July 8, 2008: Edinburgh

Tuesday was our last day of shared holiday time, with Cindy heading to St Andrews in the evening and me to Tokyo the next day. We were a bit done with sightseeing, but mustered up the energy (helped by an absurdly gigantic vegie breakfast at some pub near our hostel) to tackle Edinburgh's Camera Obscura.

The Camera Obscura, built in early 1850s, uses a combination of mirrors to project live images of the city onto a white table. It's not particularly technologically sophisticated, but it's still pretty impressive to see live - it's like someone is training a video camera on the streets outside. The mirrors are adjustable, so you get a run through Edinburgh's history as the operator guides the camera across the inner city. It was great fun, and it's well worth ignoring the cheesiness of the exterior and giving it a look.

As well as the camera obscura itself, you get great views across the city from the roof of the building.

Back up the Royal Mile

Across the city to the Firth of Forth

The rest of the building is filled with an array of wacky optical illusions and the like: bendy mirrors, Escher-esque pictures, those frustratingly impossible magic eye 3d pictures, pinhole photography etc etc. Some of it is pretty cool, but it all gets a bit overrun with kids and noise after a while.

By the time we'd found ourselves an internet cafe and had a bit of a sit down, it was time for Cindy to pick up her stuff and head for the train station. This left me camera-less unfortunately, so the rest of my Edinburgh adventures are visually undocumented. This is a particular shame as the first thing I did was tackle the walk up Arthur's Seat - it only takes an hour or so of reasonably strenuous walking, and the rewards are magnificent. Edinburgh is laid out beneath you in one direction, with the Firth in the other. There are some photos on the web here, but they don't do the actual view justice. I took the long way on the walk back down, getting some great views of hovering kestrels, and a few new small birds. Some sort of falcon came flying through at great pace as well - pretty exciting stuff.

When I eventually came down, I realised that I wasn't too far from Kalpna, a vegetarian Indian restaurant that ex-Edinburgh resident Johanna had recommended to us. Despite the exorbitant prices, I couldn't resist ordering a royal thali (otherwise I would have had to choose only one curry from the great menu). It truly was fit for a king - including some pakoras, daal, palak paneer, dam aloo gobi, paneer butter masala, seasonal vegetables, rice, naan, raita and a ricey dessert. Throw in a kingfisher beer and I wandered back to the hostel very, very full and very, very satisfied.

July 7, 2008: Plockton to Edinburgh

We had another half day in Plockton before heading back to Edinburgh. I'd finally run out of enthusiasm for cooked breakfasts, so we both started the day with porridge (with a bit of jam mushed on top).

It was a warming start to the day, and I'm sure my heart appreciated the break from fried eggs.

Our original plan was to spend our last couple of hours in the Plockton hotel enjoying their hospitality and free wireless internet. Alas, the internet was broken, so we were driven back out into nature. Following the recommendation of the hotel staff, we headed for a walk up a track in the northern section of the town. Something about the scenery reminded Cindy of a particular scene in Monkey Island, so she spent the whole stroll singing the midi-style tunes that are eternally lodged in her brain. It really added to the highland ambiance.





The weather was a bit crappy, but the walk was still wonderful. A fitting finale to our couple of days in the highlands. Afterwards, it was back on the train to get back to Edinburgh - more great scenery whizzing by, as well as a handful of new birds for me (buzzards, pheasants and some eider, not to mention kestrels hovering in almost every field).


By the time we made it back to Edinburgh, checked in and got changed, it was time to go and find some dinner. David Bann's was the venue of choice - a slightly upmarket vegie restaurant near the middle of town. The menu was chock-full of impressive sounding dishes: a dozen sides/starters and about ten main meals. We started off with vegan Thai fritters: aromatic, spicy fritters of smoked tofu, peas, ginger, green chilli, lime sesame and potato. Served with fresh mango chutney and a plum sauce. These were a highlight: nice and spicy, beautifully textured and with two great condiments included.

