I'm baaaack...yes had a long nap this afternoon. We did have a lot of fun doing Edinburgh, but strangely enough - the actual New Years Eve didn't amount to that much -- everything else was super though! Let's see...yummy restaurants we ate at (you know food comes first, after all!
)...
http://www.panchovillas.co.uk/index.php?section_id=17http://www.nargile.co.uk/http://www.edinburghcapitalguide.com/tapasole.htm (right down street from our b&b)
http://www.mussel-inn.com/edinburgh.htmlhttp://www.elephant-house.co.uk/elephant.htm (lunch there x2 days)
The Tollbooth Tavern, 167 Canongate -- good pub grub
We went to a couple cool pubs while we were there -- this place:
http://www.royal-oak-folk.com/ (it was just a come one-come all jam session that night, so we heard two or three different guitar players and several singers -- all pure locals from as near as we could tell)
This place was very near our b&b & seemed more like a 'real local' rather than a tourist bar or 'style bar': Clarks Bar 142 Dundas St -- it was nice 'cause a couple local guys came up to us, introduced themselves & talked our ears off! (Once they found out I was American, they really took off on the conversation. LOL) One of them I had a really hard time making out anything the man was saying -- wasn't sure how much to attribute to a heavy Scottish accent and how much to overconsumption of whisky.
We walked loads -- all over Old Town and some New Town, took one of those Mercat Tours that go into the underground vaults under the bridges -- learning the cool history. Ours wasn't a 'ghost tour' but we should do that next time. Steve tried to get me up to Arthurs Seat -- I think I got just up to the Salisbury Crags & then told him to go the rest of the way to the top without me. It just looked too steep & a bit slippery (with the dampish weather) -- and I was knackered. (Also I managed to do something to my foot on New Years Eve-Day -- it wasn't due to drinking either, but feels like I pulled a muscle or something in my foot, so I've been hobbling & in pain since then -- except for when I had a magic combination of painkillers & alcohol.
)
The run-up to New Years Eve was nice -- we took part in the torchlight procession from Parliament Square to Calton Hill. (I kept asking Steve where are the pitchforks and when do we get to kill the monster?!) The Night Afore bit (free street party on George Street) was nice between the Celtic music and the Catalan entertainment -- they had some of the castellers (human castle builders) from Barcelona area this year. Plus dragons. They had fireworks every night which we really enjoyed!
Now...for New Years Eve -- well I guess we didn't suss that one out properly. We ate at the Tapas Ole place before going down to the Princes Street party (we had our passes-wristbands) -- and at dinner, we split a bottle of wine. But when we got to Princes Street & were admitted to the street party -- there was nowhere to buy any drinks other than soft drinks! And we hadn't thought to take our own. (See when we did Amsterdam two years ago, at the Dam Square party, there were the little Heinie tents dotted about here & there when you could buy a beer or small plastic flutes of champagne -- so I guess we expected something similar.) Also, no off licences or pubs that we could get to from the street party either. So it was one of the soberest New Years Eves we've spent in a few years! Granted, plenty of folks brought their own -- and there was so many people, the crowd was a bit scary at times (pushing & shoving, no room to move, etc) -- so perhaps it was best not to give some of the attendees any more encouragement... But the fireworks over the castle were nice & we were able to wake the following morning hangover-free...and get to one last day of walking around. (There were lots of Scotsmen about in their kilts too -- one who was mooning for a friend's photoshoot so I was able to confirm he had nothing on under there...)
We've already compiled a 'to do' list for our next trip to Edinburgh though...some things we couldn't do this time because of curtailed bus schedules around the holiday, restaurants we didn't get to, etc. We're hoping to go back at a warmer time of year the next time 'round.
Our B&B was lovely -- though I think everything tends to be a bit pricier around a festival such as Hogmanay & probably for the August festivals too.
Sorry for the long post...just thought I'd give the lowdown on how it all went.
PS -- Thanks for all the suggestions & advice, everyone! We didn't get to Lupe Pintos 'cause my foot was getting hurty by the time we got 'round to that, and also it was close to closing time on New Years Eve.
