Edinburgh & Loch Lomond Loving!

 

 So after Ella's blessing weekend Mara stayed an extra day and my mom stayed for 2 days which was super fun, because it would have been sad going from all the visitors to suddenly having none again!! So on the Monday morning we headed to Edinburgh because it's my fave place! and because Mara had never been before!!

I had been wanting to check out this place called Mimi's Bakehouse in Leith for aaaages! I had heard about their amazing baked goods, but I didn't know they did tasty lunch food too!

 Everything on their menu looked so good but to fill that little Vancouver shaped void in my heart, I had to order the french toast with bacon and maple syrup! It was amazing, and huge!

 All the decor inside is fun, even Ella was mesmerised by it all!

 I loved all the bunting...

 and the rolling pins and whisks hanging from the wall!

 Their treat cabinet on the day we were there was sadly not overflowing with the decadent layer cakes I have seen on their facebook page...

but when I heard that these treats were coconut flavoured I was sold! They were amazing, a layer of chocolate and biscuit on the bottom, then a layer of creamy coconut filling on top finished of with milk chocolate and bounty bits - yum!

We could have gone home right then and we would have all been happy!

 but we headed into town and did all the touristy things!

 A stop at the castle is a must!

 Although Ella must have inherited my opinions on castles and she found the whole thing pretty boring so just slept through!!! hehe

 The Princes St gardens were really starting to pop with colour! enough to actually keep Ella awake! She does love looking at trees and flowers when we are out on our walks, I think she will be a nature lover like her daddy!!

 The next day we woke up and there was a rare sighting of sun!! The weather was also semi warm! so we decided to head to Loch Lomond! Luckily By was working in the area that day so he was able to meet us for lunch.  We went to The Tullie Inn...

 which is really beautifully done inside,

and the food was amazing! pulled pork burger for me!

 and steak pie for By!

This was how Ella felt when I told her we were meeting Daddy for lunch!

 

She is a daddy's girl through and through!

 Taking advantage of the good weather, and feeling pretty full after lunch we decided the best way to see the Loch would be a Loch cruise! This was super fun!!

 The views were amazing!

 Love how green and lush the trees are, and that giant hotel in the middle of them all is a pretty impressive building!

We also passed this cute little island in the middle!

 and Ella got caught up on lots of Granny loving!

It was the perfect way to spend a semi sunny day!

This past weekend By's mom and her husband came to visit.  They're living in Tanzania at the moment so were just back in the UK for a few weeks.  Scotland really pulled out all the stops and we had one of the hottest days we've had so far (despite being overcast..I think it got up to 23 degrees!) so again there was no question about where we should head...and we returned to Loch Lomond!

 We drove the back road scenic route, and By took us to this little spot he'd discovered when he was at work one day! It's only about a 20 minute walk up to this hilltop, and you get rewarded with that amazing view!

 Milk on the go for Ella!

She'd decided she was bored of the sling and wanted to see the view! so she hopped a ride on Daddy's shoulders on the way down!

Cuteness overload - look how teeny tiny she is up there!

 

I think their smiles say it all! She loves her daddy and she loves the nice weather!

We headed back to The Tullie Inn in Balloch for a spot of lunch, and then onto Luss, which is somewhere we had never been before.  

 I think it's one of the only areas of Loch Lomond that has a 'beach'.  It is just small and not sandy, more stony but it was packed and seems a really popular place to go!!

There's nothing like an ice cream to cool you down on a hot muggy day, Kathy tried the tablet flavour as it's a must when visiting Scotland!

 The little village of Luss itself is very cute! with all these little well kept cottages, and their amazing gardens!

 Yes, Loch Lomond - you're going to make it hard to leave! We only have about 7 weeks left here...time is just flying by!