After much pondering, we eventually settled on our mains: harissa roasted aubergine, aduki and sweet pepper for Cindy (with a side of chunky chips) and a chilli and smoked cheese tortilla tartlet with chocolate sauce for me. In what was becoming a theme of the holiday, Cindy enjoyed her meal until she looked over enviously at mine - again I'd picked the menu winner. Still, the beany, eggplanty filling stuffed into the sweet peppers was a pretty satisfying meal.


My meal was outstanding: layers of flavours, with a spiced tomato sauce, smoked cheese, fresh guacamole, a variety of beans and a selection of vegies (celeriac, carrot and peppers). All served up on a layer of mashed sweet potato and coriander and the star of the show: a chocolate and tequila sauce.

With such wonderful courses behind us, there was no doubt that we'd be giving the desserts a shot. Bizarrely we didn't order up the dessert assortment plate - I was keen, but Cindy couldn't go past the lime and ginger parfait (with meringue and chocolate drambuie ganache), so we just ordered a single dish each.

The parfait had strong lime and ginger flavours, but was a little bit firmer than Cindy would have liked ("not silky enough" apparently). It combined delectably with the meringue and ganache though.

I got sucked in by the tradition option on the menu: Scottish strawberry pannacotta with a homemade whisky and raspberry chocolate. My memory is a little hazy (either due to the time that has since passed or the bottle of wine that Cindy and I 'shared'), so I'm not able to make specific comments on the pannacotta. The chocolate was dark, rich and flavoursome though - the whisky was surprisingly strong and combined well with the raspberry and chocolate.

It was a fine dinner - one of the best of our trip, and more generally one of the better vegetarian restaurants we've dined in over the years. Anyone swinging through Edinburgh should stop by and check it out.

July 4, 2008: Edinburgh

Our first adventure on Friday morning was an hour-long tour of the Real Mary King's Close. In the 17th century, many Edinburgh residents lived in densely packed homes running steeply downhill from the Royal Mile to the Nor Loch. As the City Chambers were planned and constructed these homes were repossessed. (I think most of this happened by the 1750s, though the last residents were not removed until the very early 1900s.) Rather than comprehensively demolishing them, the homes were simply cut level and built on top of!

Mary King, a seamstress, was the most senior member of her close (street) and thus, it was named after her. What remains of her close underground was the location of the tour, a series of dark, dank rooms. The costumed guide and thematic mannequins were a little cheesy, but also a most effective way of presenting the lives of those at the Close and others like it. The tour does not permit photography so you'll just have to see it for yourself!

Once we emerged into the light and luxury of our holiday, we headed uphill along the Royal Mile to the Edinburgh Castle.

Here the density of tourists and tacky souvenir shops increases markedly. We elected not to pay the exorbitant entry fee and instead just wandered round the front, enjoying the views from another elevated position.

We wandered back downhill, past St Giles Cathedral and through the Princes Street Gardens, which now included what remains of the Nor Loch.

From here we had another nice perspective of the castle.

This is the Walter Scott monument.

We ate lunch at Henderson's, a recommendation of sorts from Johanna. By that I mean that she had visited the cafe (which offers a buffet meal) but not the adjoining bistro, where we ate.

With vegetarian haggis and clapshot on the menu, I felt a duty to order it. It was very much a heavy, comfort-food style of dish, with the haggis reminding me most of a vege-mince made of beans. The hearty, half-mashed potatoes certainly contributed to the effect. Though I liked the taste of the red onion gravy, its watery consistency was difficult to negotiate - it spilled easily and I didn't want to taint the pretty fruit garnish with it!

Michael picked out the spicy bean burger. While the guacamole was a bit insipid, the burger was a real knockout. I was liking my haggis rather well, right up until the moment I tasted the burger. Then I was jealous.

When I saw a vegan cherry pie on the dessert menu, my mind tripped back to the vegan blackberry pie I eschewed just one night earlier, and I bullied Michael into sharing it with me. Though it was plated up beautifully, I was ultimately disappointed: the wholemeal pastry case was far too thick and gummy, while the cherries had been prepared as a smooth jelly - no fruity chunks. What a shame!

