TRAVEL: Edinburgh

In two weeks me and the man are off to Edinburgh for a weeks holiday via a night in Newcastle. Joe's never been to Edinburgh (or Scotland at that) and I've only ever visited Edinburgh on the odd day trip when we being the parents and I use to holiday up around North Berwick. And I definitely haven't been there in the last five or so years. 

We have ideas on some of the places we really want to go - like to the zoo. We're both mad animal lovers - especially penguins so the zoo is a must as is the castle - you can't really go to Edinburgh without going up to the castle. But we're looking for heads up about the Botanic Gardens, Britannia, Portobello Beach and Carlton Hill. We even found an amazing FREE trip called the Hairy Coos up to the Trossachs in a bright orange bus which sounds amazingly fun! Free as in you tip the driver/guide what you think the tour was worth. 

But we're just looking for real peoples experiences and reviews, ideas for places to go, see, where to shop - especially ANY vintage shops, tea rooms, restaurants, places out and about that's worth a look. Or on the other flip of the story - places we really should avoid!

Travelpostersonline.com

I think there's so much more you can learn about a city through other peoples recommendations and moving away from the mere tourist guide, so i'm hoping someone has some ideas!