Through some unforeseen circumstances colliding with a touch of luck and blessings from the universe, I spent my 25th birthday in Edinburgh with the most special person in existence. And despite the emotional turmoil I felt pretty much every day up until the morning of January 30th, I had the best birthday of my life. It was chilled and low-fuss and my first away from home which was odd but exciting. I'm intending on being out of the country - or at least city - every birthday from here til my deathbed, thank u x
WHERE WE STAYED
The apartment was a little shabby but more than suited for our needs and the décor was cute. There's a small kitchen with a cooker, toaster, fridge etc but no freezer(!) attached to the living/dining space, which was essential for me as I have several food intolerances and a low budget. The bed was ironing-board-esque but we survived it for 5 nights and I didn't lose sleep over it. In fact I slept a LOT on this trip, but mainly spent nap times on the sofa.
The best thing about this apartment is it's incredibly convenient location. On foot it takes 10-15 minutes to walk into the heart of Edinburgh, although there is also a bus stop one street over. It's also super convenient for the tram, which we rode to and from the airport. There's a Tesco and a Lidl down the street and a wonderful vegan bakery (shout out to Sugar Daddy's) close-by. Everything we did on this trip (aside from Holyrood Palace and the Hibernian game) we travelled to on foot.
WHAT WE DID
Short answer: a lot. We also got lost. A lot.
This was the first thing we ticked off of our itinerary although it took us forever to get there. Not due to distance from our accommodation - oh no. We're just two clumsy idiots who can't even follow Google Maps correctly. We did, however, stumble across the most interesting graveyard as we travelled in the complete opposite direction from our destination, and we spent a while reading the inscriptions and making assumptions about the people who were buried here.
Eventually - after some lunch and the purchase of a cigar - we made it to the museum. I'd heard that items belonging to Mary Queen of Scots were displayed here, but did I find them?? Of course not. I had the most fun in the room full of crystals and the biggest amethyst geode I've seen in my life, although the entire building was filled with intriguing and educating displays. The museum is free to enter and explore, so it's definitely worth a visit.
I love art installations, especially when they're small and independent and created by students. I can't for the life of me remember the theme of this collection, but several pieces stood out to me - especially the collection of notes pinned to the wall. I don't know how long I spent studying them, noticing what feelings came up when I read certain sentences and words and emotions. I was truly lost within them and it felt so interesting, inspiring, to do so. My favourite is the one about being the Goldilocks of trying, which is something I relate to on many levels.
I wanted to do something purely for S's benefit whilst we were away, so I booked us tickets to see the city's football team, Hibernian. I was raised by an ex-football hooligan so football is essentially in my blood and the experience brought back so many memories of being a child, although I'd never attended a professional game before. There's something about the atmosphere of live sport that excites me, though. It's thrilling - you can feel the tension in the air, it's palpable. The team drew in the end, but S had a wonderful time and I ate two portions of chips covered in ketchup so who are the real winners here?
I'm telling you, my Instagram gained a LOT by me visiting this place. It also helped that I had S along, as he was more than willing to play as my personal photographer. The gardens themselves were lovely and sprawling, but a little lack-lustre due to the season. The real gems were inside the glass houses, which we paid an entry fee to visit. The gardens themselves are free, so if you're travelling on a budget then it's worth adding to your itinerary, especially if you're travelling during the summer months.
There are 10 houses in total, each containing a different variety of plants and trees and bushes and cacti and ponds. S bought me a beautiful plant pot in the overpriced gift shop and I bought postcards to send to our families, then we headed home to watch the rugby.
HOLYROOD PALACE
The palace was the highlight of our trip for me, and was also the main reason I chose Edinburgh as our destination. I am fascinated by the Queens of British history and Mary Queen of Scots is one of my favourites. The TV show Reign initially sparked my obsession with her, then frenzied research and the film starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie solidified it. Holyrood Palace is where Mary lived during her marriage to Lord Darnley, and her rooms have been preserved as they were when she resided there. Holyrood is also the site of the brutal murder of Mary's personal secretary David Rizzio. Apparently you can still see the blood staining the waxed wood flooring of Mary's drawing room - and I s2g it's true.
EDINBURGH CATHEDRAL & THE WRITER'S MUSEUM
We didn't spend much time at either of these locations, mainly because I was getting tired, but also because they were smaller and more compact than I anticipated. The cathedral and Writer's Museum are free to enter, although a donation is suggested for each place. I paid £2 for a photography permit inside the cathedral so that I could take photos.
The museum made much more of an impression on me, and as we wandered around the cramped quarters we discussed our favourite forms of creativity and art - mine is writing, mainly in the form of prose, and S's is in song lyrics and music. It reignited my love and passion for the written word - something that hit me hard, as I believed it had left me long ago.
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY
The only place we visited that left me feeling a little underwhelmed was the art gallery but that's purely down to my own artistic taste. I'm much more into modern art and installations and this gallery was filled with old, beautiful paintings. The walls were red which distracted me a significant amount - red is such an antagonistic colour, don't you think? - and the whole gallery had a very vintage-before-my-time feel to it which, I imagine, is kind of the effect they're going for considering the place is full of paintings from hundreds of years ago.
PRINCES STREET
We wandered Prince's Street on our final night, just to take photos and walk and breathe in the place before we retreated back to our homeland. Prince's Street is incredibly wide and so long you feel you aren't making any progress at all, but there's also plenty to marvel at, and plenty of stores to tempt you along the way.
In all honesty, we ate a fuck ton of homemade chicken fried rice on this trip. For the sake of my anxiety and our wallets, we mainly ate at the apartment. Although we did venture to the local spoons a few times - twice for lunch, once for cocktails on the eve of my 25th birthday. Give ya girl a pitcher of Purple Rain and a bowl of chips and that's all the gift I could ask for.
We also had lunch twice at a place called Biblos which was a mere 2 minute walk from the museum. We were tempted in by the beer battered haggis balls advertised in the window, as S was desperate to try the local delicacy. He loved them so much we went back on the final day of our trip. I got the sweet potato fries both times and they were glorious.
And then we were home! I thought I'd be terrified by the plane and that my anxiety would have me in a headlock but I was incredibly calm both to and from Edinburgh and I unexpectedly now have a flight obsession? I want to catch them every day? It's so fun??? I am now fully in travel mode at all times. I'm constantly checking flights, Airbnbs, events and attractions and landmarks. I want to go everywhere. Where would you recommend?
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