Our Trip to Edinburgh: Celebrating 7 Years Together
Last weekend, we celebrated spending 7 years together. We were thinking for months what we could do to mark the occasion. I had always wanted to visit Edinburgh, it has been on my bucket list of places to go for a very long time. So we thought that we actually have an excuse to go all that way and, of course, I just had to share our trip with you all. So let's dive right in with day one!
Day 1: Glenkinchie distillery tour, the Edinburgh Christmas market, a Brewdog bar & cocktails at the Hard Rock Cafe
Day one was made up of travel, because the night before, we stopped off in Newcastle so that we didn't have too much further to go the next day. So day one, we set off from Newcastle and it took around 3 hours to get to the distillery, which we had booked for some time and it was at a particular time of day as well, so it was important we arrived there in good time. But it all worked out so well. We got there early and managed to get on the earlier tour time. I actually wrote an entire blog post all about the distillery tour, so if you're interested in that, I'll leave it linked here for you :)
Next on the list was a visit to the city, because the distillery was on the outskirts. We trammed it in from the hotel, which only took about ten minutes. We were determined to go and have a look around the Edinburgh Christmas market because we had heard so much about it, but it was actually very small and extremely busy, unsurprisingly considering we're close to Christmas, and it was a Friday night. It was disappointing because there was only one crepe stand - rude, haha! But I'll be talking about other parts of the Christmas market in an upcoming blog post, so keep your eyes peeled for that one.
We then thought that we fancied a drink at the local Brewdog bar. It might not sound like much, but Brewdog is Scottish, so it's not had far to travel at all. I quite like Brewdog lagers and pale ales, so it was a treat for both of us really. My go-to is either Hazy Jane or Elvis Juice, they're my faves! Tom went for more of a stout rather than an ale or a beer. Unpopular opinion - it's nicer than Guinness (sorry Guinness lovers!).
We then fancied a bit of nosh, but not too much. Conveniently, there was a Hard Rock Cafe in the area and Tom likes to collect the pin badges from the different locations we go to. Me, on the other hand, collects the cocktail glasses, so it was a win-win for both of us.
We knew that Hard Rock Cafe does some killer nachos as well, so it just made sense to pay it a visit, and that's exactly what we did. I had a cocktail in this signature glass, whereas Tom just had a standard mojito, accompanied by a huge plate of nachos, and they were delicious!
Day 2: Breakfast at an old cinema, Edinburgh Castle, The Scottish Whisky Experience & visiting Greyfiars Bobby
Day two was a lot more action-packed, starting the day off early, we were on the tram into the city by 8am. One of the reasons for arriving so early was because we wanted to go for some breakfast before hitting Edinburgh Castle at 10am (which was the slot we had booked). We were told to visit this Wetherspoons that was retro-fitted at the site of an old cinema.
But it actually still had all of the features and aspects of the cinema which closed down in the 80's. During the 70's, it was so popular that even the likes of Queen and AC/DC played there in their heydays. The breakfast itself was basic, as you'd expect from a Spoons, but the setting was remarkable, like nothing I had ever seen before really. It's definitely worth a look in if you're ever in Edinburgh.
Afterwards, we made our way up to Edinburgh Castle, which is actually a lot smaller than it looks on the telly. It's exceptionally old and full of character, with lots to see and do. It offers amazing views of the entire city, and of the North Sea, as well as a museum and an exhibition that houses the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, which was used recently at the Coronation of King Charles III - how cool is that?! Take a look at some photos below:
After the castle, we went for a bit of a gander around the city, taking pictures of everything and anything that looked interesting and quirky. So I thought I'd share some of those pictures with you as well, just so you can get an idea of exactly how picturesque the city really is.
After we went for a bit of an explore around the city, we happened across the Scottish Whisky Experience, which is a shop that sells whisky but that also does tours. Luckily for us, it also had a coffee shop and a bar at the top of the building, where we warmed ourselves up with a lovely coffee and some cake.
