Thanks for the tips! I have a work conference next year in Glasgow and I planned on returning to Edinburgh because this place is truly magical! You are so lucky to live here. But I will definitely try your tap water recommendations, because if it is better than bottled water?! Thats a little dream. Lol Also I definitely want to go to more local bookshops. I was only there for a couple of days so I hit big chain stores. Waterstones and blackwells but next time, I definitely want to go to more local shops. So if you have any in particular I will totally check them out when I am back! ❤️

@@TaylorsJourney water in all of Scotland is good, so you can try it everywhere. In Edinburgh I recommend the books shops: Golden Hare, Lighthouse Books, Toppings, Portobello Book Shop. I'd add Blackwells to that but you've been there already. I like the waterstones on princes street too, great views of the castle and a fun kids section. You could also visit the national library and central library, they have book exhibitions as well as being regular libraries

@@russjoneswrites Thank you so much for the recommendations! I went to Waterstones and loved it, it will be on my vlog next week, so I am glad you recommended this. I definitely will try to visit the additional bookstores you mentioned on my next visit. Also the library sounds like such a vibe. I most likely will be working when I am there, so I will make it an aim to work there one day while I am visiting. Thank you for recommending to me these gems. Especially the library. I always forget to visit libraries, which is so wild. Libraries are were I spent most of my childhood and where I hold some of my fondest memories. I can't wait to tell you how much I enjoyed these spots and most importantly the water on my next visit.

@@TaylorsJourney have a great time! there's so much booky / literary stuff going on in Edinburgh, you could go to a book launch or reading every night I think. I am a writer so it's a great place to live for me

I am so sad I didn't know this! I would have tried it when I was there, because the bottled water is so yummy! I will be back in December and I cannot wait to see for myself because if the tap is better than the bottled, I might have found my forever home. 🥰

Literally, thank you! I always take a lot of time selecting my music. It makes my heart so full to you hear you enjoyed the pieces I selected. I try to stick to piano pieces, which I feel can be a little tricky, at times, but I feel Edinburgh just fits the sound perfectly. It is truly a magical city and tried my best to find music that reflected that. 💕

Happy Retirement!!! I hope you have the best time and you picked a beautiful place to celebrate. Especially if the European Football Tournament is still happening the day you attend. I am sure you will have a lovely time. I truly enjoyed my time and I am literalllyyyy counting down the days until my return in December!

@@TaylorsJourney yep todays the day. Thanks Taylor.

You are so lucky. Your city is a total dream. I would love to live there full-time! I am in the middle of editing my final video from this trip right now and I am like oh my gosh. This is such a beautiful city you get to call home!

Was it not the most beautiful time! I am planning to go back in the summer, and get a full rich experience. The days are longer there than in the states so I am excited to do more outdoor activities. I had a wonderful time and I am so glad you did too!

@@TaylorsJourneyAt the height of summer, it doesn’t get properly dark until about 10/11pm in Edinburgh. However, even though it’s summer, good weather is never guaranteed, alas. 👍

@@titteryenot4524 Honestly though I am fully accepting of the rain, if it does occur. The UK is known for rainy days so I feel it is not fair to fault the weather for being different than what I am used too. I love to read, like love to read, I am currently in NYC now (my home base is Atlanta, GA, USA) and even on vacation I have read every day while being here, so I am a little biased. lol Rainy weather is perfect for me. I can take time out to read and not feel guilty so rain or shine, I promise I will have a beautiful time. Also, the it helps that even with rain the city is still busy and bustling so if I wanted to get out, multiple people do not allow the weather to impact their daily routine.

