Trip to Edinburgh

The last couple of weeks have been amazingly busy. I seriously don’t know where all the has been going. I know at least where this last weekend went as I took the train from Kings Cross up to Edinburgh. Figuring that I come into this station from work anyway, I figured it’d be easiest getting on a train that takes about four and half four rather than catching planes, waiting for airport security and then catching a bus on the other side. I’m really glad I did as well. The train was comfy although going first class doesn’t include a meal like the Virgin trains do. These ones to Edinburgh are taken care of by the National Rail East Coast line. I reserved a table so that I’d have access to power sockets although I didn’t need to worry since I think all of those seats came with it.

Our trip to Edinburgh (seemingly like many trips) centred around hanging out with friends enjoying good food and wine. Eight of us went up, having a lunchtime booking for Michelin-starred Restaurant Martin Wishart.

MartinWishart

We had an amazing meal (more of that over here) and plenty of wine to go along with it. Like many great meals I’ve had recently, this one seemed a bit like a marathon taking just under four hours to complete. We were lucky then that this place was a couple of streets away from the vaults of the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society.

Whiskey

We spent the rest of the afternoon until early in the evening sitting around in the dark oaked halls of the vaults, sipping a wide variety of drams and simply enjoying each other’s company. It definitely got busy towards the end of the evening, where we stepped out to grab a quick meal before heading home to our wonderful apartments. The next morning we had breakfast at Urban Angel, one of the best places for a Sunday brunch before walking around town and having to return to London early afternoon.

One other place worth visiting if you’re in Edinburgh and dying for a good coffee is Artisan Roast. It’s got a fantastic little vibe and particularly great coffee.

Gigs Galore

October ended up as a busy month for seeing some live music. A couple of Fridays ago I ended up at Brixton Academy to see Franz Ferdinand. I’d last seen them at the massive Alexandra Palace and was stoked to see them in a much smaller venue. Although they hadn’t actually produced any new material for a while, they certainly put on a very impressive audience that kept the entire Academy packed throughout. They had amazing video and lights accompanying them and just put on an awesome show.

Wednesday this week, I returned to The Forum, this time to see the Scottish based DJ performance, Calvin Harris. I’d seen him live a few years back at a festival and although he was simply DJing then, he definitely got the audience up and jumping.

Calvin Harris

That night was the same and I can’t imagine that The Forum has ever been so hot with so many people jumping around. We arrived to see the support act, Mr Hudson who seemed to have a bit of a following of his own and did well to warm up the audience. I’m glad that I didn’t bother to bring my coat as I saw a number of people with sweaters and coats suffering from their layers in such an energised audience. Great night, great music and what a way to enjoy a good night out in London.