Travel: Edinburgh and The Fringe Festival

Last weekend, I went to Scotland for bank holiday. Two days in Edinburgh, home to the bustling Fringe Festival and two days in Glasgow. Both so different and both absolutely amazing. First up, the Captial...

Edinburgh Castle

The Fringe Festival played its last 2014 show last Monday but the beautiful Scottish capital has so much to see, and when the sun completely disappears, Edinburgh's sights, restaurants and galleries are perfect for a winter weekend away. 

An Edinburgh shop front

It was the first time I had been back since studying Graphic Design at Edinburgh College of Art. I remember how sad I was to leave and vowed to make a trip back every year. Then post student life got in the way and I broke that promise. I cannot begin to explain how excited I was for my reunion with the city that was once my home.

Oh yes!

I took Ollie, who's an Edinburgh novice and we travelled first class for free because I had a whole load of East Coast reward points saved up. This meant constant snacks and gratis gin and tonics - what a good start to the trip!

Hot Dub Time Machine

We only booked a couple of months ago, so affordable accommodation was scarce. One of the things I loved most about living in Edinburgh was the tenement flats', high ceilings and huge rooms so I was slightly dubious about staying in an Air BnB room in the new Quartermile development. Here's the link - and I don't think the pictures don't do the room justice!

I needn't have worried. The flat was a stones throw from Bristo Square, where most of the Fringe action is, and the room had great views of the meadows (Edinburgh's largest green space), and to be honest, we spent hardly any time there anyway.

The very funny James Acaster

As it was the first time I was going back since being a student, and it was Ollie's first visit, I wanted the trip to be about the city just as much as the Fringe so a wander through the landmarks was essential. The castle, The Grassmarket and The New town were all on our list. For this reason, we only booked the brilliantly fun Hot Dub Time Machine, a club night, where you dance to a song for every year starting from 1954. We also nabbed last minute tickets to the sell out hilarious James Acaster and I'll be booking tickets for the London stop on his upcoming UK tour. 

Underbelly Fun

We met up with friends on Friday night and went to the Comedy All Stars where the hilarious Stephen K Amos had us in stitches. 

Where to Eat

Amazing Eggs Royale in Urban Angel

Breakfast - Urban Angel
Recommended by a friend, Urban Angel has got to be up there with one of the best breakfasts I have ever had. With a menu full of classics, and a nod to ingredient with a Scottish provenance, I ordered the eggs royale with Aberdeen smoked salmon to help cure the Hot Dub hangover and the carrot, orange and ginger juice gave me a much needed restorative health kick. We sat outside and basked in the rare Edinburgh sun. Heaven.
121 Hanover Street

Toast is another great option on the other side of town in Marchmont for breakfast. They homemake their own baked beans and the cooked breakfast little extras like sweet corn fritters are great.
146 Marchmont Rd

Lunch - The Outsider
The daily changing lunch menu is an absolute steal and includes local seasonal treats such as rabbit, crab linguini and makeral. Don't miss the garlic fries. Lunch runs until 5pm.

15 George IV Bridge

Dinner - Mother India
This authentic Southern Indian restaurant does 'tapas style' curries, which just means smaller portions, so you can try more. That's my kind of place. My favourites are the dry okra and butter chicken mopped up with a garlic naan.
3-5 Infirmary Street
 

We tried to book a few new places including Timberyard and Blackfriars, but they were completely fully booked. Next time!

Stockbridge

We wandered over to Stockbridge, a lesser known side to the city to tourists. It's seriously beautiful, with wide streets lined with grand houses, dispersed with lots of little independent shops. There's even a stretch of canal to walk past before popping into Hectors, a pub which won points for an amazing bloody mary and Beavertown on the beer list. 
47-49 Deanhaugh St

Hectors

We also spent a couple of days in Glasgow so check back soon for my write up...

Stockbridge grey cat

Review: The Goldfinch by Donna Tart

For those of you still to go on holiday, (lucky things) there is always the question of which book to take. On my recent trip to Spain, I devoured The Goldfinch and here's my mini review...

The book opens with a sweaty palm chapter of adult Theodore Decker in hiding in an Amsterdam hotel room, scanning newspapers in search of his name in connection with a mysterious serious crime.

The novel speeds back 14 years and Theo, aged thirteen is lulling the reader into his close relationship with his beautiful loved-by-everyone Mother. The bond is made more precious with the sporadic invasion of his abusive, alcoholic father, who he is about to see a lot more of following a harrowing disaster when on a visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art with his Mother.

The novel swerves through Theo’s now chaotic life, where he is tossed through tenuous circumstances and told continuous bad news. He meets unsavoury and loveable characters, who Tartt develops with insatiable detail as Theo confronts the consequences of stealing from Las Vegas Casinos whilst his drug use unhinges him from an ever present secret he knows he must face.

The Goldfinch is impossible to put down. That is until the biceps give way under the weight of the 800 hundred page-turner. When finished, fear not as the story has been picked up by the producers of The Hunger Games.

When I got back from holiday, I carried on reading my book instead of just switching on the telly or zoning out on my lap top. I was unbelievable how much it gave me the holiday feeling, so here's a list of a few more books I intend to read before next year.

The Secret History, Donna Tartt

The Secret History

The Secret History is Donna Tartt's first novel, which follows six calssics students and an incident that led to a murder. Friends have said they prefer this one to The Goldfinch so I can't wait to read it.

Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl

The Tenderness of Wolves

Another thriller, Gone Girl is about the disappearance of a woman. All eyes focus on her long term husband and whether he is to blame.

