The last weekend of July and the first week of August we had an incredible trip to London and Scotland. We went with our friends Lisa and Tracy and seriously it was beyond anything I expected. We flew direct from SLC to London Heathrow. I was actually surprised at how flat London was and how expansive the city is. After an hour and half customs wait we got passed through and jumped a cab to our hotel.
We stayed at the Academy hotel and it was close to a lot of the areas, the first night we bar hopped a bit and then had wonderful fish and chips. We fought hard to stay awake as late as we could to help combat the jet lag. Of course I struggled and by 3am sat up and read until 5. At 5:30 I decided to venture out and get coffee. When we travel internationally one of my favorite personal traditions is going very early in the morning and getting coffee and treats to bring up to our hotel room. There is something about a busy city in the morning that just feels peaceful. Empty streets, watching shops light up and being one of the first in a coffee shop to get fresh, warm croissants is delightful. Our first day there we went to high tea at the Ritz Carlton in London, it was amazing. So gorgeous, impeccable service and wonderful tea and treats. After finishing that up we met up with our group and did a hop on, hop off bus. We ended up doing the Tower of London tour which was really cool and super historical. Monday night we met up with Lisa's awesome friends Tim and Nev and had a great night. Probably a little too much fun, as I captained the struggle bus on Tuesday morning.
Tuesday we really enjoyed the bus and went to see Buckingham Palace and literally walked in the worst rain storm. You know its bad when you still have an umbrella but you end up soaking wet. After a great lunch, we got our tickets for the London Eye. We did the champagne private tour, which I highly recommend. It was only about 10-12 people and you could walk around and enjoy glasses of champagne while seeing all of London, after that we strolled through Hyde park in a mission to get me back to Harrods. The first time I was at Harrods was literally ten minutes and I really, really wanted to see more. We made it back and I felt as is mission was accomplished. For dinner that night we enjoyed the Italian by our hotel.
Wednesday morning we had to catch a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. Kings cross station was pretty cool but I was really happy we chose to take the train first class to Edinburgh. We got free drinks and food for the five hour train ride and got to see lots of the country side which was gorgeous, free wifi was also a bonus. My poor Mom watching the kids back in Utah had her hands full between the car not starting one day and also our AC not working.
Edinburgh, Scotland is magical. I literally think it is my favorite city in the world. It was a combination of a large historical city like Munich, meets the gardens and greens of Ireland but is clean, friendly and magical. JK Rowling lived there when she wrote all of the Harry Potter novels and you see why they are what they are. The streets are cobblestone and windy at times with colorful store fronts, a huge historical castle on a hill overlooking everything, winding stair cases, outdoor dining and little tunnels leading to new bars and places. We had a great Air B and B we stayed at, it had a roof top terrace and an incredible view of the castle from the kitchen. It was in the middle of everything and we never had to take and uber to get anywhere. We also were there during the first few days of the Fringe festival so they had really, cool fireworks over the castle the first two nights we were there. We ate at a really good fish restaurant about ten yards away from where we were staying. Scotland is surrounded by water and the mussels I had were some of the best ever.
Thursday we got up and all walked up to the Royal Mile, which is right off of the Edinburgh castle. Bren and I did the castle tour and were blown away about how old it was and how the fact it is still a castle in operation is crazy. Then we met Lisa and Tracy for the best food ever. We went to a pub on the royal mile called Deacon Abbeys and had ciders and meat pies for lunch. I became so obsessed with how delicious these meat pies were that we ate there again on Saturday for lunch. The pub is from the 1700s and has a really cool ceiling. We did some shopping then caught a fringe show from Lisa's friends (Lisa is the shit and literally has friends ALL over the world- no joke). The show was really cool and a mix between 1920s radio and a 1950s comic book come to life.
(the ceiling at Deacon Abbeys)
The next day Bren and I did a Hairy Coo bus tour that went to Loch Ness. The highlands of Scotland, deserve their own trip someday. It was stunning, we saw the place where parts of the most recent James Bond were filmed. Huge mountains covered in green and huge expanses of water. When we got to the city right outside of Loch ness we had enough time to get a pint on the water before we caught our water cruise. The Loch Ness is super black like coffee because of the peet under it. It was pretty cool and we had gorgeous weather. We ended the trip back learning a lot about Scotland's history and stopping at a waterfall. We had also started the trip with a stop at a whiskey distillery which was neat and seeing some hairy coo (cows). When we got back we met Lisa and Tracy for a little more bar hopping and fireworks over the castle.
You know its a great trip when you love your babies fiercely but are also sad to be waking up on your last day. Bren and I spent our last day exploring the gardens and the city and were not disappointed. We also caught the vintage flea market that happens every Saturday morning off of New Grass street. Bren picked up a really cool vintage, glass flask, I got a gorgeous red hat. That evening after going to a hidden whiskey bar we went on a ghost tour to the underground portion of Edinburgh which was pretty cool.
All in all, it really was a trip of a lifetime that makes me desperately want to visit again.
Love,
B and A
