Last year I unknowingly entered a competition to win a pair of Virgin first class return train tickets to anywhere in the country. You can imagine my surprise when an email landed in my inbox telling me that I had been picked as the lucky winner of a competition I didn't even know I had entered.
I told my boyfriend and he immediately suggested Edinburgh. I am half Scottish and had never been to Scotland so it seemed like the perfect option. I booked the tickets straight away for fear of them emailing me again and telling me they had made a mistake.
We went in early January as we knew that it is a depressing month so a long weekend away would be a good option.
Going in First class on the train was pretty sweet. We got free tea and coffee as well as sandwiches and cakes which weren't up to much if I am honest. Plenty of leg room though so that was a god send on a four hour journey.
When we got there we immediately bumped in to a very good friend of mine who was there for the day. A strange coincidence but lovely none the less.
What struck me first about Edinburgh was its beauty. It really is the most beautiful and clean European city I have been too. The architecture is incredible and so old. I'm so in love with Edinburgh.
It started to snow almost as soon as we got there. Neither of us had brought appropriate shoes. The only shoes I had with any grip whatsoever were a pair of Converse high-tops. I'm surprised I didn't lose my toes.
The Castle is pretty spectacular. We didn't go and look around but just looking at it was enough to appreciate it's immensity. I don't know if the Queen was in. She didn't invite us for Tea so i'm guessing not. Haha!
We went to
Edinburgh Zoo. Sadly some of it was closed because of the snow so we didn't get to see the big Cats but we spent a lot of time watching the Penguins. These little guys have now got themselves a spot in my top five favourite animals. They are hilarious, particularly to one in the photo. It looked as if he was dancing to Drum and Bass.
Another great place to visit is the Golden Mile which is a very touristy bit of Edinburgh, with more Tartan shops than you could shake a stick at. This is where we found the
Museum of Childhood. It was free to get in. The creepy dolls were by far the best bit. Yikes!
I think that it was unanimous that the
Camera Obscura was our favourite place in Edinburgh. Sadly the actual Camera Obscura, where you could see a Panoramic view of the whole city was shut due to it being too dark but the rest of the ludicrously tall building which is dedicated to a museum of optical illusions was open. Many of the illusions were completely mind boggling and many more were side splittingly funny, such as the two way mirror that lets you merge your face in to the person's sitting opposite you.
There are a couple of other places I would suggest going to if you are in Edinburgh. One is a great little Thai restaurant called
Time 4 Thai on North Castle street. We didn't book and went on a Saturday night but they made room for us and I had the best Thai Curry I have ever had in my life.
Also, there is a little shop called
The Red Door Gallery on Victoria Street near the Grass market. It sells gorgeous Art prints and other bits and pieces from Artists such as
Donna Wilson and
Belle and Boo. I literally could have spent all of my money in there.
Let me know if you visit any of these places. I would love to hear what you think.
Kate
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