I am finally sharing one of my most memorable trips from 2015. Here goes…
After years of planning and thinking about going to Edinburgh, it finally happened. My sister, friend, and I decided to go to Edinburgh and rent an Airbnb apartment off Leith Street. It was so close to everything that we didn’t need to take the public transport at all.
We spent our first night walking and sniffing around the Christmas market inside the Queen Street Gardens. It was massive! Lots of mulled wine and street food kiosks! We spotted a few interesting buildings, too!
We decided on Edinburgh because we wanted to experience their New Year’s Eve Festival or what you call “Hogmanay”. We’re not big partiers but we thought that it could be a good social experiment. We stayed late, meandered around, ate an inordinate amount of sausages, chips, drank mulled wine and hot cocoa with Bailey’s, and cheered to the New Year.
We spent January 1st hiking the nearby Calton Hill. I thought it was the perfect way to spend New Year’s day. What better way to celebrate the first day of the year other than the crisp air and green surroundings in a city like Edinburgh, steeped in history?
We spent a good amount of time here in Edinburgh and relished its quirkiness and charm. It didn’t matter that we were there in the winter. The long walks, imposing facades, and mysterious alleyways, among other things, were enough to divert our attention. The friendliness of the locals only made our experience more memorable, too. I can still imagine the rows of houses with colorful doors in Stockbridge and that strong feeling of wanting to power-wash the crap out of the buildings and houses that lined the streets of Edinburgh. That soot-like stains on almost all the buildings in Edinburgh add to the character of the city and a little bit of an anxiety/excitement from a pseudo-OCD like me.