Busy weekend in Edinburgh, Many Links...

[f4f3]

In brief:

Californian meal on Friday evening, in Calistoga, a little place tucked behind Rose Street. The steak was superb, if a little overdone for medium rare. Great wine selection.

Three hour long Salsa dancing course on Saturday morning. I was playing catch up, since this was part 2 and I'd missed the first one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the instructor seemed to think I did ok.

Hour long drive to Scaramanga, in Cupar, who sell fabulous leather bags (and much else in the way of furniture, journals, old suitcases and hand-cut wooden printing blocks) in an Aladin's cave somehow wedged into a modern industrial unit. I was most impressed by their decision not to import statues of Ganesha on the grounds that the Indian families who make bags for them wouldn't be comfortable with them importing what are, basically, religious artefacts. Good for them (and bad for me, but hey-ho). I can thoroughly recommend the bags, and I now seem to own three of them. Hey, I'm doing a lot of travelling. Stopped on the way out of Cupar to pick up cheese and wine at the Luvians Bottle Shop - may also have acquired a bottle of Talisker Storm. I'm not a huge fan of whisky with no age statement - all too often it's a chance for distilleries to dump their young barrels in with some older but less characterful ones, and punt it to the undiscerning masses (Bowmore Legend, anyone?) but this is quite lovely - lots of peat and spice.

Came back to Edinburgh the long way, through Anstruther and had fish and chips at their world renowned chippy. Great fish, and best chips I've had in ages.

Ate the cheese, drank the wine, watched some of a Bruce Springsteen DVD (live in Dublin - amazing speeded up version of "Atlantic City" as an opener) collapsed.

Sunday brunch at Mimi's Bakehouse in Leith, followed by a dram at the Vaults and then a touristy afternoon at Edinburgh Castle with a side-trip to Richer Sounds.

Got back on the slow, Helensburgh train (the fast train wasn't, as there was a bus replacement service part of the way) and found a very grumpy cat demanding to be groomed.

A most excellent weekend, and I'm glad I have today working from home to recover before heading back down to Slough tomorrow.

Comments

[fiendish-cat.livejournal.com]

Wonder if they've actually asked their artisans whether they would be bothered by it. Or just made assumptions / projections that they would.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Yes, the objections did come directly from the families who make the bags, and it was more along the lines of them being uncomfortable with the idea, rather than a refusal to work with people who exported the statues.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I'll have to look for the Talisker Storm.

So what's a Californian meal?

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

Steak and very good wine :)

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

Sounds just like a New Yorker meal!

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I was going to say "Except with Californian wine", but there's no shortage of that in the Apple.

[mhaithaca.livejournal.com]

California wine isn't hard to come by here, either, but I usually prefer Finger Lakes wines or wines from around the world.

[f4f3.livejournal.com]

I must admit to a major love for Californian Zinfandel.