Edinburgh. Oh, Edinburgh. The magical first city, the city that still feels like a dream.
Let me preface this post with a few important details. We caught a flight the day after our wedding, still floating somewhere between a hangover and newlywed bliss. It was a red-eye from Toronto to Edinburgh, and we decided to use the flight to sleep and to jump right into exploring the city as soon as we landed. We would only have 1 day in Edinburgh. The airport, like in many cities, is in a suburb and therefore we would have to master the art of driving on the opposite side of the road to get there, and then navigate a busy city filled with roundabouts and completely different left turns. We had it all planned out in our minds that we would drive to Glasgow that evening. Tiring, but manageable.
Of course, it was completely different than what we had imagined.
Want a more detailed itinerary? Check out my UK In 4 Days Itinerary to give you details of everywhere we went in Edinburgh!
Looking back on it, we learned four very important lessons that day that would set the tone for the rest of the trip, even if we sometimes lost sight of them.
Truthful Travel Lesson #1: 1 Day in Edinburgh
Unfortunate things WILL happen
After finally drifting off to sleep on the plane, I was awoken by the man sitting next to us. He apologetically handed me back my purse. I thought maybe I had dropped it, and it was not until I finally woke up out of my over-exhausted stupor that I realized my purse smelled strange. It registered very quickly that his daughter, who had been sick all flight, had puked on it. It took some serious scrubbing in the tiny airplane bathroom to get the smell out. After hauling all of our belongings and our sleep-deprived selves to an empty area on the plane, we tried to settle back in for the last few hours of the flight. Unfortunately that did not happen, and that was the end of sleep for me on that flight.
If you remember back to my introduction, sleep was crucial on this flight. I was already exhausted from everything involved in putting together and attending my own wedding. No one is to blame, but it was an unfortunate thing to happen. I realized then that sometimes unfortunate things just happen, completely out of your control. So you roll with it.

Sctt Monument
Truthful Travel Lesson #2
Think things through
We landed, got breakfast, and spent all of the aforementioned time absolutely in awe at people speaking in their Scottish accents. Next up was the rental car area. I do not believe we thought any of this through. In Britain they drive on the opposite side of the road, but had either of us read up on that or thought about what that meant for us? Not at all! We were offered an upgrade from a basic to a more luxurious car, and because I was exhausted and enamoured with the salesman’s Scottish accent, I pestered Adrian, trying to convince him that we needed the upgrade, until he finally gave in.
Driving into the city was probably one of the scariest things we did that trip. My upgrade came in handy because it was a completely brand new car, and had motion sensors and a wonderfully loud beep to tell us when we were veering out of the lane. Because of that whole experience, I made sure we knew the risks and facts concerning all future decisions.

Greyfriars Bobby Statue
Read the story behind the famous dog here

We didn’t get a chance to go in, but the pub has great reviews!
Truthful Travel Lesson #3
Get some sleep!
The rest of the day went by in an exhausting flash. The sun (which is super rare in that part of the globe), the crowds, the excitement, and the fatigue all came together to fuel a magnificent moment. On our tour bus back to the main station I was barely keeping my eyes open. I do not think I have ever had the feeling that if I did not sleep I would die. Literally die. My brain and organs and everything vital felt like it was going to shut down. I convinced Adrian I needed to be out of the sun and trekked up to the very front of the tour bus. There I proceeded to shamelessly sleep right in front of the live tour guide as he gave his tour. Sorry, tour guide.
It seems as if Adrian was not immune to the exhaustion either. He tapped out in the middle of the our drive to Glasgow. We pulled into a random gas station parking lot and slept in broad daylight for a few hours, while I’m sure all sorts of truckers wondered what the heck was going on. It was a glorious mess.
It seems obvious that one should sleep before doing as much as we did in that day. I know it does. We know that now. It does not mean we recognized it at the time, or applied it to the rest of the trip.

Adrian trying his first Tunnock tea cake!

