End of Edinburgh Festival Fireworks

If you happen to regularly read my blog, you would have seen that last year we had a night-time picnic down at the local beach to watch the end of the Edinburgh Festival being marked by the usual spectacular firework display.  Well, this year we went the whole hog and booked to attend a gala dinner at the Royal Overseas League at 100 Princes Street, Edinburgh, which is situated directly opposite the Ross Bandstand and Edinburgh Castle!!

We caught the train into Edinburgh and wandered along Princes Street in glorious sunshine, taking one or two photos on the way

Scott Monument

Scott Monument

Scottish Saltire

Houses near Edinburgh Castle

We made our way to the venue where we settled in for a thirst quenching drink then on to the champagne reception.  After a couple of glasses of very nice 'bubbly stuff' we entered the dining room for our five course dinner.  It was a set menu - here is what was on offer:

Strips of confit duck leg and sliced smoked

duck breast with a bacon and hazelnut dressing

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Cream of asparagus soup topped with

coriander creme fraiche

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Lemon sorbet drizzled with Limon Cello

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Slow cooked fillet of beef with celariac and mustard mash,

tarragon infused chantenay carrots and a port jus

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Milk chocolate box with Morello cherry compote and

toasted chopped nuts

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Dunsyre Blue, Connage Clava Brie and Arran Cheddar

with celery, grapes and real ale chutney

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Freshly brewed coffee and Scottish fudge

I can tell you now that everything was just wonderful - the plates were very clean going back to the kitchen!!  This was fine dining at its very best and was served with lovely wine, which was all  included in the price of our tickets.

Once the sweets were finished it was time to climb up to the rooftop to view the fireworks.  We were very lucky and were right at the front of the balcony with a grandstand view of the majestic Edinburgh Castle.

Then the music and fireworks started.  It was all truly awesome!!  Some of the fireworks seemed to be bursting above us and lighting up the night sky with brilliant colours.  As usual, I spent most of the time viewing everything through the lens of the camera with some photos turning out quite well and others not turning out at all!!  Here are what I consider to be some of the better photos of the night:

These ones look a bit like palm trees!!

Although the castle looks like it's on fire, I can confirm that it wasn't!!

The finale

Although the fireworks and music lasted around 45 minutes, the time flew past so quickly and it was soon time to descend the stairs back into the building where our cheese and biscuits and coffee and fudge were waiting for us.  We had hope that we'd be able to get the last train home again, but Scotrail are not very hearty when it comes to putting on late trains - the last train was 10.30 p.m. instead of 9.30 p.m. which wouldn't have given us enough time to enjoy what was on offer, so we decided to take a taxi home instead.

Once we had finished our cheese and biscuits we headed off into the night and hailed a taxi which took us home.  I have to say though that these black cabs are not at all comfortable!!  I think that was the bumpiest journey I've ever had in a cab in my life!!

We really hadn't known what to expect from our evening but it really did surpass all expectations - so much so, that we're talking about the possibility of doing it all over again next year!!

More of Festive Edinburgh

We went with friends into Edinburgh yesterday (27th December) for lunch at the Slug and Lettuce (yes, that IS it's correct name!!) in the Omni Centre before going to see We Will Rock You at Edinburgh Playhouse.  The show was fantastic but I feel that the one we saw in 2009 was slightly better.  We still enjoyed it though and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is reading this!  If you get the chance, go and see it!! I had wanted to take photos to test out the new camera, but as the announcement at the beginning of the performance said photography and recording was prohibited, I didn't really get a chance to fiddle with the camera.  I did sneak these though!!

Sneaky photo taken at We Will Rock You

Another sneaky photo taken at We Will Rock You

When we came out of the Playhouse, it had been raining but it was still mild and dry when we left.  We had a wander through George Square after drinks at Valvona and Crolla's then we progressed down into Princes Street Gardens and my friend and I went onto the Big Wheel and the Carousel before walking up to George Street with the intention of having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe but, on getting there, we were told that there was a problem in the kitchen and that they had stopped serving food!  We then walked down into Rose Street where we had a meal in Milnes pub which we discovered was a Taylor Walker pub, the same chain that runs one of our favourite places in the Grassmarket - The Beehive.

After dinner, we made our way back to the train station and home.  All in all, it was a great day out.  Here are some photos taken during the day.

Big Wheel and Scott Monument

Big Wheel

Edinburgh Castle

Princes Street and Edinburgh Castle from the Big Wheel

Princes Street and Carousel from the Big Wheel

Balloons

Human Snow Globe!

Christmas tree at The Dome

Chair o' planes

Festive Edinburgh

'Tis the season to go shopping, tra la la la la, la la la la!!  The day started off a bit damp and cold but the sun came out for a little while too and I was able to get onto the big wheel and the carousel, which is a 'must do' on the Christmas shopping day - but it's vital to do this BEFORE you have too many carrier bags full of shopping with you!!  There are loads of food stalls and also the 'German Market' where you can pick up many nice and unusual gifts.  Here is a small selection of photos:

The Big Wheel

Awesome view of Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street from the top of the Big Wheel

The sun came out!!

Carousel horses

Giant penguin

Chair-o-planes

Edinburgh silhouette

Being a tourist for a day!

On Saturday we went into Edinburgh with friends to sample the festival atmosphere and, luckily, hit on a good day for doing so!!  It was lovely just wandering around and stopping for refreshments when we wanted to, and not sticking to any sort of timetable.  Here are some of my favourite photos of the day:

Victoria Street

Looking from Victoria Terrace onto Victoria Street and the Grassmarket

Street lighting

Scott Monument, Princes Street Gardens

Looking up to the Mound

Bike rider with a sense of humour

High Street (Royal Mile)