Thursday, August 11, 2016

Edinburgh

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Preamble (or should I say pre-ramble?): I'm terribly rusty at this whole blogging jag so be gentle with me. Apologies in advanced for my clumsy metaphors and generally self-indulgent tone. No guarantees it's going to get any better. 

We had touched down at Heathrow the evening before and after a bleary eyed fight about a burritto, checked into our windowless coffin hotel room (#budget) and called it a night.

The next morning, we made an eye-wateringly early start in order to catch the 6:15 Kings Cross to Edinburgh. Thanks to jetlag, we found ourselves wide awake at half past two and ended up being able to enjoy the morning quiet before the inevitable storm of weekday commuters.

The station was glowing rather beautifully in the morning light. Even a large puddle of puke that I almost stepped in on my way there didn't dampen my spirits. Ah London, you beautiful, colourful creature. 



We boarded and settled down for a bum-numbing 5 hour journey. 




We arrived into a bustling Waverley Station. It is currently Fringe in Edinburgh - a fact unbeknowst to me when I started planning this holiday. As a result, accommodation is expensive and in order to stick to our budget, I ended up finding a place that usually provides student accommodation and which was a solid 20 minutes by foot away from the city centre. 

In theory not so bad, but in practice...well you all know how lazy I am. 

However, it turned out to be a great decision because it took us away from the hideous tourist hoards and brought us through some absolutely charming streets which we would never have otherwise seen. 



Edinburgh is a stunning city. Small but full of green parks, gorgeous views and old architecture. I want to say Georgian? I could be very wrong. But Boton and I felt ourselves thrown straight onto the set of any of my favourite period dramas. 





After dropping our (my) heavy bags in our room, we set out to explore the city. We hopped on the no.8 bus and guessed our way to North Bridge, where we were treated to a breathtaking view of Edinburgh Castle which was our ultimate destination.

The photo doesn't do it justice I grant you. Just take my word for it.


We were famished naturally , so I introduced Bo to the joys of Pret a Manger (too busy eating to take photos but really do you need to see a picture of my chicken and bacon baguette?), before we began making our way towards the Castle.

Btw guys, did I tell you I bought a selfie stick?!?!

I'll admit to not being particularly interested in the castle for it's own sake. I only had a vague idea that it was a primarily a military fortress but really I was just in it for the views.



Nice wall huh?


 This is us still trying to work out how to SELFIE STICK.



After exploring the castle, we tried to make our way down the Royal Mile.



However, we gave up quickly - fed up by the hoards of tourists and decided to half-heartedly wander down Princes Street, and then slowly back north towards our accommodation. We did catch a small opera performance courtesy of Fringe which lifted our moods a little.

We had a backpackers dinner made of what we fancied from Tesco's and collapsed exhausted into bed for  much needed rest after a long day.







2 comments:

  1. One of my favourite cities. I was there during the Fringe and ended up seeing some amazing plays for 5 pounds. Can't ask for better. Also stayed in student accom. Also acceptable.

    Try to get to the botanical gardens

    Jocelyn

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  2. haha. I can't believe my mother beat me to the comment! Lovely Ash, excited to see more (also, we didn't get to any non-london-britain yet, so I'm super keen to see and hear what the best places are!)

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