A weekend trip to the Majestic Edinburgh

The Holiday Inn Edinburgh – North hotel is located slightly up on a slope. The receptionist is very friendly and when she tells me that my room is on the 5th floor, I am quite disappointed because I will probably get a view of another block. Happily, I discover I was wrong about this.

Although my room is on the 5th floor, I have a picturesque view of the Edinburgh City. I can also set eyes on the sea from my room. I got unit #520, which is a non-smoking room. It is close to the lift and it has 2 single-sized beds with a full bathroom. It has more than 5 channels and Cartoon Network. You can pay about £2.79 if you wish to play the Playstation as the controller is provided, or you can watch a movie.

Also, the hotel is located close to the Esso petrol kiosk so you can buy any snacks from there. There is a bus stop right at the main road; therefore, even if you do not drive, you can easily take bus #41 to go to the Edinburgh High Street. It costs 85pence for a single trip or you can purchase a day ticket that costs £2 for an unlimited ride, daily.

Logon to http://www.edinburgh-north.holiday-inn.com/ for more details.

There’s a saying that goes "If you haven’t been to Edinburgh Castle, you have never been to Edinburgh". That is absolutely true. A visit to the Edinburgh Castle is a must once you reach Edinburgh, as that’s the major attraction.

There are various ways to go to the castle. You can either walk there direct or board any of the "Edinburgh Tours" buses. I purchased the Mac Tours pass for only £8.50. It is valid for 24 hours from the date of purchase. With that pass, I could hop on the bus anytime and visit other attractions. I was also entitled to a 10% discount on the entrance to the Edinburgh Castle, 10% off on any of the Hard Rock Café merchandise and lots more.

The tour starts at Waverly Bridge and it takes about 10 minutes to reach the castle. There’s a tour guide on board who will brief visitors on various historical buildings and monuments along the way. I alighted at the third stop and headed to the entrance of the castle. The queue is quite long and it takes about 5 to 10 minutes to reach the ticket booth. The entrance fee to the Edinburgh Castle is £9.50 but with my Mac Tours pass, I paid less than that. Before I entered the castle, there was a guy dressed up like Mel Gibson in Braveheart, and tourists took pictures with him. I managed to take a picture with him too. Then, my journey begins…

Once I enter the castle, I feel like I am in the medieval times. I feel like the queen of the castle. The city of Edinburgh is in my hand because I can see the whole city. I always thought that all castles are the same. They are huge and old but Edinburgh castle is simply beyond words. The castle is stupendous. It may take one a whole day to cover each and every room and read every bit of the history behind this massive castle. The interesting part is, Mary, the Queen of Scot, was crowned here when she was only six months old. That is shockingly amazing.

My favourite room is The Crown Room where the Royal crown and jewellery were displayed. I love the Ruby Ring. I bet it looks nice on me. Just kidding! There are lots of other rooms such as the Prisoner of War and the Military Prison.

After touring the magnificent castle, I thought of dressing up in Scottish costumes and having my photo taken, but it was fully booked. Well, I still had fun. Anyway I managed to take lots of photos in the castle so that was ok. As I need to visit other attractions, I have to say goodbye to Edinburgh castle. I managed to take one last photo at the entrance of the castle and then leave feeling pleased, contented, and delighted.

First things first, the admission is free so there’s no excuse for not visiting this place. The Museum of Scotland is quite huge. It has 3 levels but due to time constraints, I only managed to cover the 1st floor. Not that bad actually. The exhibitions are about different types of animals like the local wildlife, endangered species and animals that are already extinct. The statues that were displayed are life-size animals so it’s totally awesome. I tried to take a picture with the giraffe but I had an interesting choice: either the giraffe will appear headless in the photo or I’m not in it. I discovered that there are about 5 types of bear and the grizzly bear. I feel like touching a bear's soft fur to cuddle it. I might have second thoughts if it was real though! The dolphins’ statues are the cutest. The museum has a picture of the sea on cardboard as the background and the dolphins are realistically jumping out of the sea to your direction. It feels like being in a still zoo.

Apart from the animal exhibits, the museum also has a showcase on contemporary furnishing and stylistic items to decorate your home. My personal favourite is the hanging CD rack. Imagine putting a cloth on a hook but this hook is a CD! It is really cool.