Edinburgh is a vibrant and energetic small city located on the north coast of Scotland. Madison and I knew we wanted to visit as soon as my sister, Ella, told us she would be studying abroad there in the Spring of 2019. As we hadn't heard much about this quaint city, we weren't sure what to expect. This aspect made us a little wary, since Madison is usually very adept at researching places to go, eat and stay. However, we are so happy with how this sense of wariness turned into such an incredible adventure! Having Ella there for the first two days of our trip really helped us get the lay of the land, which led to us spending less time looking at our map, and more time taking in the scenic views of Edinburgh. (She was like our personal built-in tour guide!)
Before traveling to Edinburgh, we spent five days in London, and you can read all about our amazing trip by following this link.
Stay:
Eden Lock -- This was possibly the nicest hotel we have stayed at throughout all of our travels! It had a full sized fridge, stove, oven, microwave, and dishwasher. Not to mention the cozy, modern esthetic that accompanied the studio apartment, was incredible! The lobby also doubled as a cafe that sold coffee, pastries, and amazing real fruit smoothies. We really enjoyed our stay here, and would recommend it to anyone traveling to Edinburgh.
Travel:
Trainline - train tickets -- The train from London to Edinburgh was a unique experience. We opted for train over a flight, and are so glad we did. We had the chance to see views of the English and Scottish countryside as well as some picturesque stretches of coastline near Edinburgh. This site in particular will give you the cheapest ticket options, which makes it easy and affordable to get from place to place.
Eat:
Urban Angel (Ella recommendation) -- We ate at this little cafe twice on our trip because we enjoyed it so much. They have an interesting variety of options including different open faced sandwiches to go along with the typical cafe options like coffee and pastries. Madison had their french toast and raved about it!
Wings (Ella recommendation) -- This was by far the most unique place that we ate on the trip. Here you can buy American style fried chicken wings and they also have an awesome selection of interesting sauces to choose from. The place is decorated with a lot of bright colors, movie memorabilia, etc. Wings is the definition of Hipster, but if you are in the mood for some delicious food, we would fully recommend it.
Black Medicine (Ella recommendation) -- This cafe has delicious smoothies and bagel options!
We also had our craziest experience of the trip here... We were sitting downstairs where there were only a few other patrons. One of these was an older Scottish gentleman who was sitting a few tables away with no food, only holding a manilla envelope. We were talking about how the wifi wouldn't reach us all the way down there when he loudly says "Excuse me...could you please SHUT UP... just shut the F*** UP!"
We just stared back at him in shock. He then stood up and stormed out, but on the way stopped and shouted, "Its not what you've said, its the way you've said it thats made all the difference!" We were initially really taken aback, but eventually we found it really funny, and would reference it throughout the rest of the trip!
Frederick's -- Another small cafe, situated on the second floor of a modern building. If you're in the mood for a delicious smoothie and the best waffles e-v-e-r, this is the place! Madison went more modest with her order, but I went all out and got the ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whip cream added to mine! (Disclaimer: they use honey as syrup!)
Rancho -- We happened to be in the mood for steak our last night in Edinburgh, and found this affordable steakhouse. It was a small restaurant, so if you decide to go here, make sure you make a reservation first. We order the smallest steaks on the menu and they ended up giving us the biggest ones for the same price! Overall, great service and a great atmosphere!
Eden Locke -- This is where we stayed, but the first floor cafe was great for a quick snack and/or breakfast option!
Visit:
Portobello Beach -- So glad we decided to take a bus out to the beach one day! It really rounded out our trip, and was a great way to unwind and get out of the city.
Edinburgh Castle -- This was probably the coolest place we went to! We got to see some amazing views, and explore all throughout the castle.
Art Gallery Openings -- Ella let us tag along with her to the opening of an art gallery on evening. We enjoyed looking at all the paintings and the free wine! If you're in the city and happen to pass by an opening, or know someone who's going, we'd highly recommend checking it out!
Arthur's Seat -- Wow! We cannot recommend hiking up this incredible mountain enough! On our last day, we decided to fit it in, and were so glad we did. We got some amazing pictures and were able to soak in our entire trip atop this huge mountain.
Shop:
Book Store/Vintage Shops-- We recommend looking around Edinburgh's local shops! When we travel, we don't tend to shop much, but the esthetic and overall cozy, authentic feel of the book and vintage stores are unreal. We were even able to snag a classic for our book collection as well, which we were really happy about!
That sums up our trip to Edinburgh this Spring! If you want to know more about our trip, make sure you check out our travel video above, like and subscribe to our Youtube channel, and follow along with us on Instagram @madisonposwald and @jessedrew95!
We love creating content we can share with our family and friends, while also capturing moments that will last us a lifetime.
love, jesse & madison
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