Where do Brits go on holiday? Well, many are in Spain sun bathing on the Costa del Sol making the most of the guaranteed good weather that Britain certainly doesn’t offer. But those who don’t leave my homeland choose Edinburgh as their favourite British city destination, at least according to the Guardian’s Travel Awards various years on the trot.

Now, I have never been to Edinburgh – to tell you the truth it’s on my to-do list – so I’ll have to rely on what the papers say to inform you about this delightful city.

Edinburgh, always considered as one of Britain’s most refined cities, has a long history as Scotland’s capital. A few examples of this are its world famous University founded in 1583 and the Bank of Scotland which was founded in 1695, just a few years before the Act of Union which joined Scotland and England and thereby moving most of the power to London’s Westminster. This is parts of its magic because what makes this city so popular is probably the fact that you can mix the splendours of the historic city with the glorious Scottish countryside. In less than one hour you can be sitting placidly by one of their famous lochs or wetting your feet by the seaside, but watch out, the North Sea isn’t the Med, those used to more tepid waters of the Spanish southern and eastern coasts, the Caribbean or Mexican coasts may find this a frightening experience.

Now, the temperature of the North Sea water I’m sure you imagine to be rather cold, but I’m sure that, as was a friend of mine a few years ago, you’ll be more than surprised to be served black pudding as atypical Scottish dish and even more so for breakfast. What’s surprising about this is that it's suspiciously similar to “Morcilla”, for those of you on the other side of the Atlantic (I’m not sure if you know) this is a typical Spanish dish.

After breakfast and a hard days sightseeing around Edinburgh’s Old Town – here you can visit the Castle at the top of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyrood House, the Scottish Parliament building, the Botanics, the Royal Museum of Scotland, the Fruitmarket Gallery or even the National Gallery of Modern Art among others – I recommend you go to one of Edinburgh’s many typical boozers to have a pint…or two and then, don’t miss one of Britain’s most popular activities, the after pub visit to the chippie. In Edinburgh, Giuliano’s is said to be the city’s best. This doesn't sound very Scottish but that's what they say.

So, if any of you decide to give Edinburgh a visit, don’t forget to send me a postcard.

Brits - familiarmente británicos
homeland - patria
years on the trot - años consecutivos
to tell you the truth - a decir la verdad
rely - fiar
what the papers say - lo que cuenta los periódicos
delightful city - cuidad encantadora
founded - fundado
joined - unió
thereby - por consiguiente
countryside - el campo
lochs - lagos (in Scottish)
seaside - la playa
Med - familiarmente El Mediterráneo
used to more tepid waters - acostumbrados a aguas más templadas
frightening experience - experiencia horrorosa
rather cold - bastante fría
even more so - aún más
sightseeing - visita turística
boozers - pubs (booze es bebidas alcohólicas)
a pint - una pinta (lager, ale, stout, etc.)
chippie - Fish & Chip shop
postcard - postal.