What a wonderful weekend!
A couple of days in Edinburgh 'Christmas Shopping' was the plan but it didn't work out quite like that: the problem being that Edinburgh has just far too much to offer for a weekend trip to even begin to do justice to the place.
Edinburgh is a well preserved, well presented city which shouts history and culture from every rooftop. Everything from the curve of the streets to the colour of the stone, to the imposing and stately castle, towering over the myriad bars, restaurants and shops, impressed me.
We flew to Edinburgh with Flybe and my only real nark with the weekend was all my own fault. Feeling a bit too 'tight' to pay the £7.99 checking-in charge for baggage, we decided to travel light and carry-on our bags. Treating the whole journey more like a train/bus ride as we were flying within our own country, silly me completely forgot the 100ml rule! This meant that I was conditioner-less by the time we arrived and only a forlorn smile saved my perfume from the extremely full bins of other people's discarded toiletries. Nonetheless, on arrival, Edinburgh Airport proved to be the height of efficiency and we were in and out with no hassles in record time.
We stayed at the Apex City Hotel on the GrassMarket which was in a superb central location, a mere stone's throw away from all the shops, pubs and restaurants. The roadworks were, I have to say, a bit of a disappointment but we were assured that it was all for the general good of the area. The hotel was contemporary, recently renovated, high quality and very smart. In fact it was everything you'd expect of a 4-Star establishment BUT (and for me this is a big 'but') it was COLD! Very cold! In fact all the time I was in the room on the first day and night, I had to snuggle up fully-clothed under the duvet. I was freezing. I commented to a member of staff on the Sunday morning and in no time at all a portable heater was taken up to the room to resolve the situation.
To compensate myself, I ate many calories worth of heart-warming, full Scottish Breakfasts and indulged in one or two wonderful malts! Tempted by the AA Rosette on display, our party ate in the Apex Agua Restaurant on the Saturday night and were impressed on many counts. The staff were calm, unhurried, friendly and super-efficient and our meals were beautifully presented. We chose to go with the Table D'Hote menu as we couldn't believe the price of two 3 course meals for £25. Quite incredible to find meals in any Rosette-starred restaurant for that price.
Our room, incidentally, had everything you could want and more ,including addictive Jelly Beans and a separate walk-in power shower which could have fitted the Scotland Rugby Team at a push! Now there's a thought.........
If there's one thing you do in Edinburgh, make it a visit to 'Camera Obscura and World of Illusions'! There's lots to see and even more to talk about. The blurb says that 'this Victorian Eye in the Sky has fascinated visitors for 150 years' and I can see why. We spent ages there being mind-boggled by the various illusions and the opportunity to pick up a traffic warden and throw him back down was too great to resist. Confused? Well go along and you'll soon see what I mean.
Our half day in the impressive and steeped-in-history Edinburgh Castle was also money well-spent and as we were there on a crisp, sunny day, the views over the Firth of Forth were outstanding. And I swear I have never seen so many chimney-pots in my life!
I've been on many weekend City Breaks and in holiday-mode I often don't want to leave (New York) or can't wait to go back again (Madrid and Antwerp). But Edinburgh is different. It's not just that I'd love to go there again as soon as possible but I actually feel quite envious of people who live there. It's so atmospheric and proud. It's not like one of those identikit cities with street after street of High Street chain shops - although don't get me wrong, all the shops are there, plenty of them! In amongst those shops are old higgledy, piggledy buildings with stories to tell. The pubs have the strangest names, pipers play here and there (but not in a naff 'let's appeal to the tourists' way), opportunities to indulge a taste for haggis abound ..... It's an elegant, buzzing, authentic city with an atmosphere unlike any other! I loved it!
Kathryn Crawford
November 2008
....and yes, Kathryn did manage to fit some Xmas Shopping in with all the eating, drinking and gallivanting and generally having a great time!
To reserve a room at any Apex Hotel, you can call 0845 365 or go to www.apexhotels.co.uk
For information on how to experience a fabulous Winter White break in Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com/white or call the national booking and information number on 0845 22 55 121 |
Bluestone Wales