The Tenderness of Wolves

Set in Canada in the 1860s, the book begins with a murder. As various people try to solve it, more events happen, making it a pretty tense read. I'm a third of the way through this one and I can't put it down.

Shop Spotlight: The Conran Shop

Inside the shop

As I mentioned in my last post, I have just started a new job as an Art Producer and Creative Researcher at AMV, a creative advertising agency. I'm just coming to the end of my third week and it's flown by. It's a slight move away from design but I'll be working very closely with photographers and illustrators, which is what I love.

The offices are in Marylebone, an area I'm not too familiar with, which means I get to do one of my favourite things and explore! We are minutes away from Marylebone High Street, full of great little shops and cafes.

Neon tags in the stationary section

I popped in to the Conran Store on my lunch break. The flagship store is one of the most beautifully curated shops I have ever been in. You'll find some of their design classics alongside a fantastic art and design book shop. I sprayed a bit of the Comme Des Garcons perfume and spent a while eyeing up the bits and bobs in the brilliant stationary section.

One day my bathroom shelves will look like this!

I didn't buy anything on this quick trip but I spied some bathroom products I'm going to treat myself to when it's finally all done. There's something about black and white products that just look so nice and simple.

The Conran Store
55 Marylebone High Street

Food: Texas Joe's, The Grafton

I'm trying to make the most of these warm, sunny evenings by spending as much time outside as possible because I know it's not long before we'll be buttoning up for autumn.

Roof top view

So I agreed when a friend suggested we go for a drink last night. We went to a local pub, The Grafton who have just opened their roof top. It's a great boozer - I wrote about their winter sing-a-longs around the piano here. But now it's summer, and one drink on the sun trap obviously led to two, and before we knew it, we were queuing at the bar to order texan grub from the current resident chefs Texas Joe.

Texan Feast

The Grafton rotate a roster of chefs, each one with a different style of grub. This menu is Texan, so think beef brisket, pulled pork and mac 'n' cheese. But I ordered a hearty smokey portobello mushroom burger with two types of cheese. I liked the bonus onion ring and the bun dappled in sesame seeds had a briochey flavour and texture.

Bonus Onion Ring

The chips were golden and crispy and the coleslaw had a healthy crunch with slices of mild white onion and not too much mayonnaise - all in all, great grub for a pub.

Me enjoying a Camden Pale Ale

Licking my lips, I asked the friendly barman who was next on their Chef list, he wasn't sure, but he promised it would be just as good, so I'll be back.

Travel: Andalusia, Southern Spain

Tapas and Rioja for 1.50€ a pop and not a Brit abroad in sight. We discovered the villages and beaches near the wild Mountains of Andalusia.

So first things first, the blog has taken a well overdue holiday. I have just started a new job (more on this later) and it feels like I have had no time to do my washing, let alone anything worth writing about. However, just before the job started, I managed a very last minute holiday with my family to the mountains of Southern Spain (I think we booked 3 days before we flew) and it was just perfect.

Hotel Cerro de Hijar - we had the two floors of the tall tower

As it was so last minute and I didn't have time to do my usual levels of research, for the first 4 nights, I found Hotel Cerro de Hijar on i-escape, a brilliant site who scour the globe for the best boutique hotels. The hotel was simply but tastefully decorated with traditional Spanish features. And it was SO peacefully quiet. We didn't hear much more than the crickets and birds and the shuffling of our cards. The hotel was perched at the top of the mountain overlooking the dappled white village of Tolox, which made for some serioulsy breathtaking views from the pool.

The view from our balcony

The Hotel's Terrace

Sangria - a Spanish staple

Malaga, once the airport town for Brits abroad en route to the high rises of The Costa Del Sol, now it's being taken seriously as an emerging foodie spot, prompting The Guardian to published this feature. But we were heading 45 mins drive towards the wild mountains, to a small village named Tolox.

The hotel courtyard

The hotel is famed for it's food, with a once Michelin starred chef at the helm, but we preferred the simpler offerings of gazpacho (a cold tomato garlicky soup) with a plate of cured mountain cheese and ham. We tore ourselves from our books and the pattern of eat, sleep, swim, for a meander around the beautiful village of Tolox, with its traditional white and moorish tiled houses. We also found a local tapas restaurant that was empty until about 11pm, when families arrived and shared huge platters of sardines and giant king prawns and the adults sipped sangria while the young children played in the square.

Moorish tiles decorate the white houses

Calamares for sale, Tolox

Giant tiger prawns in Tolox

La Cala de Maro, Malaga

Spain wouldn't be Spain without a trip to the playa. We drove to a little cove La Cala de Maro about 20 minutes East of Malaga with clear water and a ramshackled Chiringuito (beach bar). Just be careful where you park the car - we came back to find a 100€ find tucked under the wiper.

La Cala del Moral

Beach day no.2 was spent at La Cala del Moral, a vast stretch of palm tree edged sand. The sea was much warmer here and we managed to bag a table on the terrace of Avante Claro, the very popular sea food restaurant at the eastern tip of the beach and a fish feast commenced. Just look at the squid ink paella and razor clams!

Avante Claro

Squid ink paella

Razor Clams

We ate a stupid amount of food on this holiday... when it's this good, fresh and cheap, you would be mad not to. We walked some of it off on a mountain trail just by our hotel, with more staggeringly beautiful views.

 Our mountain walk

The travel experts have cottoned onto this unspoilt part of Spain and are billing Malaga and it's surrounding spots as the place to go in 2014. Did I mention that we didn't come across any other British tourists? This is where the Spanish holiday and it's only a matter of time before this authentic area on Andalusia is firmly on the holiday map.

We spent the last two days of our holiday in Ronda, so stay tuned for the write up... Adiós!

The Road to Ronda