It took us almost a day but we finally made it to Scotland. We flew from New Orleans to Charlotte, NC to London then to Edinburgh. Our flight from London was very eventful and included a 30 minutes delay with a drug dog coming on board and someone being taken off due to a biometrics glitch they said but we aren’t so sure….Oh well we made it to our destination. We picked our rental car and of course ran into some interesting traffic and when we finally arrived to our home for the next few days the road was closed but that didn’t stop us. We checked into the Robert Louis Stevenson Suite(available on VRBO). It’s a charming, cozy two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with all the essentials for our stay and plenty of space for myself, Scott, and my mom. There are wonderful views of the streets below and Edinburgh Castle!

Our first item on the agenda we all agreed to was food! And as luck would have it a beautiful Thai restaurant was right across the street. Time 4 Thai was just what we needed. Delightfully decorated and the curry was perfectly spicy. Having been to Thailand myself I am picky about my curry and this was definitely authentic and delicious. After we were fed we decided a walk would be good to explore our surroundings. Mom and I came to Edinburgh in 2016 but we stayed in a different area so we had new things to find. We walked to Princes Street which is famed for it’s shopping and restaurants. The shops are on one side of the street and on the other just down a staircase is the Princes Street gardens. Then if you look up you can see Edinburgh Castle in all it’s glory seated on a rocky hill.

Of course not long after we started walking it started misting rain even though the sun had just been shining. Scotland is notorious for its unpredictable weather and this time of year is known for its cold rainy weather so I should have known the sunshine would not last. Mom and I had hooded jackets so we were fine but poor Scott did not have a head covering and of course we left all of our umbrellas at home. So we decided to pop in a shop and get Scott a new umbrella. Now we could continue our walk down Princes Street.

We turned and headed uphill toward the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is a road full of shops and fun things that stretches between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace. We of course had to briefly stop and get a photo of Scott with the Scott Monument. The monument honors Sir Walter Scott, one of Scotland’s many famed writers.

We walked in and out of many of the souvenir shops down the Royal Mile and enjoyed all the beautiful stone streets and Gothic architecture. We then popped in the National Library of Scotland which is the biggest in the country. They had some lovely exhibits displaying some of their rare and historical items housed in the library. We also made a stop at the cafe for a little rest and refreshment. After that, Mom decided she needed a bit more rest so we walked with her back home. We also stopped in Poundland which is the UK version of Dollar Tree. I love finding fun new snacks and chocolate things in Poundland. The chocolate quality here is so much better than in the US so I always eat my weight in candy when we travel and also bring a suitcase full home.

Scott and I now headed off on our own. At this point it was dark and the city came to life with beautiful lighting everywhere. They are already decorating for Christmas and it’s actually cold here so it all creates a beautiful festive atmosphere. We walked down into Princes Street Gardens which are beautiful even at night. There are string lights overhead and the trees have multicolored spot lights on them. We then walked further down Princes Street to investigate the Christmas market they are building that should be open in the next day or so. We then found a place to eat dinner. Franco Manca makes artisan sourdough pizzas and it was probably the best pizza I have ever had. We got one with spicy salami, caramelized onions and cheese. The crust was absolutely amazing.

After dinner we decided to do more walking and find a pub. We found Rose Street which has many pubs to choose from and walked in Milnes Bar. It was crowded full of people either watching football(soccer in the US) or having lively conversations. We got our Scottish beers and found a cozy place to sit. We both commented on how we felt just like we were in an episode of Midsomer Murders. We always love the pub life displayed on our British TV shows. We then headed home to relax for the rest of the evening and get some much needed rest.