Edinburgh, Scotland

With Jignesh on a two-week plus business trip earlier this month, I found myself getting a bit stir crazy and decided to take a last-minute trip to Edinburgh. Alone! While I have always admired people who have the confidence to dine alone or got to a movie by themselves, I am just not that type of person. When I do things like that, I feel like a fish in a bowl. So, I really debated about going on this trip as I was not sure I would even have much fun. In the end, the lure of travel and visiting a city that always gets great reactions took over. So, off I went! And I am more than glad I did. I had the freedom to do exactly what I wanted when I wanted. I browsed all the cashmere and wool stores to my heart's content and stopped in every charity shop for a few mindless but enjoyable books. I practiced my photography using the most random things as subjects and scheduled in a daily run. So, I have established that travelling alone is not so bad afterall. Now, a little more about Edinburgh itself.

A small and beautiful city, Edinburgh has a distinct old and new town. Old town is filled with mazes of closes and alleys where Edinburgh's entire population lived in crowed tenements while new town is considered to be one of Europe's greatest examples of Georgian town planning. I explored both. I walked the Royal Mile of old town starting at the top with the Edinburgh castle and ending at the bottom with the Palace of Holyroadhouse (the Queen's official residence in Scotland and pictured above). Along the way, I peeked into a few churches and admired various statues and buildings. On my second day, I even took a tour of the undergound vaults where people used to live and work. With Princes Street, new town is the popular shopping district and is also filled with some great cafes, restaurants, and boutiques hidden on back streets and squares. I had a blast window shopping and leisurely checking out all the famous statues and former residences of well-known writers.

My favorite part of Edinburgh was Holyroad Park and Canongate. Arthur's Seat, an extinct volcano, dominates this area as it soars 823ft above the city. Last erupting 325 million years ago, it now provides locals and visitors with great veiw of the city and the eastern coastlineof Scotland...just don't climb it in flip flops!

While I still would rather travel with others, travelling alone is definitely eye-opening and definitely builds character. It is even fun! While I will definitely do it again (maybe soon), I do not think I will every feel completely comfortable dining alone.

Au Revoir.