Edinburgh, Scotland (2011)

Some things happen for a reason. Like that whole India work visa passport issue which forced us to travel to Scotland last weekend. Had the India visa debacle not occurred, we would not have made it to Edinburgh until sometime in 2012. That would have been a shame as Edinburgh is a wonderful city and we wouldn’t have found the World’s Longest Straw.

I didn’t see any “yard” glasses in this pub, so I don’t understand why they had ridiculously long straws. The Finnish bartender thought the extra-long straw was funny and apologized when he gave it to me while laughing.

Had we not visited Scotland, we also would not have finally found Posh Fish & Chips. We’ve been looking for Posh Fish & Chips for ages. Regular Fish & Chips are so blah.

Last but not least, we wouldn’t have found the most awesome idea ever: The table purse hook. Ladies, we have all seen this idea applied under bar tops but never have I seen it applied to a table. It was fantastic.

If I had to choose one photo to sum up the terrain of Edinburgh, it would be this one.

What you can’t see in this photo is the rest of the stairs. There were at least two more flights following what looks like the top of the stairs in this photo. If you are a gym/health club proprietor and wish to expand your business, Edinburgh is not the place for you. Walking around the city is a workout. A serious workout. There is no need to join a gym if you live in Edinburgh. To put perspective to the cityscape, Edinburgh Castle is built atop of volcanic rock and most of the city sits below the castle in the valleys and along the volcanic ridges. Edinburgh is one of those cities where it feels like you walk up hill both ways, similar to San Francisco.

We were in Edinburgh (traveled by train from London) for two-and-a-half days and could have easily kept ourselves occupied for an additional two days. We stuck to the main tourist attractions: city bus tour, Edinburgh Castle, Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre, The Real Mary King’s Close, and shopping on the High Street.

The people of Edinburgh are amazingly friendly. The atmosphere is casual (unlike England where I feel I need to wear a bridesmaid dress to go grocery shopping). The food, for the most part, was great (including the Mexican food). The hotel was spectacular (Sheraton Edinburgh). The city was warm (“feel good” warm, not temperature warm) and welcoming. Edinburgh is a city we will definitely visit again, time permitting, and probably not in the winter months. It’s quite blustery on Castle Rock in mid-November!