What was supposed to be a couples holiday, turned into the perfect ‘galentines’ weekend away. With a weeks notice my best friend Laoise jetted off to Edinburgh with me (everything happens for a reason). We spent the weekend drinking too many flat whites and eating too much cake, while getting in all the sites. The rain and wind couldn’t dampen our spirits as we were so excited to be on our girly getaway. It was a very chill weekend but we did exactly what we went there to do, have fun (cheeessyyy I know).

Day 1

Our flight was at 6:30am and with a short flight and even shorter bus journey to the city centre we were at our hotel before 9am! This gave us a full day to explore the city. The hotel allowed for early check in which was ideal so we could drop our bags and freshen up. I could not recommend the Ibis Hotel enough. It was super modern , clean, environmentally friendly and the staff were so helpful. The location was absolutely perfect too as we were within 15 minutes walking distance of nearly everything.

First stop, brunch! In the lashing rain we sped to somewhere Google recommended only to find it had a waiting list an hour long. We decided to come earlier the next day and went to a cute place just beside it. This place called Papii, was very cosy, served fab coffee and breakfast/brunch and one of the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever had (in stiff competition with Brother Hubbard in Dublin). So reasonable too!

Shopping is inevitable when we are together, so we browsed along the main shopping street and may have picked up a few purchases along the way. We ended up walking circles around the city as it’s actually really small and soon made our way to ‘The National Museum of Scotland’. This is free entry so we went in to have a look. This place is brimming with history and information about the world. There were kids running around playing which made for a fun environment, not your typical silent museum.

This was all thirsty work, so we treated ourselves to a cocktail in ‘Revolution Bar’, right across the road from the museum. It was very quiet when we got there, as it was very early (oops), but you could tell it would be a funky place to go a little bit later. The cocktails were delish and a good price.

As it was Valentines night, we knew that any fancy restaurants or bars would be swarming with couples, and we did not want that! So we decided to go for some typical Scottish pub grub and found a nice pub not too far from our hotel called ‘Malt Shovel Inn’. I never knew I needed battered halloumi in my life, but I’m afraid I can’t live without it now! Laoise got fish and chips which was equally as delicious.

We stayed here for a while and decided to venture to a cocktail bar which we had heard good recommendations about, unfortunately it didn’t live up! For quite overpriced cocktails they did NOT taste good and we couldn’t even finish them. I hate to be a drag but I wouldn’t recommend ‘The Devils Advocate’ for cocktails if you visit Edinburgh. Maybe the food is nice?

Day 2

Up bright and early, we were ready to get that table for brunch. We aimed to be at the trendy brunch spot ‘Urban Angel’ for 10am, and our tactic worked. We got a table and soon after, groups of people were getting turned away as it was too busy, perfect timing from us! Classic brunch, avo, eggs, sourdough, feta, where could you possibly go wrong? And, of course, a flat white!

The stormy weather led us indoors and we went to the tourist attraction ‘Camera Obscura & World of Illusions’. We did have to queue for nearly 40 mins in the rain but they provided us with umbrellas and it didn’t feel that long. A tip for anyone visiting, would be to buy your ticket online beforehand. We spent a really fun few hours here, skitting at all of the illusions and getting to see the main attraction camera obscura, a mirror on top of a tower which reflects the entire city.

We took a walk around the blustery castle, which was BEAUTIFUL, but we didn’t actually go inside. We enjoyed the view, took some snaps and returned to lower ground.

Another beverage? The weather was so horrific that we just HAD to take shelter in a gorgeous cocktail bar called ‘Lady Libertine’. I can’t remember the name of the cocktail, but the waitress described it as “a twist on a bellini” and we were sold.

It was full glam on Saturday night as we got ready for our dinner reservation. We found a lovely cockatil bar around the corner from the restaurant called ‘Copper Blossom’ which more than reached our expectations. It also looked like fab place for dinner so if I was to visit the city again I would deff try it.

Laoises mum actually found the most amazing Italian restaurant for us, ‘Contini’, really authentic and a beautiful space. We ordered a variety of food so we could try everything and of course a bottle of wine, and none disappointed.

A friend of mine recommended a really cool underground bar called ‘Bramble’ which played disco and R&B music. The vibes were so groovy and the cocktails amazing! It was really hard to find but Google Maps should help. After that we went to a place completely the opposite, a live music bar called ‘Stramash’ . There was live Irish music and a good crowd that night.

Day 3

Last day to squeeze in some more exploring. We availed of the hotel breakfast (which I had forgotten I booked) and packed our bags. I was dying to go to the ‘The Elephant House’, the cafe where J.K Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books, so we headed straight there for one last flat white. The queue was very long to be seated and we didn’t have much time so we took our coffee to-go.

The sun actually shone on our last day there and the storm lifted (typical). So we took our time getting to the bus stop and back to the airport.

P.S: If you like cake (who doesn’t?), you should go this cutie cafe for tea and cake. ‘Southern Cross’ cafe is the perfect place to hide out on a rainy day.

Another short flight and we were home. I was sad to leave the place but it was the perfect weekend escape. I would definitely go back the next time I get the itch to jet off again and bring my best friend with me.