@@TaylorsJourney Good points, well made. I’m actually aware of people who come to Scotland precisely to escape the intense heat in their home countries. For example, I know a few Spanish folk who come for a summer holiday as they find it difficult to sleep at night back home in Spain. I suppose it’s what you’re used to. I was born and bred in a cool, rainy climate and to have that 24/7/365 (more or less - a ‘hot day’ in Edinburgh is about 21°C; a _really_ hot day is 25°C 👈 very rare!) can get quite depressing so it’s nice to spend _my_ summers somewhere like Spain or Italy or Southern France, where you’re more or less guaranteed sun and 30°C for 3 solid summer months. Anyway, happy travelling and happy reading! 👍

Thank you for this tip! I will definitely be back. I will be there at the latest this time next year for work. I will start the trip in Glasgow but will probably plan to stay an extra week/ Week and a half to explore other parts of Scotland and spend more time in Edinburgh. So I am super looking for to this trip, now that I have sooo much feedback and new places to explore. Thank for you tip regarding Linlithgow! And the for providing the history about Mary Queen of Scots. I am obsessed with bookstores, if you could provide the name for me. I will definitely try to work it in my travel plan especially with it only being 30 min train ride from Edinburgh. In regards to the other places to mentioned: Stirling and Lochs & Glens of the Trossachs; how far are they in relation to Edinburgh. I truly want to maximize my trip the next time I come and to see as much as a physically can. If I can also work them in, I would love to visit these places as well.

@@TaylorsJourney The Bookshop in Linlithgow is Far From The Madding Crowd. Linlithgow is on the main line between Glasgow and Edinburgh so an easy fit. There are a bunch of tour companies offering day trips out to the Trossachs, I don't know enough to recommend one but there are some leaving both Glasgow and Edinburgh to include Stirling Castle, the Trossachs & Loch Lomond. I will recommend going on one that goes via Dukes Pass to Aberfoyle because that road is nuts, I used to go down it on my motorbike - twisty! Not a huge fan of the Outlander tours but a visit to Culross is well worth it on it's own. If you fancy a coastal day out you can get a bus from Edinburgh up to Anstruther a beautiful harbour town with the best fish and chips. It takes about 2 1/2 hours or you can book a day tour for about £99 that goes all the way up to St Andrews, check Visit Scotland for that one.

@@alisonrodger3360 I do not know how I missed this comment! But thank you for providing the transportation recommendations in addition to the locations! Like you have made my travel planning so much easier. I have had some time to plan in the meantime and it looks like I will be back for short trip in December, where I can do two days in Scotland and two days in London. I know it will be much colder and most things during this time will be Christmas themed. I am definitely planning to stay in Edinburgh while I am in Scotland because I am obsessed. My longer trip where I will spend roughly 8-10 days in Scotland will be next June. This trip, I will for sure be starting in Glasgow and it will be warmer so I can enjoy the costal areas more. So I know this is a lot of information, but I do hope I can find fun things to do in Edinburgh during the christmas season!

Your comment completely warmed my soul! Thank you! I truly tried my best to pronounce the name of your city properly. So thank you for this. I am grinning ear to ear typing my response to your comment.

@@TaylorsJourney👍😉

It was such a culture shock! But in the best way! I was like OMGosh this is so beautiful! My country is so new we hardly have anything similar to this. We have some landmarks, neighborhoods, and monuments but for the most part its up north on the east coast. I live in Atlanta and my city burned down so we lost most of our historical buildings.

It depends where you go. They tend to know more about London and the surrounding areas and then get more of a culture shock if they go north. I enjoyed taking some American friends to north Wales to the Llyn peninsular once. The first supermarket we stopped in most people were speaking Welsh. That was quite a culture shock for them.

@@barrysteven5964 I would love to go to Wales, it is on my bucket list! I am so grateful for the tip of Welsh. lol Forgive me for not knowing that English isn't the only tongue that is spoken in this country. lol I 100% would have had a culture shock if I went and heard a different language, so I very much appreciate the heads up! Is it still easy to get around being an english only speaker or did you feel like you need Welsh to move about as a solo traveler?

