My Scotland: Edinburgh

New College 1846

It was my first visit to Scotland in general and to Edinburgh specifically. And it was love at first sight. There is some magic in the air in this city. The architecture is so eclectic and so impressive: from traditional old stone buildings and the imposing castle to Roman and Gothic architecture and the ultra modern hotels, office and and government buildings.

                                                                                    

Edinburgh Castle

Scott Monument

Calton Hill

I was also pleasantly surprised by the culinary scene - there is a surprising number of international, vegan and vegetarian restaurants for every taste and dietary requirement. I was especially impressed by Pulse cafe (delicious plant-based home-cooked food), Bonnie and Wild food court (amazing atmosphere and selection of food), The Outsider (modern and hip), and The Wedgewood (elegant and pricey, but totally worth it!). 

If you're interested in history and folklore Edinburgh has so much to offer: the Royal Mile, King Arthur's Seat, Calton Hill are just a few places we had time to see on our short weekend visit. And they are all amazing! 

The city has so many gorgeous green spaces for escaping the city buzz, it is so welcoming to hordes of tourists, so unpretentious, and so cosy despite being so big.

Wandering the streets we saw a couple of churches offering free music concerts, so we went into one and there was an orchestra playing Mendelssohn - it felt surreal sitting in this church, sunlight streaming in through tall windows, listening to beautiful music. 

I must say we were extremely lucky with the weather - it was +20 and sunny all weekend so it might have contributed to my impressions of the city, but I know for sure that I'm in love and I want to return to Edinburgh and to explore more of Scotland.