We made an impromptu plan to head to Edinburgh ,for the long weekend as we got Monday May 8th as bank holiday to celebrate the King’s Coronation.
We booked our flights with Easyjet and stay at Waldorf Astoria.
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View of Castle from the Hotel
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Day 1: We took the airport link bus to the city centre from the airport and got off at Princes Gardens near the hotel. The streets were lined with blossoms in full bloom.
After checking in we headed to the Edinburgh Castle for which we had booked tickets online and were lucky enough to view the Royal Gun Salute in celebration of the Coronation.
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| Coronation Celebration |
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At the Castle
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Royal Gun Salute
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We walked around the castle, saw the Prisons of War room and the Crown Jewels. It was a lot of history to take in and so we stopped by the Thistle Stop Cafe to have some Haggis burgers and Scottish Fries for lunch.
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| No photography was allowed in here |
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| Prisons of War Room |
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| View of Edinburgh from the Castle |
The next stop was The Camera Obscura and Museum of Illusions and 5 storey building filled with interactive exhibits. We really had a good time here and do recommend if you’re traveling with kids.
Later we took in the sights on the Royal Mile, stopped by for photo ops with an owl and a bagpiper. Our last stop for the day was the Scott Monument after which we headed to Dishoom for some yummy food before calling it a day.
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| Scott Monument by day |
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| Scott Monument by night |
Day 2: A bright day with some sunshine , we headed to Palace of Holyroodhouse after a full English breakfast. It is the official residence of the British Monarch in Scotland.
A beautiful space where you can see the staterooms, galleries and where the Queen of Scots stayed.
No photography was allowed inside.
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Arthur's seat in the distance
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| Palace of Holyroodhouse Garden |
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| Palace of Holyroodhouse |
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| Abbey ruins at Holyroodhouse |
We then headed to St. Giles Cathedral which has been a working church for 900 years.
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St. Giles Cathedral
 | St. Giles Cathedral
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Later we spent time in the beautiful streets of the Old town looking around and shopping for souvenirs.
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| Farmer's Market |
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Harry Potter Souvenir store
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| Old Town |
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| Old Town streets |
Day 3: Our last day and we decided to take the Scotch Whisky Experience tour where we learnt the history of whisky and also did a tasting of flavors from the region.The building also hosts the largest collection of Scotch Whisky.
After the whisky experience we walked down the road for a quick photo-op at The School of Divinity and was then time to head back to reality as our holiday had come to an end.
We definitely will come back to Scotland to explore the Highlands and beyond.
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Slainte Mhath (Cheers!)
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Scotch Whisky Collection
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| School of Divinity |
Tips:
We did all the sightseeing by foot, everything is within walking distance.
Tourist season does get busy, it's better to plan the day in advance and book tickets accordingly.
We bought all tickets in advance including the Scotch Whisky experience via the official websites.
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