Edinburgh Weekend Recap

Greetings! I'm back in Londontown after these four weeks of travel! Here's a quick recap of Edinburgh; Italy posts will becoming this week!

The day after my Dad left Paris to go back to the USA, and I got back to London, I took the train up to Edinburgh for a weekend escape! Edinburgh has been on my list of places to visit since I was little. I ran out of weekends in 2010 to visit.  And, as a huge advocate of traveling alone,  I went by myself.

Coffee in hand for the train ride!

Having a rail pass for students saved me around 50 pounds roundtrip on my train tickets. I pre-booked, so I could reserve both a table seat and an outlet in a quiet coach. I highly recommend doing that! The journey took around four hours. But, I forced myself to do some schoolwork on the train ride. 

The hotel I stayed in was located in the "new town" of Edinburgh.  It was about a ten minute walk to Princes Street and the Waverly Train Station.  It was a boutique hotel called the Place. The standard room I got was perfect for the weekend getaway. It was tuck into a corner in the renovated Georgian house. 

Holyrood Palace

By the time I got settled into my hotel (I got lost on the way...), I decided to grab some coffee and become a tourist. I had pre-booked a Hop On Hop Off tour for the day. Since I knew I had limited time to see things, I wanted to get an overview of the entire city, first.  Some of the things that I got to see from the outside that I had no time to go inside for were Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle.  Part of my afternoon, I spent in the National Museum of Scotland.  

Scott Monument 

Of course, I did happen to stop by and snap a photo at the birthplace for Harry Potter. Just for all my crazed friends...

On Friday, I spent the day at One Spa. It was my escape from reality day, and it was highly needed. 

My goal for the Saturday of my trip was to find the Loch Ness Monster. I did not succeed. Not even anything unordinary in any of my photos. Nessie, are you really there? 

Despite not seeing Nessie, the Highlands are amazing!  The day trip started at 8am and did not end until around 7pm, but it was well worth it. I got to see numerous lochs (lakes) and the mountains of Scotland! We got to see some of the smaller towns as well including Fort Augustus where we had lunch. 

Loch Ness

All in all, it was a great weekend getaway full of shortbread, relaxation, and even some cashmere! I cannot wait till I return to Edinburgh and go to the other places I did not have time for.