Ok peeps so time to update y'all on an amazing New Years to ring in 2010! On the 29th of December , Ben and I booked 2 tickets to Edinburgh - Scotland , for the Hogmany New Years Eve festival. It was a last minute booking that ended up being a blessing in disguise. We got fairly cheap train tickets to and from and at the busiest time of year , accomodation at our very own 5 star Waterfront Apartment. So just for a bit of history , Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland located in the South-East it lies on the coast, with its rugged setting and vast collection of Medievil and Georgian Architecture its often considered one of the most picturesque cities in Europe. Ben and I woke up early on Wednesday the 30th ready for our departure. Our train was leaving at 10.30 from Kings Cross Station however as we bought flexi-tickets we didnt necesserally have 'reserved' seating. We were slightly early so we got some Macca's breakfast , Coffee from Starbucks , a copy of the new Vogue for me and the new Playstation Magazine for Ben. We walked up to the platform when the time arrived and as all the seats seemed to be reserved we missed the first train. The 11am came along and all those seats also seemed to be reserved, I wasnt convinced however so I jumped on to ask a staff member on the train for advice on what to do. He advised me to just hop on and if need be we could stand in the luggage area & so we did. As did probably 10 other people. So there we were packed like sardines for a 4 hour train ride across the English countryside. Ben started off standing by the train door... 
...but then gave in & sat on the floor after about half an hour. I used my over night bag as a seat & poured through VOGUE. On our way to Scotland we got this Legend of a woman come on who vocally began complaining about the rude people who had just dumped their luggage in the middle of the path when they could clearly see the compartment was full of patrons. She made us laugh immensley and it made the trip to Scotland a lot more enjoyable as it seemed like everyone was going to Edinburgh for New Years Eve , this was quite apparent from all the aussie accents we heard on the train. 4 hours later and literally the second we got out of the train station I was overwhelmed by my surroundings. I didnt really have any expectations of what Edinburgh would look like , I didnt even Google Image it before we left or anything , which was probably a blessing in disguise as had no expectations and Edinburgh just took my breath away.
The big spire in the middle of the city with the Edinburgh Castle up on the hill in our background , the carnival rides were all set up and the city was ready to celebrate. It was incredibly cold though and walking to our waterfront aparment Ben and I thought our noses would freeze off! Our apartment however was amazing. 5 Star , spacious , Modern , waterfront views - perfection!
We had a little rest then headed back into the city for an explore, which made me fall in love with Edinurgh even more. I could actually live ther I think. The cobbled stone roads , laneways and steep stairways around the city are just so European and Medi-Evil , I loved it! We both did. We walked through most of the city , picked up our tickets for the Hogmany street party then went passed some amazing churches , and also walked through the tourist stores. Ben's heritage is Scottish , Wilson is a scottish surname so we found the Wilson tartan check at one of the tourist stores. Bagpipes played through most the stores and it really all felt very scottish , 'twas cool!
we wandered up some more steep stairways to get a view of the city and I took this really cool picture of Ben - I am so in love with this picture , its slightly awesome I feel hehe
The first thing we did was go down to see a few sights during the day we hadnt got to see the night before. We went down to a really cool cemetery where the snow covered park and cemetery were quaintly beautiful. The Edinburgh Castle in the background was the perfect setting for more amazing photography opportunities , Edinburgh is a photographers dream! 
We then went up to Edinburgh Castle - which can I say is amazing , the enormity of it & the fact that its perched on top of the hill with a view of the entire city that leaves you in awe. These pictures just dont do it any justice , basically you all really have to get over to Scotland hehe...
We then danced to Lady GaGa - Bad Romance was officially the NYE anthem for 2009 , we then lost the girls then found them then lost them , then found them again and finally counted down to midnight to be welcomed into 2010 with an awesome fireworks display & a kiss from my man
...the highlight of my night was the long walk home. Ben and I laughed so much , talked about random things , I officially fell over on icy paths and then proceeded to laugh for quite some time about it , saw a fight as we walked by and continued to laugh and talked some more , it was one of those moments where you remember the reasons you fell in love with a person , dont get me wrong I wake up every morning realising how much I love Ben but often in the hustle of every day life we take things foregranted and it was just one of those moments where it felt like time stood still and it was just us - do I sound like a corny movie. Oh well I like corny movies hehe
We really covered most of the city from the Medievil , the churches, incredible buildings, to the modern international conference centre. I sat there on the ride home looking out of my window at the white snowscape of the english countryside I have amazing memories of celebrating the New Year in an amazing city with the most amazing man in my life and something tells me its not the last we'll be seeing of Edinburgh , we definitley plan to go back. I'll leave you with the a picture of the view out of my train window (yes we actually got seats the whole way back) 
xoxo Deni
...but then gave in & sat on the floor after about half an hour. I used my over night bag as a seat & poured through VOGUE. On our way to Scotland we got this Legend of a woman come on who vocally began complaining about the rude people who had just dumped their luggage in the middle of the path when they could clearly see the compartment was full of patrons. She made us laugh immensley and it made the trip to Scotland a lot more enjoyable as it seemed like everyone was going to Edinburgh for New Years Eve , this was quite apparent from all the aussie accents we heard on the train. 4 hours later and literally the second we got out of the train station I was overwhelmed by my surroundings. I didnt really have any expectations of what Edinburgh would look like , I didnt even Google Image it before we left or anything , which was probably a blessing in disguise as had no expectations and Edinburgh just took my breath away.The big spire in the middle of the city with the Edinburgh Castle up on the hill in our background , the carnival rides were all set up and the city was ready to celebrate. It was incredibly cold though and walking to our waterfront aparment Ben and I thought our noses would freeze off! Our apartment however was amazing. 5 Star , spacious , Modern , waterfront views - perfection!We had a little rest then headed back into the city for an explore, which made me fall in love with Edinurgh even more. I could actually live ther I think. The cobbled stone roads , laneways and steep stairways around the city are just so European and Medi-Evil , I loved it! We both did. We walked through most of the city , picked up our tickets for the Hogmany street party then went passed some amazing churches , and also walked through the tourist stores. Ben's heritage is Scottish , Wilson is a scottish surname so we found the Wilson tartan check at one of the tourist stores. Bagpipes played through most the stores and it really all felt very scottish , 'twas cool!we wandered up some more steep stairways to get a view of the city and I took this really cool picture of Ben - I am so in love with this picture , its slightly awesome I feel heheWe walked our way back to our apartments in the cold however all the walking was really enjoyable and quite entertaining , as it snowed in Scotland the streets were all very icy and slippery and many almost-slips-and-falls occured along the way giving us many a laugh. New Years Eve/Day came along and after purchasing Thermals the night before (yes it was actually that cold the temps were in the minus degrees) all dressed up we were ready to start the day. I decided no matter how cold it was , underneath my coat I would look stylish & fabulous!
