Edinbugh: Scotland's Empress of the North

Ancient and modern, hip yet historical, beautiful and edgy. Scotland's so called Empress of the North is one of the jewels in this country's crown. The city is filled with absolutely stunning sights such as medevil, Georgian and neoclassical buildings. Lovely gardens, an extinct volcano and the centre piece of Edinbugh castle.

I had arrived in Edinbugh for Bearscot, a gay bears festival that is held every year and took a few nights to drink heavily and shake my posterior at a variety of night clubs. Whether it was held at the steamy venue of CC Blooms two floor gay night club, the sprawling and subterranean setting of The Caves or the old fashioned watering hole of The Phoenix it was a great excuse to party the night away.

After the event (and my recovery from the subsequent hangover) I made sure I took some extra time to wander around the city with my camera. Immediately I was struck by just how truly lovely the city was. The grand architecture and enchanting sights were superb and I had an awesome afternoon visiting the city's grand castle, followed by a visit to the exquistely atmospheric St Giles Cathedral.

Afterwards I strolled through the city centre's parks and gardens (made particularly interesting by the grand gothic Scott Monument spire that takes pride of place in the park centre). I then headed for Edinbugh's national art gallery and perused some of the finest renaissance, scottish and impressionist artwork that Scotland had to offer.

As a final part of my trip I made sure to take the climb up to Calton Hill, a small steep hill whose top is stewn with stone structures and archaeological oddities that were designed to add a Grecian feel to the city. After taking in the stunning view of the city I climbed back down and made my way back to my hotel.

All in all I had had a fantastic trip to Edinbugh and as I flew back to my home city of Cardiff I left satisfied by my truly enjoyable trip to this grand city.