I sit alone in coffee shops on early mornings, while the world is still half asleep. A favourite is on a late afternoon, when the light is dipping below the buildings, one last stream hitting the cafe window, a slither of light on a brick wall, before it disappears for the night.

I find peace sitting in cafes, listening to the chatter at the other tables and the milk steamers blasting out hot air. I get more work done sitting in one for an hour, than I do for 6 hours at home, while the kids are at school. I get up to make a cup of tea and before I know it I’ve done a load of washing, the dishes and I’m organising lego by colour.

New coffee shops pop up all the time and old favourites remain firmly where they’ve always been. Sometimes you find a wee gem that’s still hidden, a little quieter than the spots that are well known and inundated with travellers and locals waiting for seats. Sometimes they close and are gone on your next visit without even as much as a warning, just a sign on the door thanking you for your custom.

I get too comfortable and sit at familiar windows all too often. I take a book with me on every trip, and never turn a page. Too busy watching the new tourists roll their suitcases in and debate over the towering staircase infant of them or the hill that leads to their hotel.

I have a list of cafe’s tucked away in my notes section and plan to visit as many as I can over the next year, taking myself away from comfort and exploring new adventures. I’ll be sharing them all here in my ‘Coffee Shop Journals‘. You can visit previous cafes with that link. Or visit my Instagram @MyLittleEdinburgh if you’d like to see reels and images of other visits. I’m not sure why I stopped sharing them quite so often, but I realised it was genuinely something I loved and can’t wait to get back to. I’m not a great food critic, but I know a good cup of tea and cinnamon bun when I see one….

Thank you for all the support, it’s been really fun sharing these spots with you. You can suggest a cafe you’d like to see, and ‘Buy me a Hot Chocolate‘ for our next cafe adventure to share!