Omgosh yay! I am so happy for you and so jealous you live so close! Idk how familiar you are with the city but if you are looking for new interesting things to do comb through the comments on my video before your trip. The natives left sooooo many good itinerary ideas. I do hope you have fun on your visit and thank you for commenting. 💖

You will not be disappointed, especially if you enjoy reading. I am going back in December that is how much I enjoyed my time there!

Hello! I totally spaced and did not place the link in my description. Here is the link to the listing: www.airbnb.com/rooms/625120745805305966?source_impression_id=p3_1715606215_khlEYan4LkQ0G7Yk The location is so central. It is in the heart of everything and super close to the royal mile! One thing though, there are however loads of stairs and they don't have elevators to your floor. I didn't mind but it just isn't listed in the description of the Airbnb page. For the price I paid though, I couldn't complain. It was only bad the day I carried luggage.

@@TaylorsJourney thank you!

@@aar3325 It is truly my pleasure!

Thank you, you have just given me a newfound respect for my job. I am not going to lie this comment made me smile. Also thank you for the comment on the video quality, also made me smile. If you are interested in my line work. I work in Clinical Research. I have a muchhhhh older vlog on my channel kinda detailing what i do. I have been promoted a couple times since then but the work is still the same industry. ❤

Thank you for sharing this information! I have seen the Waterstones in Piccadilly, and you are right it is quite big! I wasn't able to spend time inside because by the time we got there it had just closed. Trust me, my heart was completely shattered. Thank you for the other recommendations of Hatchards and Daunt Books. I have never heard of these stores so I appreciate you sharing them. I might have to be in London this October for work. Which honestly is the perfect time, Fall and book shopping in London sounds irresistible. If I do end up going, I will definitely check out the shops you have recommended.

@@TaylorsJourney No problem. I would also recommend that you visit Foyles, as I forgot to mention that shop. It is near Soho and the Tottenham Court Road end of Oxford Street. I think you will love this one more than the others. Hatchards is next door to Fortnum & Mason department store. There are a few Daunt Books stores but my favourite is the Marylebone High St branch. It’s a good walk from Bond Street station, about 15 minutes. So check out Hatchards, Daunt Books and Foyles. Enjoy.

@@rasputinswalloper475 These tips are legitimately so valuable to me! Thank you for taking the time to write this information down. I am creating word documents for cities that I am visiting. I am in London 1-2 times a year so I can definitely make this a reality. When I do visit, I will be sure to give you a shout out because I never would have known these stores existed without your comment. I am even more excited for the next time I am in town, so thank you again! I cannot wait to go book shopping. 🥰

@@TaylorsJourney Definitely don’t give me a shout out lol 😂 because my handle on here is very rude … lol 😂. Just say a guy who loves bookshops. That will keep you safe. Enjoy your time exploring these great stores.

@@rasputinswalloper475 lololol that tickled me. I am actually laughing out loud. But I will honor your wishes. Thank you again for sharing and I truly cannot wait to visit them. ❤

Omgosh steeper than Edinburgh is wild. Im in much better shape now then I was then, so I think I can be up for the challenge. I won’t lie though that sounds pretty intense. I bet you all have super strong calf muscles. I have a similar theory about the hardcover books. I feel there has to be either an economic or environmental factor, because in most of the countries Ive visited, I typically only find the classics with hard covers

@@TaylorsJourney Don't know about strong calf muscles, we just drive😄 but plenty of tourists stop in to climb the steepest Street in the world, you'd probably like the 24hr charity booksale that's held each year, don't need good calves for that! Pity it's so far away, I live in the UK now and it's about 36hrs to fly home.😒

Hardbacks are most definitely available in the UK (I can’t and won’t speak for Europe in general). Books in the UK are generally released in hardback first and a wee while later a paperback version will be released. As for classics, they will mostly be sold new as paperbacks but there are hardbacks available too and of course if you visit second hand bookshops and charity shops (some of which only sell books and music) you can often find some really beautiful old hardbacks. The likes of Blackies (a book publishing house based in Glasgow and London that were in existence between 1809 and 1991) are quite well known for their beautifully decorated book covers. But there are also publishing houses like penguin that have different facets to the books they publish and their classics are (or at least in the past they were) published with reproductions of actual works of art on their cover. To be honest, a lot of people in the UK just prefer paperbacks as they are smaller than hardbacks, so can be slipped into a bag or even a pocket a lot easier and can actually just be more comfortable for many people to hold whilst reading. But if you ask in any bookshop that sells brand new books, there is a good chance they will have a hardback version available but they are also more expensive than the paperbacks.

