Two nights in Edinburgh.

When it comes to spare time, there's nothing I love more than seeing the great outdoors, exploring new locations and sampling what's on offer in terms of local cuisine, bars and shops.

Matt and myself recently headed up to Edinburgh to spend a couple of days doing just that. It was Matt's first visit, so the pressure was on to make sure he loved the city as much as I do. Sitenote: kidding,  I'm pretty confident that it is impossible to dislike the place.

After a smooth two-hour train journey, we arrived in Edinburgh and were welcoming with glorious sunshine. We had a little time before we could check in to our Airbnb, so we hunted down a cafe to grab a quick drink. Edinburgh Press Club was just the trick. Situated on Cockburn Street, the cafe (and bar come the eve) is in a prime location and serves incredible homemade grub. We weren't too hungry and this point, however a further visit naturally had to take place, so keep on scrollin' for some serious food porn.

As mentioned, we opted to go down the Airbnb route. Neither of us had done so before, so setting up a profile took a little bit of time, however I will definitely be using the site again. It's incredible how much choice you are given, and some of the places on offer are just ah-mazing. After narrowing down to suit our needs for our short break (we wanted something local, quirky and fairly reasonable - we knew we'd be spending a small amount of time there), we found VieAmhor. Described as a 5* space, it was just off the Royal Mile and sat at the foot of the castle. Perfect for those who are wanting to be right in the centre. The apartment was very homely and clean, and the owners, Amanda and Anna were extremely friendly and happy to accommodate when it came to any needs we had. We were even able to check in two hours early which made exploring a whole lot easier!

If you want to have a nosy at what the place looked like (we somehow managed to get a distinct lack of photos in the apartment *blogging fail*) check out the listing, here.

After dropping off our bags, we then headed out to enjoy the heat. Of course we had to have a wee stroll up to the castle to enjoy the views...

Being massive BrewDog fans (the Newcastle bar is one of our all-time favourites) we had to go and check out Edinburgh's. Unsurprisingly, it was equally as chilled. It's worth noting that BD also seem to have a knack for hiring the nicest staff. A big thumbs up from me.

We'd had a craving for a burrito for a while by this point (a regular occurrence in our relationship), and had spotted a nice looking independent restaurant when leaving the Press Club. Viva Mexico is, again, on Cockburn Street, and serves a wide range of authentic Mexican food. We pretty much demolished the lot in 15 minutes, so I'd highly recommend a visit if you're in Edinburgh and looking to spice up your life, as The Spice Girls would say.

After a good old snooze, we woke the next day at ventured back out, this time, to the main shopping destination in the capital, Princess Street. Matt had been itching for a new iPhone for quite some time, so after a visit to the Apple store, he emerged with a new snazzy piece of tech. And what better way to celebrate this than with a Starbucks in the park, right? 

Fast forward a few hours and we found ourselves back in the Edinburgh Press Club. Call us predictable, but we were seriously eager to sample their food. 

I'm a serious sucker for anything avocado, so the below seemed like an obvious choice for moi...

I wish we'd tracked our step-count, as I dare say we locked up a fair few over the three days.

A few hours of shopping later, we were feelin' hungry, again. This time, pizza was calling our name, so back to BrewDog we went.

Sadly we missed out on taking any shots of the pizza as frankly, we were too busy stuffing our faces. Strike two? However, it was top notch and puts Dominoes to shame. BrewDog only offer pizza in terms of food, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as boy do they do them well.

Upon recommendation from one of our pals, we then decided to go for a little tipple at The Devil's Advocate. If you picture a bar with historic, quirky Harry Potter vibes, this would be it. We genuinely could've sat there for hours. I'd never been in a bar quite like it.

The next (and final) day, sob, we decided to hit up the Royal Botanic Gardens. Of course we needed something to prep us for the day ahead, so we tried out Burr & Co on George Street. It was another scorching day, so we sat by the window to watch the world go by. 

After this, we hopped on the bus to the gardens. In hindsight, we could have probably walked in, but as we were pushed for time we felt the bus would be a better option.

The sun was shining and the temperate was mid-twenties, making it the perfect day to go and take some photos. 

Essentially, it's up there as one of the prettiest places you could visit within a city. So, for that reason, I think I'll let the pictures do the talkin'...

Have you ever visited Edinburgh? I'd love to know any recommendations you have for our next visit!

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