I do believe Edinburgh is my new favorite city--I spent 5 days there solo, 9/15 - 9/19, and took the LNER train to London on 9/20. I went there on a very long day trip from London 12 years ago (first trip abroad, what did I know?!), never stopped thinking about a return trip...now, of course, I want to go back to Scotland and see much more.
I flew United from SFO and connected with a 3 hr layover in Dulles, which actually worked very well for me--nice airport, and breaking up the trip at the halfway mark allowed me to arrive at 10:30 am feeling slightly less bedraggled than usual. I took the Airlink 100 bus to St Andrews Sq and then a 15 minute walk to the Parliament House Hotel on Calton Hill, just off Waterloo Place, and 10 minutes to Waverley--an excellent location for walking everywhere. It was only 12:30 so my room wasn't ready, so I freshened up, got out my hooded rain jacket and headed out with my map to explore. First stop was Dovecot Studios on Infirmary St just off South Bridge, the road that led me to the Royal Mile as well. I loved seeing the tapestry viewing area and bought a ticket for the special Scottish Women Artists exhibit, then lunch before walking down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace where I spent a couple of hours touring the palace--really enjoyed that, especially the Mary, Queen of Scots chambers. By then it was around 4 and started to feel like it was time to be in my room, so walked back up Calton Road, stopping to climb the stairs into the cemetery and explore that.
My room was a good size & nicely appointed and it looked onto Calton Hill towards Waterloo. Aside from the fire alarm going off that night at 11 pm, then a few more times just when I had settled down again, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there--lovely helpful staff, nice common areas, very clean and quiet.
Saturday I had made a reservation for lunch at Howies, just around the corner on Waterloo Place. Highly recommend this place, I ate there twice and everything was excellent--reservations required. Lunch started with smoked salmon appetizer and then a lamb mince shepherd's pie. Then to the National Portrait Gallery where I was in awe of the entry hall and found a few favorites in the gallery. After that I spent the afternoon exploring the Royal Mile from one end to the other--I had toured Edinburgh Castle on my previous trip so did not feel the need to do more than photograph it this time. Stopped in Blackwell's on South Bridge for a couple of books--nice focus on Scottish authors. Ended up wanting a light dinner so had that at the Edinburgh Cafe.
Sunday I took the tram out to Ocean Terminal to tour the Royal Yacht Britannia--huge fan of Queen Elizabeth so this was a must-do and there was so much to see. I had a fancy tea for lunch in the tea room--sparkling wine, pot of tea, cake & sandwich with salad of your choice--around $40 US but I felt it was worth it. The tram stop was across from an upscale mall so I decided to shop a bit--my new favorite store is John Lewis, found a few sweaters, then realized the mall's other end was right near the hotel--it was raining so I was glad of a quick walk home.
Monday I did a Rabbie's tour of the West Highlands, Lochs & Castles--great guide, very funny and knowledgeable. Surprise, it was raining again, but our stop at Luss on Loch Lomond was dry--what a gorgeous little town, I could certainly live there! Next stop was Inverary, lots of time to tour the castle, have lunch & walk down to the village. Loved seeing the landscape, definitely an area I'd return to. Last stop was Doune Castle which we toured--I didn't start watching Outlander until just recently, nice to see the castle in person.