The final leg of our trip was honestly my favorite. Our final city to explore in Europe was Edinburgh, Scotland. From the moment we landed in Edinburgh and walked up to the customs agent, we were amazed at how nice and welcoming the people there were. The customs agent was very friendly and gave us a list of places we had to visit for the 3 days that we were there. Cassidy and I walked to get our rental which was a Skoda Octavia. An awesome little car! The fun began immediately as it was my first time driving on the right side of the car and on the opposite side of the road. We arrived at night so I was tired and just wanted to get to our hotel to get some sleep.
The next morning I got up a little early to go for a jog and saw a little bit of the downtown we were staying at. Our hotel was the Eden Locke which was a really cool boutique hotel downtown. Below are some photos of the hotel and lobby. They had a coffee, pastries (including vegan pastries), smoothies, fresh juices and a full bar.
The next morning I got up a little early to go for a jog and saw a little bit of the downtown we were staying at. Our hotel was the Eden Locke which was a really cool boutique hotel downtown. Below are some photos of the hotel and lobby. They had a coffee, pastries (including vegan pastries), smoothies, fresh juices and a full bar.
It had such a minimal design to it, which we both loved and our room was didn't disappoint either. It was amazing! Simple in design but paid attention to the details. It had a mini kitchen, living, room but was small and cozy. Perfect for two people. Here are some photos of our room.
That morning I got to see exactly how cool the location was. I took these photos really quick to show what we saw when you walked out the door of the lobby there was so many little coffee shops, restaurants, bars and shopping. There was so much to do, so I was excited to get back to go out and explore with Cassidy.
After my jog, we got ready and went out to explore and get some breakfast. We were told to go down the road to a little spot that had great breakfast and some vegan options. The inside was very nice and the people were great. We had a delicious breakfast. Cassidy tried the traditional Scottish breakfast and loved it! We admired at how most of the interior design was unique and full of character but still minimal.
After breakfast we decided to walk around downtown. We checked out the shops and cafés. There was so much to see! Our first stop was our immediate neighborhood. We spent hours exploring. There was tons of restaurants in alley ways that were not accessible to vehicles. Only foot traffic, which was really cool to walk around and enjoy.
From there we walked to circus lane which we were told was a really cute alley road that had beautiful homes and was just very charming. It was great for photos! Like right out of a story book. We were told it was great to walk around and it lead to Deans village -- another great location. We learned that Edinburgh is not a city but more like a bunch of large villages connected together. So when you get a chance to go to Scotland, make a stop in Edinburgh and walk around Circus Lane and Deans Village.
Circus Lane:
Once you exit Circus Lane, this is the first thing you see, we headed toward that which was the direction of Deans Village:
Deans Village:
From here we wanted to head to the castle near our hotel. It is called Edinburgh Castle. It is a historic castle that is now a great place to visit and spend the day. There is tours and the village around the castle has stores and restaurants with whiskey and scotch tasting everywhere we went. It cost 19 pounds per person to walk in the castle and tour the grounds. It's a museum styled tour. You can easily spend hours here and the souvenir shops have whiskey and scotch tasting too. A win win. There was so much history dating back to the 12th century.
After a long day of exploring and seeing Edinburgh Castle we were tired and very hungry. Next to our hotel was another hotel called Tiger Lily, which we decided to have some appetizers and drinks at. The inside was super cool! Very Alice is Wonderland-esque. Each room was a different style, having its own unique design yet they all flowed so seamlessly.
We called it a night to get some rest because the next day we wanted to get up early to head north to the highlands for some exploring. We were looking forward to seeing the Loch Ness and some highland cows.
The next morning we woke up and had a light breakfast in the hotel of tea, coffee and smoothies. We drove first to Perth to stretch our legs and walk around. It was a small town so we didn't stay too long because our goal was to make it to Inverness and Loch Ness as early as possible. Perth was quiet, but there was a farmers market going on which was really cool to walk around in.
We stayed for about 30 min and continued to Inverness, located close to Loch Ness. It was a couple hours of driving but the views were amazing! We passed forests and castles, and than mountains filled with sheep and cows. It was truly beautiful. We arrived in Inverness and which was a large village/city. We got a little lost but found our way there. Once we got close we stopped cause we saw some Highland cows, native to Scotland.
It wasn't too far after that we arrived to our destination. It was a charming little town with a couple of restaurants, pubs and small inns. We stopped at Castle of Urquhart which has a lot of historical importance. We spent a few hours here enjoying the views and walking around the castle ruins.
We truly enjoyed every minute of the drive up and back to Edinburg. There is so much scenery and beauty to take in. As we drove back, we realized how many things we missed seeing and we want to back for a longer trip. Scotland is a beautifully enchanting country. The people were very friendly and welcoming. The next day we were off early to the airport and flew with an airline I had never heard of, Thomas Cook Airlines. Honestly, it was a really cool airline. We had our own two seats with a crazy amount of leg space, really good meals and entertainment and we even had tea time with snacks.
Cassidy and I had so much fun on our Europe adventure! Even though it was relatively short, we still got to see a lot. Memories were made that we will never forget and we met new friends from across the globe. Cant wait for the next adventure. Stay tuned and subscribe!