A Taste of Edinburgh

Haggis with neeps and tatties...may not look fab, but it is quite yummy!

This past weekend we travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland for a too-short trip. We were welcomed very warmly by a friend of mine who was a terrific host who showed us around his fair city. He also managed to get us tickets to the Military Tattoo (sold out for months in advance) on the Saturday evening. August is the time for the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe comedy festival so the city is bustling with activity. The restaurants and shops are all bustling with tourists, and there are street performers on every corner, as well as thousands of comics and other entertainers performing in every venue you can imagine.

I won't go into all the detail here, but if you're interested in knowing more, visit http://www.edfringe.com/ and http://www.eif.co.uk/about-festival/about-festival.html

Scotland is famous for a many things, among them its whiskeys and its haggis - which we, of course, were obligated to sample.

We had a delicious meal at a traditional Scottish restaurant - where I tasted my first haggis (in a springroll appetizer) which was delicious! I also had Cranachan, a traditional Scottish desert - also lovely.

So on to the first of several whiskey bars we went...and several hours and whiskeys later, we found ourselves walking back to our hotel at 2:30 a.m.! What a night. And what a morning after...ouch. I can't say I'll be drinking a lot of whiskey now, but our trip would not have been complete without this experience.

Now, about that haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish - and although I recalled seeing a piece within a documentary some time ago about what it is and how it is made, I thought it best not to think about this. I must admit, it was delicious and savoury. I had it for dinner again, with the traditional "neeps and tatties" (turnip and potatoes) and I really enjoyed it. It is also often served with a whiskey sauce or with a "dram" of Scotch whiskey.

We did manage to get in a comedy act - an interesting and funny history of swearing. Yes, it was a bit rude, but well-researched and quite hilarious.

The Military Tattoo was SpecTACULAR. The Edinburgh Castle is the backdrop for this amazing event. Spectators and performers are from all over the world (this year includes a group from the US - Southeast Missouri State University - shown here strutting their stuff. They did me proud!) and we were thoroughly entertained for two hours. I tried to capture some of this on video but this was tough and because I wanted to enjoy the show rather than see it though the viewfinder on my camera I gave up trying. My particular favorite aside from the Scottish Military, was the Royal Guard from Norway (the 2nd video of the Tattoo below - and a link to a better video here http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=xSpkN3IGEX0&feature=related). Anyway, if you have the chance, go see the Tattoo - it is well worth it!

A weekend is simply too short for Edinburgh, and we plan to return next summer and plan to see loads of comedy acts, climb up the side of the hill to the castle (which seems to appear out of nowhere when you enter the city). We were very fortunate to have a castle view from our hotel window (on Princes Street directly across the street from Nelson's Monument).

An interesting sidenote. As you probably know, the pound is the official currentcy of the United Kingdom, and Scotland uses the pound as its currency - but you may not know that they actually print their own pound notes (which are pretty difficult to use outside of Scotland - particularly in London - not because they aren't legal tender*, but because they're from the Bank of Scotland and get pretty closely examined by shop clerks receiving them from a patron). Ask a Londoner about using these notes some time. Last night I was watching a famous comedian who actually incorporated this concept into his act and the timing was perfect and his comments 'spot on' and quite hilarious.

*Note that no paper money is legal tender in Scotland, even that issued by the Bank of England, which is legal tender in England and Wales. Scottish notes are not legal tender in England, although they are accepted as if they are). You can see an image of one of these notes here http://www.banknotes.com/sq351.htm.

The first film below is a quick view of our trip, with some clips of the Military Tattoo following.

Enjoy!