We then noticed that they sold little tipples of whisky, so Tom took the opportunity to try whisky that he had been meaning to try for a while, but didn't want to spend money on a whole bottle, which is understandable. Not being a whisky drinker myself, I opted for a glass of malbec. You can't really go wrong with that!
After this, we went for a walk down the Royal Mile, which took us down to Holyrood Palace, which was closing as we got there, and the Scottish parliament building, which wasn't anything special to look at, but it was a sight to see, haha.
But on the way own there, we stopped at a cute little fudge shop, which offered a wide range of different flavoured fudge fingers, and it was delicious. So I'll include a few pictures of our stop below for you, together with some pictures of Holyrood.
After this, we took a walk to Greyfriars Bobby, which is a cemetery, but the story is that a man in the 1800's passed away and his loyal dog, Bobby, laid by his graveside until his own death 14 years later. The city then commemorated the dog by laying him to rest just inside the entrance, so you can visit his grave for yourself. People leave sticks and toys there for him, which is sweet.
The cemetery also has graves that inspired the names that appeared in the Harry Potter books, which was interesting. We didn't take any pictures of the graves we found out of respect, but it was nice to quietly have a look and reflect. Luckily, there was a pub that sits in front of the cemetery, which is called Greyfriars Bobby, of course.
We were so hungry that we ate our dinner before I had a chance to take a picture, but Tom had a pie and I went for Mac N' Cheese to warm me through, because Edinburgh was very, very cold that day. It was then time for us to head back to the hotel to get an early night, ready for the busy Sunday we had planned the next day.
Day 3: Eggs Benedict, the Scottish Museum, dinner at Gusto's & cocktails at the Johnnie Walker 1820 rooftop bar
Day three was actually the day of our anniversary, so Tom had some lovely things planned, including a lovely trip to the Scottish Museum and dinner followed by some cocktails in a reservation-only bar, which I'm planning on doing a whole new blog post on, so keep your eyes peeled. But to start the day off, we had breakfast at a little place called Papii. We started the day early, again, getting on the tram for around 8:15am. I had eggs Benedict and a flat white, as did Tom, although he had waffles rather than eggs. The food was incredible and the coffee was delicious, so a win-win all round to start the day.
We then made our way to the Scottish Museum, which was so big and very interesting. There was something in there for everyone, whether you like planes and cars or animals and fashion, it really is jam-packed with something for the whole family to enjoy. I won't jabber on about all of the exhibits, because we'll be here till the cows come home, but I will leave you with a few pictures for you to look through at your leisure :)
We then wanted to go back to the hotel to get changed before we went for dinner, so on the way back, we made a point of going along the Harry Potter trial, which is kind of an unofficial walk around Edinburgh that you can do to look at all of the HP hotspots. We went through an alleyway that was said to have inspired Knockturn Alley as well as a street that inspired Diagon Alley. We also saw the cafe that JK Rowling wrote the first few books in, but it wasn't open because it had actually suffered fire damage, which is such a terrible shame. But it was still a great experience.
So it was now time to go back to the hotel so that we could get changed and freshen up ready for dinner out. We went to Gusto's, which is a chain restaurant, but it is actually a really nice establishment if you have something special to celebrate but don't want to go really up-market. The food is amazing and it's actually really good value for money, considering the atmos and high-end feel.
I went for a glass of red wine, while Tom opted for a pint. We then went for a sharing flatbread, which was rosemary and garlic flavoured - divine. The mains; I had a mushroom fettuccine and Tom had a tomato and chilli rigatoni dish, which was also delicious. Tom had a tiramisu for pudding, whereas I didn't have anything because I was just full to the brim with food by that point, I couldn't have fitted anything else in there.
After dinner was settled, it was time to head to our reservation at the Johnnie Walker 1820 Bar on Princes Street. It's a reservation-only bar that feels quite exclusive, but the drinks are quite expensive. I will go into more detail about the bar and the drinks in another blog post, but for now, I'm just going to show you the drinks we had, the bar itself and some of the rooftop bar views.
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