The Scottish Design Exchange is a must visit for excellent Scottish souvenirs! I stumbled across this gem in my research for the trip and it did not disappoint. Located on George Street, SDE is a short walk from Edinburgh Old Town and the Royal Mile. The storefront is a co-op-like take on retail in which the artists pay a fee to cover the costs of operating the retail and online stores. That cost is then divided amongst all the artists which makes it more affordable for everyone. With SDE supporting over 300 local Scottish artists, designers, and creators, the store is able to offer a wide variety of souvenir items in the shop including art, clothing, ceramics, dog collars, jewelry, and much more. It is a perfect place to shop for your souvenirs and gifts for those back home and, the best part, every penny of your purchase goes directly to the artists!

We selected a couple items from the ceramics creator, Foxed, as well as souvenirs for our girls (dogs) in the form of lovely dog collars with bows from Bowzos. The staff carefully packed our ceramic items to keep them safe during travel and we made it all the way back to the US without any damage. The Scottish cottage ceramic items we picked up are absolutely beautiful and are a lovely reminder of our time in Scotland plus the collars look incredible on the girls! We selected bolder colors to match our girls’ personalities and the bows are the perfect addition … just enough to stand out and add that perfect little something extra.  

Our friends met us at Edinburgh Gin Distillery for a gin tasting. We selected the distillery tasting experience which lasts 75 minutes and covers five different gins to taste. There is also a history of gin and Edinburgh as well as a tour of the distillery process on site. Having gone through one gin distillery tour already, there was a lot of repetition in the tour. That isn’t a bad thing if you are especially passionate about gin but I think it is helpful to know if you want to plan your time differently. Part of this trip for us was about spending time with our friends and this was an easy and enjoyable way to do that. 

The four of us rounded out our day with dinner and drinks at Innis and Gunn. Innis and Gunn is a bar scene which can be fun or can be quite loud, depending on the time and day. The food was solid and the beer options impressive. There are several beer options brewed  by Innis and Gunn which are worth a taste. We all enjoyed the food and company and were soon ready to return to our AirBnB for the night.