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We went to Edinburgh City when we went to Scotland in 2008 for a golf vacation.

It was just before 4:00 p.m. when we arrived in Edinburgh coming from Toddington in England via Penrith and Carlisle, then via A7 Scottish Borders Historic Tourist Route. It was a little bit dark because of rain but after a few minutes the sun was shining again.

We did not reserve for any hotel accommodation, so we went straight to the city, and looked for the tourist information center. The Edinburgh Tourist Information Centre was right in the middle of the city.

The person at the counter was very accommodating. We knew that the rates of the hotels in the city were expensive aside from having very limited parking spaces, so we told him that we were just looking for a guest house with parking space for one night only because we were going to St. Andrews the next day.

But seeing how nice Edinburgh City was, we opted to stay in Edinburgh for two nights. He found us a guest house and even called up the lady just to make sure of our booking. He told the lady that we will be on our way there.

Then we saw the person’s name tag. His name was Scott. We even joked if the Scott monument was named after him. Then we asked him again about golf in Scotland, if there was a new “Golf in Scotland” magazine where “Visit Scotland” was a sponsor.

We told him that we visited their “Visit Scotland” booth when we were in Ireland in 2007 during the Smurfit Golf Tournament at the K Club. People were also very accommodating that we considered going to Scotland the next year. He then gave us more information about golf.

Afterwards, we left and went straight to the guest house which was also in the city but about 5 minutes drive from the city proper.

We just checked in at the Lauderville Guest House, unloaded our suitcases, then left, and went back to Edinburgh city proper. We did not bring the car as there was a bus stop about 100 meters away from the guest house.

We roamed a little bit around Edinburgh City. Edinburgh has the so-called Old Town and the New Town. The other parts were the North East, North West, South, South West and West.

We walked along the Princes Street, the street which was dividing the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town in Edinburgh City.

After roaming around, we went for dinner at Wildfire restaurant Scottish Steak and Seafood Bistro along Rose Street at the New Town.

It was already almost 11:00 p.m. when we finished our dinner. We went back to the guest house as we did not want to miss the last trip of the bus. The bus was really passing along the street where the guest house that we were staying was located.

The next day, we got up early, had our breakfast, and went to Prestonpans near the town of Musselburgh in the East Lothian. We played golf at the Royal Musselburgh Golf Club. That was our first 18 holes in Scotland.

After playing golf, we again went to Edinburgh City. We roamed around the medieval Old Town especially on the High Street at the Royal Mile. We went for dinner at The Wee Windaes Scottish Restaurant along High Street on the Royal Mile.

The Royal Mile was a stretch of four streets, Castle Hill, Lawnmarket, High Street and Canongate linking the Edinburgh Castle to the The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence in Scotland of Her Majesty the Queen.

The medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town of Edinburgh combined with its modern architecture is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There were lots of places to see in Edinburgh City but since we only stayed there for two nights, it was not enough to visit all the other historic houses, buildings, places, castles, palaces, churches, museums, galleries, its modern architecture and its natural attractions.

If you plan to go to Edinburgh, I really suggest that you stay longer than we did. Forget about shopping first as it will just distract you. Explore the Royal Mile but be prepared for a long walk as there are too many things to do and see on that street.

Well, that is all about Edinburgh. I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour with us. Join us next time in St. Andrews in the Kingdom of Fife!

Visit Visit Scotland for more information