24 HOURS IN EDINBURGH

Last week, my boyfriend and I went away for the night to the lovely city of Edinburgh. Edinburgh is only a 30 minute train journey away from where we live yet it's never been somewhere I've ventured to for a short break and now I wonder why I haven't. It has amazing shops, lots of great places to eat and gorgeous scenery and I'm really glad we went. Despite it being a short trip, on the train home I was struggling to keep my eyes open because I felt so relaxed. It wasn't until I've had some time off from work that I've realised how manic February has been and it's been great to have a breather from everything. So what can you do in Edinburgh in 24 hours? We didn't cram in lots of sightseeing but we did visit some gorgeous places that I wanted to share with you all!

We stayed in a hotel called The Angels Share Hotel which was just off Princes Street and a stone throw away from Rose Street, which is home to lots of pubs and bars. The hotel has been in Edinburgh for some time now but has recently been refurbished. Each room is named after a famous Scottish person which I thought was a really cool theme to have. Our room was named after Dario Franchitti, a famous IndyCar driver originally from Bathgate, Lothian. The room was an ok size but given that we were there for just the night and weren't planning on spending much time in it, it was perfect. It was clean, modern, quiet and had the most comfortable bed ever, especially those pillows - it was like you were like resting your head on a cloud.

 We were starving by the time we got there so decided to go a wander in the search for some grub. We ended up visiting a burger place called The Boozy Cow which was just off Princes Street. The menu had a really good selection of burgers, hot dogs and waffles. I opted for the Maple Bacon Cheeseburger and my boyfriend went for the Chargrilled Chicken Burger. These came on a metal tray  and I didn't manage to get a snap of these because we practically wolved these down but both got a massive thumbs up. Every cocktail on the drinks menu sounded amazing and I decided to go for the Twizzler which was cherry vodka, citrus and sherbet and it was soo good. A little too easy to drink though!

We ended up stuffed and went back to the hotel to chill out, watch some TV and get ready for the night. We ended up going to a place called Gusto for dinner. It's a popular Italian restaurant in the capital which was really stylish and decorated completely monochrome with a sleek menu too. We had calamari to start and I had Arrabitaia which I didn't enjoy too much but I had to, of course, help myself to my boyfriends main which was white crab pasta with chilli and garlic and I instantly wished I had went for that instead. We ended up staying there for another hour for some cocktails before heading a little further up the street to Tigerlily, which is a boutique hotel in Edinburgh, for some more drinks before finally calling it a night.

The next day, we woke up early and thankfully hangover free! Check out at the hotel was 11 but we left around 10:30 and went for a walk round Princes Street Gardens. It was such a bright, sunny day although it was slightly cold but such a nice, brisk walk with lots of scenery to take it. We ended up in Grassmarket, which is a slightly older part of Edinburgh. We ended up seeing the castle from the opposite way, although it was quite crowded with tourists. We opted out of visiting the castle due to the fact I had a case with me but if I ever went back again, I would love to visit it. We ended up visiting Mary's Milk Bar which is a famous gelato shop, which I first found out about via buzzfeed, which has lots of different types of fresh homemade gelato and serves a rather unique Hot Chocolate Ice Cream Float which I just had to have. It was freshly brewed malted hot chocolate with a large chunk of Salted Caramel Ice Cream which I know what your thinking, sounds like a bizarre combination but it was insanely good - I could easily of had another! I'm so glad we took the time to visit here and would really recommend it. It's such a small dainty place but has a stunning view of the castle and a nice vibe.

We decided to go for lunch before heading home and hit Chaophraya, one of our favourite Thai restaurants we frequently visit in Glasgow. It serves the most stunning, tasty, beautifully presented food and we couldn't not pay it a visit. We were sat in a table which was in a giant glass box which had a view of the castle. We had the lunch menu which was two courses for a modest £12.95 and I had chicken satay and this stunning sweet & sour chicken as a main. It didn't disappoint and was such a nice way to end our trip.

I loved Edinburgh and I really enjoyed our time here - the only downside was that it wasn't long enough! I felt like we had such a lovely 24 hours though just relaxing, taking in some lovely scenery and eating some great food. I'd love to go again and do more touristy things like visiting inside the castle and going a walk up to Carlton Hill but we wanted to have a leisurely trip and we did just that. I'd really recommend visiting Edinburgh to anyone whether it be for taking in all the sights or going for some great food and shopping.

Have you been to Edinburgh before or have any desire to visit? I'd love to hear your thoughts below or you can tweet/instagram me at @whatamydidblog. Thanks for reading.