Day Trip To Edinburgh

My boyfriend and I decided to take a trip up to Edinburgh for the day mainly to visit the zoo and castle but, we managed to get quite a lot done in a small space of time and of course, I blogged my day trip! We wanted to get a good day worth of Edinburgh so we hopped on the train for 6.30am and returned home at 6.30pm given us a solid day to admire and site see some of the grand architecture!

Once we got out of the station we were overpowered with grand, magnificent towers and buildings from every angle. The first place we visited was Calton Hill which once climbed up on you can see some incredible, mesmerizing views of the city. Of course, the photos look a little dull at the start but baring in mind we were up in Edinburgh in the early morning, still was a lovely view. Once we spent some time up Calton Hill we decided to get the bus to Edinburgh zoo, one thing that I found a little irritating was how you needed the exact right amount of change to get on the bus. Whereas at home you were able to pay with five-pound notes and receive change so this was a little unusual to Newcastle.

When we got our tickets and our map we started making our excited, childlike selves around the zoo starting with the meerkats. I have created a post just on Edinburgh zoo (be up soon!) if you want to see some of the animals we came across. I think my favourite has to be the tiger only because when we stopped to take photos he let out this massive growl that made us all jump. I also really liked the penguins especially their cute little waddle and the way they go to sleep is quite amusing. I forgot how huge the zoo was so by the time we made it right to the top of the map our feet were shattered and we were starting to get a little hungry. After spending a good 2/3 hours in the zoo we decided to take a little peak in the gift shop before we made our way back into the city.

Eventually, after spending a good half an hour deciding we finally went to the Hard Rock Cafe for something to eat. I was really excited to try this place as I had heard so many amazing things about the food. You definitely see/feel the 'rock' side of things in this cafe with the guitars all across the walls and the music blasting. We both ordered a classic burger with crispy fries that came in a cute little pot. Unfortunately, we weren't blown away with the food and for the price, we paid we didn't think it was worth it. The chips were amazing but the burger itself to me tasted very much like a Mcdonalds hamburger. The good thing that happened was we ended up not being charged for the chips so that was a lucky hunch!

After dinner, we decided to burn off that burger with a walk up to Edinburgh castle. On the way to the castle, we popped into the national museum and looked at some of the amazing paintings/canvas. I love museums or any sort of gallery involving art and history I just get fascinated with what influenced the artists and why etc. After walking up massive hills that had our chests going crazy we finally made it to the eye-catching castle. I love how this castle isn't on the flat ground and you are able to see the natural wear and tear of the cliff eroding. I also really liked how traditional and historic it all looked too with the grand entrances and canons popping out building walls.

We decided to spend the rest of the time by wondering around in unknown areas to see where it took us. First off we landed in a little market and of course, if you have read my previous lifestyle posts you are will know I love a good rummage in markets. We took a walk up some narrow streets with cute, dainty shops such as the bookshop photograph I took. We somehow ended up wandering through one of the university campuses which eventually somehow led us to some mountains which I believe was in Holyrood Park. I would have loved to have climbed up the mountains if I had longer time!

I had such an amazing day at Edinburgh we do wish we stayed overnight so we had time to visit some other areas too. Definitely will be returning. I was shocked as to how much we got done in just one day the zoo, Calton Hill, the castle, shopping, museums and Holyrood Park. Edinburgh really is an amazing place to visit if you love site seeing and knowing about historic artefacts. As I type this now I can tell you that trip paid off as I have been walking around like one of those penguins at the zoo my feet hurt that much! Was all worth it though especially going to the zoo.