A Christmas Proposal...

Seeing as it's December and I feel very festive at the moment I want to write about Aidan and I's first Christmas alone together. As I've mentioned previously Aidan and I spent a year overseas together travelling and working. We were working at Christmas time {well not on Christmas} and everybody else were going back to their families etc. So we thought we didn't want to be alone over Christmas missing our families so we thought we would book a trip away! There were a few places on our list but due to the amount of time we were able to take off we decided on a Christmas tour to Scotland. We booked to fly to Edinburgh, then a three day Christmas trip to the Scottish highlands with Haggis tours and then we were to fly back.

We flew easy jet to Edinburgh airport. The first thing I noticed when we walked off the plane was just how cold and windy it was and how it seemed to go through your clothes even. We were meant to be getting picked up from the airport by one of our Scottish customers but he couldn't make it due to traffic or something or other. Lucky there's a regular bus at the airport that takes you right into the city centre. We chose to wander around town suitcases in tow. It was bustling city with a mixture of medieval and Edwardian architecture, absolutely beautiful. All the streets in the city centre lead out to a big walkway and park that sits beneath Edinburgh castle. We walked along underneath Edinburgh Castle and we encountered a cute little reindeer petting zoo. Then we headed into a pub tucked away in a side street and had pies and cider. It was really delicious.

Reindeer petting zoo along the streets of Edinburgh.

Ice skating rink underneath Edinburgh Castle.

I don't know why but I've always been so suspicious and wary of  catching taxi's so we decided to walk to our hotel. It turns out it was a chain branded hotel called "Premier Inn" and they are fantastic! All the facilities are super clean and modern. There is a great restaurant downstairs that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. In fact I think we were that exhausted we had dinner at our hotel, I remember I had the most amazing Christmas cider. Then it was off to bed for a super early start.

Best cider ever and I haven't seen it since.

The next morning we were up early to meet up with our tour. Again we walked there through little windy hilly back streets behind the castle. Our tour began on Christmas Eve and we headed straight to the Scottish Highlands to Inverness stopping at the William Wallace monument, Glencoe and Loch Ness. The Haggis tour was different to Contiki in the sense that our Haggis tour guides were constantly entertaining and informing us the whole journey there. Our hotel was beautiful and it had a bath. The pub we lived and worked at did not have a bath and I missed relaxing in a bathtub.

The William Wallace monument. 

Glencoe. While we were here it was very foggy.

The Titanic inspired staircase at our Inverness hotel- The Royal Highland hotel. 

That night we went out as a group to a local nightclub and woke up the next day on Christmas day! I was hoping and praying for a white Christmas but it reached 14 degrees Celsius. We went out exploring with the group that day our first stop was Ben Bhraggie a hill we were to climb. Our tour guide wanted us to experience snow and we found a little patch up the top. Aidan confessed later that he considered proposing up here near the snow but with people around it just wasn't the right time. Then we stopped at a castle where we had lunch in the gardens, it was like a fairy tale. Then our last stop before going back to our hotel was a beach! That night we had a Christmas feast in the great hall and there was traditional Scottish dancing afterwards. Aidan and I finished off the night with a Scottish whiskey.

The weather forecast for Inverness on Christmas day. I laugh because I was actually really worried that if we flew our plane might get grounded due to heavy snow fall. 

The view from Ben Bragghie.

The fairy tale castle!

Aidan and I on a Scottish beach on Christmas day. 

The next day was the end of our tour and it was back to Edinburgh. On the way back we stopped at the battlefield of Culloden. The weather was so fitting the wind was blowing a gale and the sky was dark grey. It was a struggle to hear our guide as he spoke about the battle that occurred on the ground we were standing on. It's such an eerie humbling feeling to see these places in history. Then our final stop was to the falls of Brauer a beautiful short, surprisingly strenuous {Well for the unfit like myself} walk to see a waterfall. Then we arrived back to Edinburgh. That night we decided to walk back down to the river to see the castle of a night time. Being Boxing day there was not many people around and it was spooky. I had read that Edinburgh is one of the "most haunted" cities in the world and this played on my mind as we walked through the deserted streets{We made it back safely with no ghosts jumping out at us.}.

Battlefield of Culloden. 

Falls of Braur. They were so pretty.

Edinburgh castle lit up of a night time.

The next day we had to check out of our hotel {the same Premier Inn} early and we dropped off our suitcases at the train station, they had lockers were you could store your luggage. We headed to Edinburgh castle and explored. Again it was amazing I remember standing in a bedroom where a Queen gave birth to all her children {I'm terrible and can't remember who} and just thinking I can't believe that bit of history happened here right where I am standing. After the castle we went to the same pub that we had dinner at the other night and had the same meal. Again it was delicious. Then we wandered back down to the riverfront underneath the castle and explored the Christmas fair. Mulled wine is my favourite drink of all time and so we purchased a mulled wine each and drinking it outside in the chilly air with Christmas carols playing all around just felt so perfect.

Edinburgh Castle.

The view from Edinburgh Castle.

More of the Christmas lights along the streets of Edinburgh.

Now I wasn't sure if Aidan was going to propose to me while we were away but I had my suspicions. I remember being there on a few occasions throughout our trip and thinking in my head "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! This is it!" The anticipation was amazing. Anyway with the end of our short holiday drawing near and the atmosphere so perfect, we sat there on a park bench sipping on our mulled wine holding hands and Aidan said to me "Amy I need to ask you something...." This sent all sorts of butterflies going off in my tummy but I tried to remain calm as he reached into his pocket and bought out a navy blue box. He did not get down on one knee {which at the time I was happy to not draw extra attention to us} and asked me to marry him. I of course said yes and then we kissed. We had to head back to the airport to catch our plane and I remember I could not stop looking at my pretty new ring. I had mentioned to Aidan that this one was the one I liked when we were browsing in a jewelry store previously even though I originally wanted a plain solitaire.

Our view of the Christmas fair.

Post engagement selfie.

My beloved ring. It came with a wedding band that matches. 

We told our families the next day and everyone was thrilled and I started buying wedding magazines every week. We planned to be engaged for two years and return to Europe for a long honeymoon in Scandinavia.

All my life I've wanted to visit Ireland but Scotland was my first trip to the UK and Irish countryside and I fell head over heels in love. It is just so gorgeous! The people are friendly and welcoming and photos do not do the scenery justice. I think both Aidan and I would move there in a heartbeat. All in all our little getaway to Scotland was a perfect little festive getaway from busy London life. Our engagement was just the icing on the cake. We both couldn't have been happier.