Pack Your Bags: Edinburgh (Family Style)


My parents came to visit
and we decided to take them to see
a few places that they have never seen.

Ok, well one place really: Scotland,
with a lot of little stops along the way.

The first stop was Edinburgh for two nights
until Tyler could wrap up work and join us.

While I typically run around the town
with college students
or with our awesomely low-budget.

But this time around,
oh friends,
I came with mama & papa.


I may or may not have persuaded them into the ways of Barbour upon arrival in the rain.

And traveling with mama & papa
can always make things a bit more fun.

We had such a good time.

We saw all the sites
like the Edinburgh Castle 
and the Queen's Edinburgh palace, Holyrood...





we ate tons of food
at cozy places like Under The Stairs
and lunch at the famous Elephant House,



ok, actually haven't eaten one yet... but will work up the nerve to soon.

& we slept like kings
while staying at The Balmoral.




Enormous rooms, cozy robes & REN bath products. Oh, yes.

Fun fact: JK Rowling finished Book 7 of HP in a suite at the Balmoral
as a way to enjoy her success as an author.
From her starting point over a single cup of coffee at The Elephant House
to a suite at Edinburgh's grandest hotel-
I like her style!

So do I recommend the splurge for a stay at The Balmoral?
If you can swing it, of course!

Or if you want to go for something more modern,
the Hotel Missoni draws me in big time!


Edinburgh + Missoni = Awesome doormen in kilts.

Though if you can't swing it,
which is the camp I most often fall into,
I also highly recommend an apartment through Advocate Apartments
either will give you great rooms at a great price in fantastic locations.

More soon as our journey continues...
the next stop is one of my favorites: St. Andrews!





*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy via my instagram. Username: aspiringkennedy

28 comments:

  1. Looks like a blast! I wish I could've made it up to Scotland while living in the UK. Love the kilts, the Barbours and, of course, the big white robes!

    xoxo

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  2. This is my husband's dream trip. I'm tucking all of these tips in my "surprise hubby with a trip" file!

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  3. Traveling with the parents is the best! We stayed with Luke's parents in Chicago & got hooked up with much nicer hotels than Luke & I would usually stay at :)

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  4. Thanks for all of the Edinburgh tips! My boyfriend grew up in England and has never been to Scotland so I am dragging him there soon!

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  5. Under The Stairs is SO GOOD! I hope you got the carrot cake, it is made by a little old lady and may or may not be the reason I booked a trip back to my favorite city for this October.

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  6. Oh, Elephant House is my favorite! When I was in Edinburgh it was BUCKETING down rain so my friend and I tucked ourselves into a table near the window one night, stared out into the twinkling lights of the city and wrote in our journals for pages and pages and pages over hot cups of coffee and baked treats. It was heavenly!

    This is destroying me - I need to go back immediately if not sooner. I may burst.

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  7. Love the bedding in that hotel. Retro, velvet...yet beautiful!

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  8. YOU STAYED IN THE BALMORAL?!!! WHAT?!!! Oh goodness, I just peed my pants for you (in case you didn't already).
    Ps... do you like how I commented on every single one of your Edinburgh instagram photos? Hehe. I'm a stalker.

    See, I need you to be my tour guide. I had no clue what to do in Edinburgh, so I just went willy nilly. I had no clue half those places existed!

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  9. I went to Edinburgh years ago as I was still in Junior High (years, YEARS ago!!! :-) -- Now that I know JK Rowling wrote the last HP book at the Balmoral, I guess I will have to return and spend a night if I can. Looks like you had a lovely time with your parents. Congrats on their choice of Barbour jackets. I might have to look into these for Christmas -- how perfect for the ghastly Seattle late fall/winter/early spring/late spring weather :-0 Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)

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  10. The perks of being with your parents! And a Missoni kilt may be the best thing I've seen all week. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip!

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  11. My husband went to St. Andrews and I miss visiting so much. I hope you have a wonderful time in that gorgeous city. I had the best french martini of my life at Ma Bells right near the Old Course.

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  12. I don't think there is anything better than traveling with mom and dad, so fun!

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  13. I am looking forward to traveling one day with my sons and future families!
    I feel funny saying wives and they need to have girlfriends first.
    Gorgeous images. Your parents look wonderful. Great role models.
    pve

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. sorry for deleting i just read what i wrote and it didn't make sense at all and neither did my clarification--i really need to learn to proof read and slow down when i type.

      when i was in edinburgh i never visited under the sairs or the elephant tea room, so i will have to make sure i pop in next time i am there.

      and thanks for the links for the apartments. my sister-in-law lives in edinburgh but we can't stay with her, so i wondered where we could stay when the baby arrives and these seem the perfect answer.

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  15. Man, I'm so jealous of your adventures! Edinburgh looks beautiful. I'm sure you loved traveling with your parents too!

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  16. Did you see Nessie? I was just reading the book "Katie in Scotland" to my daughter last night. AWESOME children's book and it mentions some of those things you listed above...ok, not the posh hotel, but the other things ;)
    Beautiful pics!

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  17. your parents could be the cutest, ever. what a fantastic few days! super jealous of their {and your!} Barbour. I need to bite the bullet and buy one! such a good post, pretty lady. happy friday! xoxo {av}

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  18. soo smancy! and your parents are so cute! looks like a great trip! xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams

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  19. Yay for Edinburgh and double yay for St Andrews!

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  20. I stayed at the balmoral on two new year Eve's a simply stunning hotel

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  21. Your parents are adorable. And hello very handsome kilted doorman! ;)

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  22. traveling with parents is the best! looks like you had a great time!

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  23. I've just moved from St.Andrews to the USA, so this post breaks my heart a little. Even the rain.

    Btw you only need a bite of a deep-fried Mars Bar in one lifetime. Delicious, but so wrong.

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  24. Ah this is so cute! I'd love to live somewhere different I could show my parents, but I've always lived around my home town or London - which they already know. I've been thinking about going to Scotland for a while now and I've been looking at serviced apartments in Edinburgh Old Town because I love the historical appeal of the place. Then I came across your blog and now I have some cool places to visit. Your parents even make the rain look good! You should become a tour guide on the back of this :D

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