Yo! Thank you so much for this response! And your honesty. I didn’t even know blackies existed and I might have to go to Glasgow and London this fall for work! So that is an excellent recommendation and I will most definitely follow up on it and my experience there in another video. Also thank you for educating me on hard copy vs paperback preference. Even on the publishing houses! I am familiar with penguin but i didnt realize they had stand alone stores so i need to check those out as well. Also thank you for all of information and sharing it. I found it so so soooo useful

@@TaylorsJourney Penguin doesn’t actually have stand alone stores as far as I know and sadly Blackies stopped publishing around thirty years ago but if you look at online second hand book shops, there are plenty of their books available there (at least with UK ones) and for the most part many are relatively inexpensive. Even a quick Google search will show you how beautiful many of them are, regardless of the content. I may have caused a little confusion by using the term publishing house, which is just a slightly archaic term for a publishing company…a bit like how higher tier fashion designers refer to the company as a fashion house. But Penguin have lots of different branches to their tree, so to speak and each branch is aimed at a different area of the market…though not quite to the same extent now as they had around fifty years ago. Waterstones is another very big bookshop here in the UK and as someone from Scotland who grew up not far from Glasgow I can honestly say that it’s a very beautiful and vibrant city (it’s the largest city in Scotland and the branch of Waterstones on Sauchiehall Street (pronounced sucky hall) is apparently the largest bookshop in Scotland. It might be worth checking their website for the Sauchiehall Street branch before you visit Glasgow (if/when that happens) as they often have book reading events. Glasgow also has a lot of free to enter museums and galleries and if you get the chance to go outside of the main city there is a museum/gallery called The Burrell Collection that is in a large country house set in extensive grounds…and it’s massive, free to enter and there are buses and trains from Glasgow. Though if you want to see some coastal beauty, you can get the train to Gourock, Largs or Ayr (all of which take around an hour)…and of course Ayr is the birthplace of Scotland’s Bard Robert Burns, with the cottage he was born in being a just outside the the town itself and there is a pub in the centre of town that was renamed the Tam O’Shanter after the Burns poem but was actually somewhere the poet drank (the pub was built in 1749, so it was built ten years before Burns was born). But seeing as how I was brought up there (even if there is relatively little to do there) I would recommend a visit to Gourock, even if just for the view. There is always Helensburgh too, where Charles Rennie MacKintosh’s (very famous Art Deco architect and designer, who actually designed the Glasgow School of Art and there is a cafe in Glasgow called the Willow Tearooms that was also designed by him, that is still a functioning cafe) home Hill House (open to the public) is located and it was also the birthplace of John Logie Baird who is regarded as the inventor of the television.

Thank you so much! I am very happy you enjoyed the music! Here is the tracklist: 1. Rainshower by Johannes Bornlof 2. Meditacao Rapida by Audios Relaxantes (This song EATS, I cannot lie. lol) 3. Got to Turn My Luck Around by Rikard From

@@TaylorsJourney thank you!! I absolutely loved the vlog. Doing a solo trip in July to Edinburgh and can not wait 🫶🏾

@@zoe._.1850 You are going to love it! Please comb through the comments on this video and all of my Edinburg videos! So many locals commented with such good gems of things to do and visit. I am planning another trip in December because of all of the detailed information they provided me! So please look through if you are in need of things to do and see!

I stay far away from those! lol My anxiety could NEVER lol