Edinburgh

thanksgiving, christmas markets and snow!

Through Trusted Housesitters, Jordan and I once again had the opportunity to stay in an amazing city while taking care of the adorable and quirky golden retriever, Harley. From his running and jumping in circles at dinner time, to the interesting habit of nudging between your legs on walks, Harley certainly kept Jordan and me entertained. He quickly became the perfect companion for our two weeks in Edinburgh — joining us in the kitchen while we cooked dinner and snuggling up on the couch for movie nights.

Because we had the luxury to stay in Edinburgh for a full two weeks, we had plenty of time to balance sightseeing and chilling. There really is so much to see in Edinburgh, so even though I feel like we got to see so much, there is definitely more to see next time we visit.

One of the first days staying at the house, Jordan and I woke up to a very nice surprise — snow!! I haven’t seen snow in a few years, and even though it was a light dusting which quickly turned into sludge and slick sidewalks, it was so fun! I think Harley enjoyed it the most, he did lots of rolling around at the park and smelled distinctly of wet dog when we got home.

The first outing into town for Jordan and me was to the National Galleries. A refreshing change since all of the other galleries we have been to were modern art. We spent almost two hours taking in the stunning paintings and history housed in that building before getting out first taste of the Christmas market next door.

The Christmas market in Edinburgh is famous and draws in guests from all over the world to experience. We read that the city’s population grows from around 500 thousand residents to 1.5 million including all of the visitors during the holiday season. I’d have to say it was a pretty cool market, especially as someone from the states who never gets to experience this kind of thing. The festive atmosphere was quite beautiful — streets lined with twinkling lights, music and the smell of donuts and mulled wine in the air. During our time in Edinburgh, we did a fair bit of just walking through the market and taking everything in! A highlight for me was definitely going ice skating, something I have not done in years, we both started out a little rocky, but made some improvements by the end of our time.

We couldn’t visit Edinburgh without seeing all of the locations that inspired Harry Potter, so we made a whole day of seeing everything which definitely excited part of my inner child (read all about it in my latest blog post!)

We also spent our first thanksgiving away from family in Edinburgh, and although I know we both were missing our families, we have a lot to be thankful for this year. I took the opportunity to spend the majority of the day cooking, and you can find all of the recipes that I made here!

Another highlight of our trips was visiting the underground vaults of Edinburgh. These historic spaces have a fascinating and eerie history — once used as pubs, workshops, and even living quarters as an illegal slum. After the tour, we wandered through the city and stumbled upon a lively street band featuring none other than Kris Kringle himself playing the bagpipes to celebrate St. Andrews day (Scotland’s National Day)! It was such a fun and quirky moment that captures the charm of Edinburgh.

While we enjoyed sightseeing, one of the best parts of our time in Edinburgh was having the space to relax and unwind after the whirlwind of traveling through Ireland. Our cozy little home gave us the time to do things we haven’t been able to do for a while like reading, working :/, and a few board games.

One of my favorite things that I got to do was use an Aga stove for the first time! I absolutely loved cooking on it, experimenting and having conversations next to it because it was the warmest place in the house.

None of this would be possible of course without Mr. Harley. I am so grateful that we got to stay in such a beautiful house in such a beautiful city and all because Harley needed a pet sitter!

xx abby