The Edinburgh Fringe Festival stands as the world’s largest performing arts festival, lasting 25 days and showcasing over 51,446 performances.

The festival features a wide range of performances, including theater, comedy, dance, circus, cabaret, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions, and events, catering to both big names and emerging artists.

W. Armstrong & Son was one of my favorite thrift stores. The clothing was sorted by each decade. Elaine’s Vintage Clothing was another favorite. Elaine knew everything about each piece of clothing inside her little store. She would give me a back story for every piece that I had an interest in.

The city is stacked with pubs for day and night drinking. Rose Street and Grassmarket were our favorite streets to pub hop. Three Sisters and The Pear Tree are great indoor/outdoor venues with live music. Also, great spots to watch sporting events. Dirty Dicks was our favorite pub on Rose Street. It’s a very chill atmosphere. If you’re looking for some luscious evening cocktails, go to the Spence at Gleneagles Townhouse. If you’re looking for an adult playground, Ballie Ballerson has balls galore, a giant slide, karaoke and cocktails! The Arcade Bar was right across from our hotel. After work, Collins and I would spend our evenings playing Mario Kart, Guitar Hero, or Dance Dance Revolution. Elios was our go-to bar. It always had a lively crowd and awesome live music. I love a good Latino bar, so we would end our nights dancing at El Barrio Latino.

We went to Marks and Spencer to pack a picnic and set-up on Grannies Green Steps. We had a lovely view of Grassmarket, with background music from Edinburgh Castle behind us.

I hiked Arthur’s Seat multiple times. The views of the city are breathtaking.

Dean Village is a beautiful oasis along the Water of Leith, which is a short five-minute walk from Princes Street. From Dean Village, we made our way to Stockbridge. This posh village is filled with quaint cafés, delis, thrift stores, and many gastropubs. The weekly Stockbridge market opens at 10 a.m. on Sundays, offering local food, art, crafts, fresh bread, meat, cheese, fruit, etc. Make sure to visit Circus Lane for a quiet walk and some lovely photographs. We ate the best brunch at The Pantry, which was located around the corner from Circus Lane. After brunch, make sure to visit the Royal Botanic Garden. This is home to one of the largest and richest plant collections on Earth. Plus, it’s free!

I met Nicole through work. I extended once the program was over, and she was kind enough to let me stay in her home. She made my experience in Scotland 10x better. Nicole, if you’re reading this, I love and miss you!!

Restaurants:

• The Orchard Bar & Restaurant
• The Pantry
• The Bailie Bar
• PULSE PlantBased HomeCooking
• Noto
• The Scran and Scallie
• Six by Nico
• Browns Edinburgh
• The Edinburgh Larder
• Cafe Gallo
• The Palmerston
• Medo Cafe
• Locanda de Gusti
• First Coast Restaurant
• LeftField
• Hendersons
• Mitsos – Serial Griller
• CATA
• The Cider House

Pubs/Bars:

• Elios (my favorite)
• Kitty O’Shea’s
• El Barrio Latino
• Boteco Do Brasil
• Bennets Bar
• Hey Palu
• Never Really Here (speakeasy)
• 4042 / Late Night Liquor
• The Raging Bull
• The Hanging Bat
• The Kenilworth
• Kay’s Bar
• Dirty Dicks
• Three Sisters
• The Cocktail Geeks
• 32 Below
• O’Connor’s
• Club Tropicana

Cafes:

• The Cobbled Roastery
• Books n Cup Cafe (my favorite)
• SEVEN Neighborhood Cafe
• La Viola Cafe & Bistro
• The Source Coffee Roasters
• The Pavilion Cafe
• Fortitude Coffee
• The Pastry Selection
• Artisan Roast Stockbridge
• Sip & Bark