Overground, Underground and The Fry-Up

Posted on 2007/09/09 17:51:30 (September 2007).

[Monday 3rd September]
Had another full day in Edinburgh today, although without anything very specific planned. We spent the morning doing a spot of shopping, then met up with Lucy and Martin for lunch at Henderson's - a vegetarian restaurant Vera and I had been to the last time we were both in Edinburgh, eight years ago. The food was good, but I was a bit cross about the "freshly squeezed" orange juice - it wasn't actually that freshly squeezed and two not-particularly-generous glasses came to an outrageous six pounds. If I do ever go again, I think I'll stick to tap water.

After lunch we popped into the Whisky Society's central Edinburgh venue on Queen's Street, mostly just so Vera could see what it was like (it has a rather grand interior) and of course to fit in a quick dram.

Later on in the afternoon, we left Vera to her own devices, while Chie and I went off to join one of those touristy guided walking tours. I was a bit embarassed to do this sort of thing, but was also very keen to see the vaults - an complex of passages and chambers beneath the streets of Edinburgh - and the guided tours were the only way to do this. I was the only British person on the tour. Still, my embarassment aside, it was actually rather enjoyable, our guide was very good indeed, and it was a great opportunity to see a fascinating part of Edinburgh that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to.

After our walk, we met up with Vera again, and following some deliberation decided to head back to Leith. We had originally planned to met up with Lucy and Martin again for dinner in the centre, but we were all pretty tired and didn't think we'd last out that long. So Vera and Chie went to buy some bits and pieces from Marks and Spencer, while I ran up to Royal Mile Whiskies to buy a bottle to get us through the evening (the Whisky Society in Leith is closed Monday nights) as well as for the journey tomorrow.

The apartment we were staying in came with some breakfast goods - eggs, bacon etc - which both Vera and Chie were very concerned about us not having used up. So tonight we had a big fry up for dinner, along with the bits and pieces from Marks and Spencers which were mainly for my benefit. The girls seemed very eager to do the cooking, so I pretty much sat back with a glass of whisky and left them to it.

Whilst cooking, Vera dropped increasingly less-and-less subtle hints about the lack of HP sauce. She really did seem very determined to have some brown sauce with her bacon and eggs, but alas there was none in the flat. Eventually I caved in and dashed out to get some - as dinner was basically ready at this point I was in something of a hurry, but actually the nearest open shop was some distance away. Consequently I have a fond memory of running through the streets of Leith with a bottle of HP sauce in my hand - I must have looked quite odd to the local residents.

It is hard to articulate exactly why, but this mildly farcical meal together at the apartment was surprisingly fun, and turned out to be a real highlight of our three nights in Edinburgh.

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