It has always been a dream of mine to go to Scotland. On our very first date, while talking over crab stuffed mushrooms and sangria, we discovered how much we both wanted to go to Scotland.  For as long as I can remember, if anyone asked me what country I would like to visit, it has been my first choice. I wanted to see Loch Ness, castles, kilts, and old cities. The darkness and lore of Scotland drew me; there are so many ghost and witch stories, fairy tales, and general superstitions that all just fascinated me. I loved the idea of the gothic creepiness of it. Little did I know, though, that Scotland actually isn’t creepy or dark at all.  Instead, it’s beautiful and green, with breathtaking landscapes as far as you can see.

And oh, that accent. . . I’m a sucker for a Scottish accent.

Curtis traveled extensively while he was in the Marine Corp when he was younger, but he never made it to Scotland. So, in early 2021, when we all thought that the pandemic would surely be gone by summertime, we bought our plane tickets and started planning our Scotland vacation of a lifetime for the upcoming fall. September happens to be the best month for the weather there, with less rain and fewer people than in the summer, since all of the festivals are over at the end of August.  Unfortunately, by July, it was clear that it wasn’t happening. The pandemic was still in full swing, and travel was still very much restricted. We sadly cancelled our trip and rescheduled a year out for September of 2022. We ended up with 16 amazing days in Scotland.

It. Was. Magical.  Send my family, dog and cat, I wanted to stay forever.

We arrived in our first city, Edinburgh (pronounced Ed-in-bruh) on a Saturday evening after over 24 hours in travel time, and took the tram right from the airport to a stop within one block of the 2nd floor, castle view flat that we rented right on Princes Street, directly across from Princes Street Gardens in New Town. Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and the second largest city in the country of 5.5 million people. For some reason, people tend to think that Scotland is stuck in time, but Edinburgh is one of the most modern cities I’ve ever been to. In fact, the entire country is much more modern in many respects than the U.S.. They are much more forward thinking about sustainability, alternative energy, work/life balance, and healthier lifestyles, just to name a few things. We arrived, checked out our great flat with Destiny Scotland, dumped off our bags, and headed out to find dinner at a local pub.

Jetlag is a real thing. But I was so excited to finally travel out of North America, and to actually be in Scotland, I couldn’t sleep, even though it was well past midnight at home, and I’d been mostly awake since 4 a.m. the day before. Curtis can sleep through a battle (unless I’m “twitching” next to him- somehow that always wakes him up), so he was sound asleep after our dinner at Wildfire a little pub down the street where we had our first taste of the Scottish National Dish called Haggis (which was delicious). The area we stayed in, while not in Old Town, was excellent. We were right around the corner of Rose Street, which is a closed off section of the street with bars, pubs, and restaurants lining it for several blocks. We ate (and drank!) on Rose Street a couple of nights in Edinburgh– there were just so many places to choose from! On that first night after Curtis was crashed out in bed, dead to the world, I was just so happy to be there, that I sat at the open front window of our flat and looked out. Being a Saturday night, there were large crowds of people on Rose Street having a great time. I was a bit jealous. I wanted to be there, too. When the entire street full of people started singing Sweet Caroline, I joined in from my window on Princes Street, so excited to finally be there that I couldn’t sleep and couldn’t wait to explore this new place.

We had some things pre-planned and paid for during our time in the capital city. I don’t like to plan too much ahead, but I do like to get a few things scheduled, and then we play the rest by ear. Especially with a country like Scotland, bookings fill up, attractions, and restaurants included, so it’s important to book the things you really have your heart set on. For Father’s Day, I got Curtis a fishing trip with a local guide, Mick, with Fish Edinburgh, who picked him up at our flat and took him out in a rowboat on a loch, which didn’t allow motors, because of the pollution they cause in the water and air, and they fished for half the day and even caught a few.

We also had to tour Edinburgh Castle, which was the first castle I have ever gotten to visit. Curtis told me that we weren’t going to a dozen castles on this trip, he seems to think that once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, but I disagree. So, I restrained myself and chose just four over the 16-day trip. Edinburgh Castle was a good first choice. It is still used as a garrison to this day. The crown jewels for the Royal Family are kept there, which we got to see. They have great exhibits of weaponry, military history, a dungeon, and Scottish history. It is a must-see if you are going to Edinburgh. It is definitely something that is wise to book ahead. It was still pretty busy while we were there, and we were outside of the busy tourist season. We had a tea service in the Castle Cafe with the little sandwiches, desserts, and scones. Curtis had a flight of Scottish gin that the server recommended, and that is when my love affair with Edinburgh Strawberry and Pink Peppercorn Gin began. Since it’s not exported to the U.S., it’s a very expensive love affair since I now have to ship it directly from Scotland. He shouldn’t have let me taste that glass of pink gin- which, after one sip, he didn’t get back.

