5 things to do on a day trip to Edinburgh

1. Visit Edinburgh Castle
This historical castle is full of attractions including the Great Hall, The Honours of Scotland with the nation's crown jewels, National War Museum Scotland, Prisons of War Exhibition, Royal Palace, Royal Scots Regimental Museum and amazing views over Edinburgh.

2. Try haggis, tatties and neeps
A traditional Scottish dish consisting of a minced sausage made of sheep's pluck, mashed swede and potatoes. The dish is sometime cooked with Scotch whisky.

3. Walk the Royal Mile
Stretching from Edinburgh Castle's entrance to the gates of Holyrood Palace, The Royal Mile is the main strip of the Old Town of the city filled with pubs, shops, sites, entertainers and tourists.

4. Taste some Scotch
Made in Scotland, Scotch whisky is separated into two types - single malt and single grain - and three blends - blended malt, blended grain and blended Scotch whisky. The capital city has numerous stores selling Scotch whisky and The Scotch Whisky Experience - a tour through a replica distillery

5. Finish the day with some shortbread
Enjoy a classic Scottish biscuit or two made of flour, sugar and butter!

A taste of Ireland

I headed to Ireland's capital, Dublin, for a fun-filled weekend with friends from London. We flew in Saturday morning and out Sunday night so we packed in as much as possible. Of the highlights was a visit to the Guinness Storehouse, the product Ireland is most famous for. We learnt the history of this famous brew, had samples and enjoyed our own pint on the seventh floor Gravity Bar with 360 degree views of Dublin. And I can say the Guinness definitely tastes better in Dublin - it must be something in the water.

With our pint in the Gravity Bar

Among the other highlights were a night out in the Temple Bar area, a visit to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, Christ Church Cathedral, lunch at Temple Bar with two pages of sandwiches to choose from, dinner in an Irish pub - try beef and Guinness pie or Irish stew - and afternoon tea at Queen of Tarts with an array of delectable treats. One thing is for sure, the Irish like their drink!!

Christ Church Cathedral

Beef & Guinness pie

The land of bikes

When exploring Amsterdam, it's not hard to notice the abundance of bikes that fill the streets, either locked around light poles or bike racks or being rode along one of the many bike paths that have a stance on all Amsterdam roads. It took me a while to remember there were separate paths for pedestrians and bikes, coming close to being hit more than once!

We enjoyed savoury pancakes, the numerous clogs on display in souvenir stores and explored Museumplein, Van Gogh Museum, Westerkerk Cathedral, Amsterdam Palace, National Monument, the Red Light District, Beurs van Berlage, St Nicholas Kerk, New Markt and an afternoon lie down in Vondelpark.

The sign says it all...

My ham and cheese pancake... YUM

Bikes galore

National Monument

One BIG orange party

Queen's Day in Amsterdam is something to be seen. Celebrated every year on April 30 to commemorate the birthday of Holland's former Queen, people flock to Amsterdam from all over the world to celebrate this annual street carnival.

The celebrations start Queen's Night - April 29 - with squares around the city centre filled with DJs, music and party goers dressed in orange. We explored the Leidseplein square near the casino and soaked in the atmosphere ready for Queen's Day. Queen's Night goes well into the early morning but after a 5am wake up for the Royal Wedding, we opted to save ourselves for the following day.

Queen's Night in Amsterdam

Queen's Day begins around midday until late into the night. Squares and streets through the city are filled with a sea of people dressed in orange and boats fill the canals with party goers - apparently a boat is the place to be! From Museumplein, to Amstelveld, Leidsplein and Rembrandt plein, there were plenty of places to spend the day or hop between... and best of all the entertainment was all free.

Boats along the canals

Crowds at Museumplein

Queen's Day Essentials
- orange top
- orange accessories (shoes, hats, glasses, bangles, earrings, nail polish)
- pre-drinks
- frites & frankfurts
- a good map
- a hotel close to the action so you can return to the room to use the bathroom

Queen's Day attire

The wedding of the year

Ever since finding out I would be in London for the Royal Wedding, I'd been looking forward to the wedding that would capture the world. On April 29th 2011 Prince William, second in line to the English throne, was to marry Kate Middleton.

When the big day finally arrived, the hardest decision was what to do. With a couple of options including a picnic in Hyde Park or standing along the procession route, I left it to my visiting friend from Perth to decide what the best option would be. Deciding on Westminster Abbey we set the alarm clocks for 5am and arrived at Westminster tube station at 6am with a bag of snacks to claim a spot around the church.

Although we didn't end up seeing much at all, besides guests arrive in buses and Range Rovers, we heard all the excitement of the Royal arrivals and captured the atmosphere among the crowd. After the bride had arrived and the wedding was underway, we made our way to The Mall for a spot along the procession route, and I was happy to snap this shot of the happily married newlyweds.

Among the crowd outside Westminster Abbey

The happily married couple on the way to Buckingham Palace

So what can one expect from a Royal Wedding? Hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists, Union Jacks, people dressed in wedding attire, masks of the Royals, high spirits and a truly magical experience. It was a day for all, young or old.