The first thing we did was go down to see a few sights during the day we hadnt got to see the night before. We went down to a really cool cemetery where the snow covered park and cemetery were quaintly beautiful. The Edinburgh Castle in the background was the perfect setting for more amazing photography opportunities , Edinburgh is a photographers dream! We then went up to Edinburgh Castle - which can I say is amazing , the enormity of it & the fact that its perched on top of the hill with a view of the entire city that leaves you in awe. These pictures just dont do it any justice , basically you all really have to get over to Scotland hehe...While at the castle we bumped into the girls he were also in Ediburgh for Hogmany on a bus tour. We headed down the 'Royal Mile' one of the main streets in Edinburgh where we saw Parliament & Jacob's Ladder , which is a staircase mentioned in the bible. We then headed to Aussie pub 'The Walkabout' to go celebrate Australian New Years Eve (with the time difference and all) 4 Vodka's down and the countdown began as did the snow. It was so bizarre seeing snow fall down on New Years Eve - back home New Years normally consists of boiling hot weather so this was quite different. Ben, Shane & I ran outside to soak up the snow , i'll never forget it!
Alas our Hogmany NYE experience loomed so Ben and I went back to the hotel for a rest. I love Ben so much and as we were walking back I couldnt help but thing how it was so nice to be experiencing all of this together with him. A few hours later and Vodka in hand we went to meet the others in the city. We went to a cool little Diner where I had the yummiest Doner Kebab & then Ben , Shane, Cat (our new Kiwi friend) and I went to this cool little semi-underground Scottish pub to have some shots. We started with tequila then had some raspberry sambuca.
We then headed to the street party where we amongst the other 90,000 people who attended the street party we stuck together and made our way over to the music. After a little dance we decided to go on one of the ridest , we settled , quite contently , on the Ghost Train - always a classic. It was the scariest thing of my life - no not at all really I'm just joking it was incredibly funny and the four of us just couldnt stop laughing the whole time. We had a fridge magnet made of the following image , everytime I see it on the fridge now It makes me giggle a little hehe
We then headed to the street party where we amongst the other 90,000 people who attended the street party we stuck together and made our way over to the music. After a little dance we decided to go on one of the ridest , we settled , quite contently , on the Ghost Train - always a classic. It was the scariest thing of my life - no not at all really I'm just joking it was incredibly funny and the four of us just couldnt stop laughing the whole time. We had a fridge magnet made of the following image , everytime I see it on the fridge now It makes me giggle a little hehe We then danced to Lady GaGa - Bad Romance was officially the NYE anthem for 2009 , we then lost the girls then found them then lost them , then found them again and finally counted down to midnight to be welcomed into 2010 with an awesome fireworks display & a kiss from my man...the highlight of my night was the long walk home. Ben and I laughed so much , talked about random things , I officially fell over on icy paths and then proceeded to laugh for quite some time about it , saw a fight as we walked by and continued to laugh and talked some more , it was one of those moments where you remember the reasons you fell in love with a person , dont get me wrong I wake up every morning realising how much I love Ben but often in the hustle of every day life we take things foregranted and it was just one of those moments where it felt like time stood still and it was just us - do I sound like a corny movie. Oh well I like corny movies heheWe woke up on New Years Day checked out at 10am and did heaps of walking! We also went back up to Edinburgh castle to see the view on this clearer day.
We really covered most of the city from the Medievil , the churches, incredible buildings, to the modern international conference centre. I sat there on the ride home looking out of my window at the white snowscape of the english countryside I have amazing memories of celebrating the New Year in an amazing city with the most amazing man in my life and something tells me its not the last we'll be seeing of Edinburgh , we definitley plan to go back. I'll leave you with the a picture of the view out of my train window (yes we actually got seats the whole way back) xoxo Deni 
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