After a very late night at the cèilidh (and a very sweaty 3:00 AM walk home), I let myself sleep in a little this morning… or at least tried to (shoutout to the very passionate snorers in my 12-person dorm who gave it their all 😅).

Once I dragged myself out of bed, I headed over to Scran Bistro, a café my tour guide had recommended, and grabbed a cozy breakfast of eggs and a cappuccino (which, like all cappuccinos in Europe, looked like it belonged in a magazine). While I was there, the skies opened up and it started pouring, so I happily stayed a bit longer, sipping slowly and soaking in the rainy-day ambiance.

When the storm finally started to let up, I made my way to Holyrood Palace, the royal residence at the end of the Royal Mile. It’s still used by the British royal family when they visit Scotland, but today it was open to the public. I took my time wandering through the rooms with the audio guide, imagining what it would be like to casually live in a palace (spoiler: very fancy).

Next up, I popped into a little gift shop and found a cute painting of the Edinburgh Castle to add to my travel collection. Then I walked over to the National Galleries of Scotland, where I meandered through beautiful art exhibits filled with famous works by Monet, Degas, and more. It was pretty crowded, but I loved the energy of people quietly admiring the art all around me.

After the museum, I wandered down to a park at the base of the castle, and the view looking up at it was genuinely breathtaking. It felt like something straight out of a fantasy novel; ancient stone, towering above the green hills, with the moody sky in the background. Very storybook Scotland!

From there I stopped by the city church, which had open visiting hours in the afternoon. I stepped inside to rest my feet and take in the peacefulness and stunning architecture. Edinburgh really does blend beauty and history on every single corner.

I grabbed a quick dinner and then joined a hostel pub crawl (my final night in Edinburgh deserved a little send-off). I ended up meeting a sweet group of fellow solo travelers, some backpacking like me and others just on vacation (or "holiday," as I’m learning to say around here haha). We stuck together the whole night as we bounced between seven different pubs, and right around midnight, one of the girls in our group turned 29. We got the entire pub to sing happy birthday to her and it was such a sweet, spontaneous moment. Backpacker birthday magic!

Now I’m back at the hostel, reunited with my absolute favorite background music (that’s sarcasm for loud snoring lol), and getting ready for my last morning in Edinburgh tomorrow. I’ll be catching a bus to Glasgow, where I’ll be meeting up with my Katycat friend Conner and hopefully (finally) reuniting with my missing backpack. Please send all the good luggage energy my way!

Stay tuned… 👀