Edinburgh

What can you expect to see in one and a half days in Edinburgh, Scotland?  

  A little over a day wasn't a lot of time to spend in this mystical place, but it helped that in the middle of June there is almost 18 hours of daylight -- and it was just enough to give us a taste of Edinburgh.

  The Scottish love and honor their writers; Sir Walter Scott's  monument is the largest monument to a writer in the world! A visit to the Writers' Museum is a great way to spend time -- if you can find it -- just off the Royal Mile in the Lady Stair's Close . This museum displays memorabilia from three legendary Scottish writer's who lived in different time periods -- Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson. If you like more current writers and are a Harry Potter fan, you must visit the Elephant House where J.K. Rowling spent many hours writing her stories. It's a warm cozy place, with a view of Edinburgh castle outside the window and you can easily see how one could spend hours in this place, especially as there are tasty refreshments on hand, both savory and sweet.

  Wear comfortable shoes when in Edinburgh! You will be walking a lot and walking along the Royal Mile, between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace, is just the beginning. 

  Along the Royal Mile, you will see signs - some of them highly decorative -- for various closes, which are like alleys leading into other areas. It is fun to walk into some of them and see what you will discover. 

       The entrance to Fisherman's Close is decorated with fish. Dunbar's Close Gardens leads into a pretty garden with a tidy layout.

     One of the items on our sightseeing list was Edinburgh Castle and it didn't disappoint! At a highpoint in the city, sits the castle, walking in you're reminded of its importance in Scottish history with the statues of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace at the entrance.

  Another historical place to visit is Calton Hill, which is another tall point in the city. Here there are several monuments to Scottish men, including Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson. There is a ball at the top of the Nelson monument that drops at 1pm, which coincides with a cannon being fired from Edinburgh Castle. Historically, this was done for sailors to set their time to, if it was too foggy to see the ball drop then they could use the sound of the cannon shot.

  From the top of Calton Hill, you can see another large hill, Arthur's Close and at the foot of this, the quirky modern Parliament building and the ancient Palace of Holyroodhouse.

  I'm not much of a shopper, but when traveling I try to purchase items that are made in that country. In Scotland, we stopped by Tartan Weaving Mill and Experience by the Castle to purchase some tartan plaid scarves and wraps. There are several stores in the one building and on the bottom floor you can see how the fabric is woven and learn the history of the tartan. 

  Food in Scotland was great! For lunch, we stopped at The Witchery by the Castle. This was our one splurge meal, and was well worth it. The dining room was enclosed in dark wooden panelling with interesting carvings of frogs, snails, and bats. The tables had linens and there was candlelight -- even during the day -- creating an intriguing atmosphere. The fresh Oban oysters were fresh and luscious. We enjoyed homemade pasta and a deconstructed tomato tart. For dessert, it was too hard to decide on one pudding, so we got the sampler.

  At the Fiddler's Arms, a pub in the Grass Market area, we enjoyed Scottish salmon on mash and sticky toffee pudding for dessert. A splash of their Scotch whisky of the day, Macallan Gold, was a good ending to that meal. Our final dinner of the trip was at Oxbow 184, and the Scottish Angus beef steak was full of flavor. At Oxbow 184, you can select a flight of whisky for tasting. Ordering a flight of whisky allows you to try several unique kinds of whisky and it was fun to watch them pull out the bottles from their wall of whisky.

  Our first night, for dinner we wanted to go to The Big Lebowski, which is named after the movie (now it’s permanently closed), where they also serve about 20 different White Russians.  We ended up arriving around 9pm, only to find out the kitchen had just closed. We were surprised it was already so late! The extra long twilight hours really threw us off!

  I can't wait to visit Edinburgh again and spend more time in this magical place!

Edinburgh Scotland Photo Gallery

Read More from the blog