We took a break in the afternoon, before crossing the Royal Mile again to the Grassmarket (all but the pubs were shut by this time - no vintage clothes-shopping for me) and on to Greyfriars Kirk. We didn't venture into the church (which dates back to 1620!), but strolled through the atmospheric grounds. Unfortunately my photos don't quite communicate the deep colours and other-worldliness of the site.

For dinner we tried the Forest Cafe, another recommendation from Johanna. Though there is some food for sale, the Forest feels more like a community space than a business. Large rooms are dedicated to art installations, or people lounging on third-hand furniture. A man sets up his own sound equipment and sings self-penned tunes, with only half those present even noticing. Most people seem to know each other, and as we watch them interact it's clearly a scene of high ideals and laboured consensus. Good luck to them!

We're served the hugest and cheapest (and longest-coming) meal of our trip. Unfortunately there are few cues to indicate just how super-sized this dinner plate of nachos is - surely comprising an entire 200g packet of corn chips, if not more! Gooey and cheesy and unpretentious; more than enough to sate us until morning.

July 3, 2008: York and Edinburgh

The morning started as so many have on this trip - with a breakfast at our lodgings. Another vegetarian take on the English cooked breakfast for Michael; cereal and a bit of toast for me.

Have I mentioned the strawberries? They've been abundant throughout our journey, and like none I've ever tasted. You don't need a super-red and almost over-ripe specimen to detect flavour - even the plainest ones are bursting with it! We bought a huge punnet from the supermarket in anticipation of the next leg of our train trip.

But we still had an hour or two before our train was due, and we passed that time at the National Railway Museum.

Fierce. Actually, this was precisely the tidy and informative collection you would expect of the British, particularly the section devoted to the carriages set up for the royal family. Here the warehouse was decked out in Union Jacks as far as the eye could see, and the platform covered in a red carpet!

Travel by rail wasn't so luxurious for the common man - here are examples of past first, second and third class carriages.

Thankfully our own rides have been much more comfortable - with National Express even providing free WiFi on their services! (The only reason we've been able to blog so often.)

Next stop; Edinburgh. We deposited our bags at our hostel and took off up Calton Hill for a look over the city.

With these early views of the Old Town, I was quite smitten by Edinburgh. Before leaving Australia we'd also received some personal recommendations from past residents Johanna and Justine, so I was eager to discover the city they'd each grown fond of.

For dinner, we relied instead upon Michael's internet research and visited Black Bo's. When we arrived, it was bafflingly deserted, but for a table of four conversing quietly in a corner. We loitered a little while then decided to help ourselves to a table, with so many of them available. Another two groups arrived and milled about, similarly uncertain. After a time, the surprised and apologetic lady running the floor returned from the adjoining pub. "Och, I wasn't expecting customers!"

It's a shame that Black Bo's doesn't seem to pull a crowd on a Thursday night, because our meals were certainly worth the wait. I was wooed by the prospect of seasonal asparagus, choosing the filo parcels of pistachio, asparagus and feta with cassis and pomegranate sauce.

It was a lovely combination of rich saltiness and tart fruitiness, though it could have relied less heavily on the feta for flavour.

We weren't sure how often the opportunity for vegetarian haggis would present itself, and so Michael picked the haggis balls stuffed with garlic cream cheese, with turnip cream sauce. He wasn't disappointed. They reminded me of felafel.

Our mains also came with a choice of sides. In keeping with our hearty meals, we eschewed the salads and tried the mash of the day and the roast vegetables.

All night I had the dessert blackboard in my line of sight, and I had my eye on the vegan blackberry pie the whole time. But by the time I'd lapped up the berry sauce from my main course I was less enthusiastic for more. Instead I suggested that we share a dessert of Michael's choosing.

This yielded an organic chocolate and walnut brownie topped with vanilla icecream. The warm brownie was studded with as many dates as it was walnuts, rich and mercifully small. I was most impressed with the icecream; rich, creamy and flavoured with real vanilla seeds.

We walked at least some of it off on the Royal Mile before retiring for the evening, but perhaps I can tell you more about the district tomorrow.