Edinburgh

In September of 2025 I took a trip with my Dad to Scotland (partially because we had unused British Airways credits from a cancelled trip in 2020 that were about to expire). In the same trip, we visited London as well. For me it was my second time in London and my first time in Scotland and for my dad it was his first time in the UK period.

To make the focus of this post on Scotland, here’s a quick recap of our time in London (which for me was mostly a repeat of the things I did on my first visit). This time around however, I did try some nicer food and also caught “The Play that Goes Wrong” in West End.

The only city we visited in Scotland was Edinburgh, and it was well worth it. We spent one day promenading around the town itself and we spent another on a bus tour to Inverness (which is where the famous Loch Ness is).

Edinburgh itself simply feels “old”. In stark contrast to the glass skyscrapers and hustle-and-bustle of London, a finance and industry giant, we were instead privy to a city of lichen-encrusted stone, oak-aged whisky, and a vintage scholarly atmosphere.

Some culinary particularities of Scotland included Irn Bru (a bubblegum-flavored soda from Scotland) and Haggis (a peculiar, oblate blood sausage comprising of the more unsavory parts of a sheep ground beyond recognition and frightfully tasty). We also twice enjoyed some of the best fish and chips I have had in my life at the chippy right next to our hotel. From here on out, the only correct answer to the right type of fish for fish and chips is Haddock.