Tuesday 2 December 2008

Edinburgh in October


This is plainly ridiculous, but . . .

For the sake of completeness, here's a short post about the remainder of my day in Edinburgh six weeks ago! There's nothing like running a little behind with one's blog.

At the opposite end of Bruntsfield Place from Halibut & Herring, resides The Children's Bookshop - home of Fidra Books and brainchild of Vanessa of the Fidra Blog ("The ramblings of a book-lover who created her dream job… ").



How very nice it was to have the chance to pop in and say 'hi' to Vanessa (above left) and some of her team - and, of course to choose a book each for the SDs. And these are the books which, with Vanessa's expert assistance, I posted home to the tribe:







After a quick but very welcome cup of coffee, I dashed across the road and hopped on a bus for my next destination, Princes Street, and thence to the Best Bar in Edinburgh. Where I enjoyed a surprise lunch (and a Guinness, naturally) with a very dear friend.


Apart from the wonderful decor, what I love about this place is that if you order a sandwich, what arrives at the table is a sandwich with salad and chips! Brilliant.
After that, it was tea at The Dome , which was already, in mid-October, lavishly decorated for Christmas.


I'm not a big fan of early decorations, but these were so unbelievably splendid that I let them off. By now, there will be a lofty Christmas tree rising up into the dome itself.


I have never in my life taken a photograph in a public (or indeed any other kind, come to think of it) lavatory, but the ladies' loos at The Dome are so sumptuous as to necessitate the quick snap above (bit blurry, but you get the general idea, and it's not minimalist).

My whirlwind day-trip ended, emotionally for me, at the National Gallery of Scotland , a stroll through the Princes Street Gardens, and back to Waverley Station for my return trip to Berwick.
A day I shall remember always.

7 comments:

Kim Velk said...

Oh dear. More photos that make me want to travel far from home. If I ever get back to your side of the pond (and it took me decades to make my first trip) I have to get to the north of England and all that countryside photographed by Mrs. UHDD at Up Hill Down Dale and to Edinburgh and to the Holy Island. As I say, oh dear.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the nostalgia trip! I lived in Edinburgh for 8 years (a long time ago) and still have much love for the city. The Cafe Royal is fabulous - wonderful to know it is still thriving. Would I be right in thinking the Dome is at the back of Jenners'? It looks very familiar.

monix said...

I'm so glad that you decided to write this post, J; it was really worth waiting for! You visited all the places I would try to fit in if I had only one day in Edinburgh. My memory of visiting The Dome (which our family refers to as The Bank) is of an extremely expensive lunch in very grand surroundings - the ladies' loo compensating for the shock of the bill. The photos, as ever, brilliant.

Joanna said...

Worth the six week wait ;) Lots of new places to visit next time I'm in Edinburgh (at least once a year) - thanks for sharing

Joanna

Susie Vereker said...

Smashing pix. Thanks for posting them. I love Edinburgh.

Anonymous said...

love 'the dome', far too few places such as this to drink coffee, take afternoon tea etc. these days.

Juliet said...

Kim - sounds as though you need to plan a good long trip to take in all these places. Let me know which flight you're on and I'll organise a welcoming party on the muddy island. (Seriously - you must cross the Pond again soon!)

WSth - yep, the Dome's in George Street, backing on to Jenners. Lucky you living there so long. Somewhere I've always wanted to live myself, but probably too stuck in the Mersea mud to get away now!

Joanna - I fully intend to continue my one-yearly fix of Edinburgh. But oh, to be able to take a long enough break from work to 'do' the Festivals! Dream on . . .

M - The loos were indeed a revelation. As for the bill, I'm slightly ashamed to say that I wasn't picking up the tab, so I've no idea how much our two pots of tea (with complimentary chocs, one of which is still at the bottom of my handback because I can't bring myself to spoil the wrapper by eating it!) cost. I feel terrible now - they were probably extortionate!

Susie - thanks. Must catch up with your blog again soon - I've been a bit out of the blogosphere loop recently.

James - except on Mersea of course, where there is an afternoon tea establishment of considerable apeal! (memo to self: must investigate and take photos of the artcafe loos soon . . .)