City Guide: Edinburgh

I feel like Londoners are spoilt; we live in a city so big, so diverse and so full of culture that we often feel like we have a monopoly on city-living in comparison to the rest of the UK. When we plan to visit other cities, we often seek the capitals of other countries in mainland Europe, or further afield. What I fail to remember (and arrogantly so) is that our tiny island is packed with cities that offer just as much in terms of character and culture as London. So this being said, me and Daisy decided we needed a few days to relax and the cobbled streets of Edinburgh were calling.

We found such a nice, clean and simply styled flat on AirBnb to call home for three nights. The best thing about getting a place on AirBnb is having the space and freedom to relax without the restrictions of hotel living. The flat was about 20 minute walk from center, which might have put us off, if the walk in wasn't so damn lovely.

Tom's place on Bellevue Street

A city guide wouldn't be complete without a decent brekkie or brunch recommendation would it? I found The Pantry popping up on a fair few sites whenever I Googled the obligatory pre-city break "best brunch in  . . ." I'm genuinely not exaggerating when I say this is the best fried breakfast I've had in a long time, albeit non traditional.

The Pantry 

Not just a fantastic pun, The Brotique was a store I hadn't even heard of until walking past it on our way into Central Edinburgh. Taking pride of place on the corner of Frederick and Queen Street, the store sits under a typically grey stone Victorian building and demands a lengthy browse by any man looking to treat themselves (or someone else). As I'm a little more into my movies and pop culture, than I am my grooming and fashion, I loved seeing a selection of geeky books and posters.

The Brotique

All in all, I found Edinburgh to be so unspoiled and so full of character, akin to the sort of character you might find in Victorian neighbourhoods in the likes of Islington or Kensington. As far as I'm aware, the city center wasn't bombed in WW2, meaning it's retained much of it's original residential and medieval architecture.

If it weren't for pizza and coffee, I'm not sure I'd have the sufficient energy to walk around exploring all day (pizza is carbs, carbs are energy, and that's fact). Civerinos is the perfect pit stop lunch and the pizza is so good.

Civerinos

Not quite your authentic Neapolitan , more like a good NYC slice with Italian style. The Milkman is also another great spot to recoup, but this time it's for a well needed caffiene injection to give us boost up all those hills.

The Milkman on Instagram

I'm going to leave this post with a little collection of my fave snaps from the weekend. I fully recommend a visit to the National Museum of Scotland and Paradise Palms for veggie eats and a few plays on the Magneto pinball machine! 

 

This is easily my most photo heavy post to date, I hope I've given you a bit inspiration to head to this beautiful city. I'm already thinking about going back . . . 

Dan x