Autumn in Edinburgh is intoxicating.
There’s the obvious factor which we’ve experienced over a lovely array of IPA’s and single malt whiskies, but there’s also that October air.
Fall always seems to have a bit of a nostalgic quality to it, and the air in Scotland is no exception. The chill alone nearly makes one feel a little tipsy.
Add the distant sound of bagpipes everywhere you go and boom, in love.
Three of us slept in past 10AM, which was, amazingly, not a product of the former intoxication, but apparently still quite necessary. I thought perhaps my phone was broken and the time had been set to another zone, but nope. 10:19...cock-a-doodle-doo!
Steven shot out of bed like Elaine after sleeping through her alarm while trying to get her English boyfriend to the airport...
Everyone was discombobulated except for David, who was up at 8:00AM, refreshing the feeds to see what we’ve missed on the world news stage.
Our flat is at the bottom of the famously colorful Victoria Street at West Bow and Grassmarket.
It’s an easy walk up to the Royal Mile and, after coffee, we carried on past the Hollywood Blvd. of Edinburgh where Harry Potter owls had bigger crowds than the bagpiper, William Wallace, and the burly executioner.
We strolled to the top of the hill and gained entrance into Edinburgh castle, which stands on Castle Rock and has been occupied by humans since the Iron Age.
The juxtaposition between old and new is everywhere, even inside the castle...it’s interesting and annoying at the same time, but that’s progress I suppose.
It’s still incredible to walk where we have such rich historical records and breathing it all in with that crisp air, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
At pint-thirty, we found ourselves at The Mitre, where the bishop’s throne was buried under the bar in 1814 after a fire destroyed the original establishment.
His spirit still walks the pub and perhaps helped take the head off of the Jack Back IPA that went down all too easy.
We strolled the mile, down and back. Tweed and whisky on our minds.
Ready for Hendrix martinis and dinner, we landed at The Commons Club for the most incredible meal we’ve had in a long time.
Couldn’t tell you my favorite between the spelt and barley risotto with wild mushrooms and roasted macadamias or the hake over foraged herbs, asparagus and garden peas with a buttermilk herb dressing.
Also to die for, the hand-carved black label jamon iberico de bellota and the dauphinoise potatoes with Scottish brie and truffle. Yes, I copied and pasted all of that off the online menu...
One more day in Edinburgh, then off to the highlands.
Comments