Edinburgh, Scotland

Moreso than any other city I’ve visited (and, admittedly, there’s a hell of a lot of cities in Europe I need to visit), Edinburgh felt like it wore its history out where everybody could see it. If I tuned out the honking of cars and the people snapping selfies on their iPads as I walked down the fabled Royal Mile, it wasn’t difficult for me to picture doing so in simpler, more savage times.

Whether it was snapping photos of the city’s gothic architecture, roaming its streets by night on an Edinburgh ghost tour, or simply taking dinner in one of the city’s pubs – I felt far removed from the technologically advanced, interconnected world that I had left behind in China.
It’s more than just the weighty feel of the city’s history that I found charming, though. From the quaint greenery of the suburbs to the built up tourist and shopping centre of the city, it all felt wonderfully relaxed at the green heart this ancient, fascinating city.
I sorely want to get back there to either celebrate Christmas at the Edinburgh Markets or spend a little of my summer indulging in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s madness. Stoke Travel have a particularly sweet Fringe Festival deal that I wouldn’t mind trying out.