We had only one day of rain while we were in Scotland. Apparently, that isn’t normal. We did prepare for rain, we each had rain shells, waterproof boots and planned on dressing in layers which is the most important thing when you visit a county like Scotland. We really didn’t need the layers much at all. Even the nights were warm while we were visiting.  On the rainy day, we went to the National Galleries of Scotland and wandered around there for the afternoon. This museum was actually FREE TO VISIT!!?? It was amazing.   After we left, it was pouring rain, so we decided to take a shortcut through a cemetery that was next to Princes Street Gardens. We had to walk down a pretty steep set of stairs because the gardens and cemetery used to be Nor’ Loch, a defense for Edinburgh Castle, which much of the city’s filth and trash flowed into. It was drained and is now the most beautiful gardens in the city, along with the cemetery. It started to rain harder. And thunder and lightning. We decided that it was a really bad idea to be among a bunch of tall trees in a cemetery, in lightning, so we hid under this portico like structure to wait the storm out a bit. It was getting pretty close to the time that the gates were locked for the night, and beginning to get darker, and now, we’re not squeamish about cemeteries- we visit them all the time, but we didn’t really want to be locked in one in Scotland, at night, in a rainstorm. I began looking at our surroundings there under the covering and discovered, with my flashlight on my phone, that there were graves all over the place in the walls and bricks where we were currently sheltering among. Now THAT was creepy Scotland. We braved the rain and found a pub a block a few blocks away. Way less creepy.

That evening, we had a dinner reservation at The Witchery, which is arguably the most famous restaurant in Scotland. I was really looking forward to this place. But sometimes, when your expectations are high, you are sorely disappointed, and that was the case with The Witchery. It is also a very high-end hotel, but it’s well above our budget, so we just had dinner reservations. And I actually wish that we would have had lunch there or just tea instead. Dinner was very expensive, and just not worth it, in our opinion. Curtis even stopped for McDonald’s when we headed back to the flat. The atmosphere is beautiful, though, and the food was pretty, but it just wasn’t worth the exorbitant bill that we got at the end of that meal. 

I have never felt so safe at night in a city by myself like I did in Edinburgh. We did not rent a car in the city because parking is a huge hassle there, and Edinburgh has excellent public transportation options. Plus, we walked a lot as well. One evening, Curtis was worn out, so he went back to the flat, and I took a night tour of the Blair Street Vaults. I was careful and mindful of my surroundings, staying near people, keeping to the lighted streets, but walking the nearly one mile each way, on the city streets after dark was such a different experience than here in the U.S.. Scotland is one of the safest places in the world for single female backpackers and travelers. We saw several during our stay there. The Blair Street Vaults, reportedly haunted, were forgotten about after being closed up, and inadvertently re-discovered during a business renovation. It was dark, dank, and definitely strange being so far under the city. I, of course, was hoping to see a ghost, but sadly, I did not. But our tour guide was very entertaining, knowledgeable and made sure we had a great time.

On our last full day, we took a walk to Old Town to see Greyfriars Kirkyard, which is the “most haunted” cemetery in the world. It’s also the gravesite of a dog named Greyfriars Bobby, who visited his master’s grave for, years after he passed away, so when Bobby died, they buried him there as well. It’s the site of a former prison for one of the Scottish uprisings, where most of the prisoners died due to the horrible conditions at the prison, which is the source of most of the ghost stories. It is a beautiful cemetery, though, and many of the most famous Scots are buried there.

We had always heard that food in Scotland is not good, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was completely opposite. We ate great meals every single day and night (even the Witchery food was still above average, by far), and the prices weren’t even that bad. Everything was so fresh, no preservatives, just delicious, mostly healthy food. We tried just about everything that we had read about while planning our trip. One thing I tell people that we feel is the most important travel tip – try the food. Don’t just order what you eat at home. Get out of your comfort zone a little, with an open mind! Having a kitchen in our flat was great too. We bought Scottish snacks and drinks to try and just had fun with the different types of food. Interestingly enough, both of us felt great after just a few days there, and we really think that’s because of the difference in the food.

Edinburgh is such a great city that I know we will return to. There were so many things that we wanted to do that we just didn’t have time for in the four days we were there. We wanted to climb Arthur’s Seat, walk across the Firth of Fourth Bridge, go to Calton Hill, Dean Village and Holyrood Palace. There are other museums, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and so many more restaurants and pubs and places to see. But we had four other stops that we wanted to see up in the Highlands, where we felt the real trip was to begin. I hope you really enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you do go to Scotland, bring me back some Edinburgh gin.

Next week, I will be taking you on a trip that we just went on last week to HOT Gainsville and St. Augustine, Florida. Why we went to Florida during a heatwave, I still don’t understand, but it was a great trip, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!