Bagpiper outside of Edinburgh Castle, playing Scotland The Brave
Truthful Travel Lesson #4: 1 Day in Edinburgh
Find the beauty in it all
Despite all the mishaps mentioned above, it was a beautiful day. My family is from Scotland, and my childhood stories of Greyfriars Bobby and Rabbie Burns came alive. I teared up as we entered the city. And again while watching a bagpiper play the quintessential bagpiper song “Scotland The Brave”. I got to witness someone else (Adrian) trying a tea cake for the first time (if you don’t know what that is you need to Google it and then find one to try), and I got to laugh at stores with punny names like “Thistle Do Nicely.”
In pictures our day looks beautiful, and it really was. Beautiful, but like everything else in life, filled with bumps along the way, mistakes and hilarious moments. Beautiful, truthful travel.

Inside Edinburgh Castle grounds
Until next time,
Samantha,
A Truthful Traveler
Edinburgh is such a beautiful place! Driving in a new place seems a bit scary to me, but you must always stay careful! I am sure you had a great time there <3 Lovely pictures!
It really is a beautiful place, and we did not have as much time to explore as I wish we would have! After awhile you get used to the driving! Thanks so much for reading!
My dream is to travel through Europe. I cannot wait to get there! Will be following along your journeys for tips!
Sierra | http://www.eclectickurves.com
That’s a pretty great dream! You can check out my other posts from my home page: I covered all the way from the UK to Italy!
Ugh, I’m so sorry about what happened to your purse! That dad should have cleaned it off himself instead of waking you up to deal with it. That’s just poor traveling with kids etiquette. Anyway, looks like you managed to salvage the day and enjoy your time there. We were in Edinburgh a couple years ago and saw that very same bagpiper!
I never thought of that until now- he definitely should have offered to clean it up! I think he attempted but his child was very sick, so I felt really bad. Funny thing- when I posted that image to Pinterest another pin with him in it came up- I guess he is the resident piper!
We moved to Edinburgh from Chicago last year because we loved the city so much. I’m so glad you were able to run with your setbacks and still enjoy the city. It really is a special place!
That’s an amazing move! You have definitely seen way more of it than I have then!
Wow! I suppose that when a little girl vomits in your purse, the trip can only go up from there. I’m glad you didn’t let it get you down but rather enjoyed yourself. Thanks for sharing!
It definitely gave us that mentality! Thanks for reading!
That top picture, with the castle on the hill, reminds me of Hogwarts. What gorgeous shots you got!
Thanks so much! Honestly the entire city reminded me a bit of Hogwarts, it is so different than American cities! So much charm!!!
I can’t wait for more! What an incredible first day!!!
My other posts are up! This was actually my first post, but I updated it recently! We had an adventure filled honeymoon!!!
I am so jealous that you went to Scotland. Scotland is on my wish list of places that I want to go to.
It was on mine since I was small because of my family heritage. It was pretty surreal to be there!
Oh a puke-smelling purse is not an ideal way to kick off your honeymoon! I remember being so exhausted after our wedding and thankful we had a couple of days to recover before our trip!
Luckily I was still riding my wedding high and it did not bother me as much as it would have! Yeah, we really should have thought more about leaving the day after our wedding!!!
This was such a great post. Edinburgh is the top of my bucket list travels and I am always trying to convince my husband it should be at the top of his too! It looks amazing and Im glad that everything worked out for you guys despite all the bumps in the road. fyi i would never be able to drive on the opposite side, I would definitely crash!
Thanks so much! It was definitely an adventure learning to drive on the opposite side, but really helped us when we visited Australia and New Zealand earlier this year as we were now pros!!!
Sounds like quite an adventure for just your first day! The pics are awesome!
It was! It was crazy and passed by in a blur but I really would not change much about it, apart from the puke on the bag which really was not delightful. Thanks so much!
Looks a fun place to visit! I can’t imagine driving in a new place/country.. I probably will feel scared as well!!
It was an awesome place to visit. I was not even the driver and I was terrified, it is such a weird feeling!
Glad you enjoyed the UK and actually got some sunshine!
YES! The sunshine was such a treat, when we were there Edinburgh was having a “heat wave” which was basically normal weather for us here in Seattle. But it was beautiful to see the city in the sun!
Loved it! ?? can’t wait to hear more ???
Amazing job! So proud of you travelbug and I can’t wait to be featured on a blog post one day cause you know our adventures are the best
I love you!! Thanks for the support, let’s plan a trip in February for some truthful travel!!