly. Unfortunately we reached the castle an hour before closing so we only had time to wonder around the main areas. If you are planning on visiting I would definitely recommend allowing 2 hours to see everything - The views are incredible and we were lucky enough to go on a fresh clear afternoon so could see for miles.

The following day we decided to walk down the Royal Mile to Arthur's Seat. As we turned the corner and saw the main peak of the group of hills which form Holyrood Park I started to question my Nike trainers. Walking boots seemed to be a more fitting choice of shoe on first glance. We didn't reach the summit but the views from half way were still very impressive and we enjoyed the scenery with a much deserved Mars bar.

The architecture really reminded me of Paris with its grand Georgian Terraces in the new town and the nooks and crannies in the old town. Behind Princes Street, in and amongst all of the higher end shops we stumbled across a really pretty looking restaurant called Gusto. It had fairly lights covering the outside and looked so pretty that we booked a table for dinner and I'm so glad we did. We sat upstairs above the kitchen so we could nosy at all of the orders going out. I had serious food envy though as Jonny had chosen pan seared duck breast with all kinds of delicious looking sides. We had such a lovely meal and it was even better that we had booked it on an off chance that it might be worthwhile and it definitely was.

Edinburgh is such a beautiful, friendly city and we have already planned to go back in the Summer for the Fringe Festival. I'm looking forward to re-visiting when the climate's a little less harsh!