The Shore - Edinburgh -

The Shore is the new trendy neighbourhood in Edinburgh. It is full of pubs, restaurants, cafes and little shops, not far from the city centre but it offers a much more relaxing atmosphere. Some years ago all the area had a pretty bad reputation, as all Leith was considered the place where all the bad things happened.

Nowadays the Shore is a very safe area, with the prices of the properties rising by the minute, and a good range of Micheline star restaurants based there. Leith used to be the harbour of Edinburgh, and a very important one due to its whaling activity. If you walk near the water and pay attention to the buildings, you still can see some of the hooks used to lift the whales, ships or any other heavy things.

The Shore has that Nordic look to it, with old buildings painted in white and colourful windows. In fact Nyhavn in Copenhagen (see more here) reminded me a bit of the Shore in Edinburgh. For me it is just a shame about some of the new constructions, as they don´t look as good as the old bits. Although I have to say that while building below has one of the best views in town!

As I said there are three Michelin star restaurants in the area, The Kitchin, Martin Wishart and The Plumed Horse (I think this last one doesn´t hold one just now, but it used to and will again soon according to the critics).

There are also some other nice places such as Chop Chop, one of the best Chinese restaurants in (probably) Scotland, The King´s Wark (try the fish and chips, you won´t regret it), The Granary, Bond Number 9, The Ship on the Shore... To sum up, at the Shore there is a place for every taste and budget!

And of course Mimi´s. Mimi´s is amazing. They have the best cakes, cupcakes, banoffee pie and French toasts ever. Sometimes (quite a few times) we travel all the way from Glasgow to Edinburgh just to go to Mimi´s!!

One piece of advise, book in advance as it tends to be always really busy. Mimi´s has opened now a new venue away from The Shore. It is on the Royal Mile, it is smaller but the product is the same, therefore amazing!

If you are visiting Edinburgh, don´t miss this area, it is very special and different from the city centre. It has its own history, its own way of living, and it is a great place where to spend a day or at least half of it. And the best thing is that it is not full of tourists like the centre. Actually you nearly don´t see any!

Have you been to The Shore? What did you think of this area? Did you try any of the restaurants?

Thank you for reading!

5 Interesting Findings in Edinburgh´s West End

Edinburgh is a mysterious city, a bit ghostly at times. In winter, when the clouds are low and the fog gets in town, the sights are wonderful, you feel you are in a dark novel from the last century. In fact, I read Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde just before moving to Edinburgh for the first time (I moved there twice!) and when I got to the city, every single street in the West End and New Town reminded me of the novel.

The West End is one of my favourite places in the city. It is very expensive to live there, and when you see it you understand why. There are lots of things I find interesting and fascinating about the capital of Scotland, and here are 5 of these interesting findings in Edinburgh´s West End. I hope you enjoy them!

1. Old Stables turned into houses.

A friend of mine who lives in one of these told me the story. These houses used to be stables, and when you look at them it is pretty obvious. The ground floor was where the horses where kept, and the upper floor where the hay and the accessories for the horses and carriages where stored.

Nowadays they are used as houses, making a good apartment with a garage. My friends had two bedrooms and all the commodities you find in any house, although the shape was a bit funny. I just think it is great we keep things from the past making them useful in the present. And I can´t help but image the cobbled streets with people ridding horses, and carriages carrying wealthy families. Very first Downton Abbey season style!

2. Private Gardens

This is something that shocks some people, but Edinburgh´s West End and New Town are full of private gardens. This is residents get a key to them, and they can access the gardens and enjoy them. They also pay an amount of money every now and then to keep the garden in good shape, clean and tidy.

So if you are walking around the West End and feel like resting somewhere, be aware that no all gardens are ope to the public. You may need to walk more than you where expecting to find a place where to enjoy some peace surrounded by trees!

3. Robert Louis Stevenson

Yes, he was born and raised in Edinburgh, being this city witness to some of his greatest novels. He spent some of his life in the West End, where people can still see the house where he spent his childhood and the one where he was born.

He is one of the city´s heros, and no wonder. Edinburgh is the city of literature, and it is fairly easy to understand why when names like his are mentioned!

4. Upstairs, Downstairs

Do you remember the show Upstairs Downstairs? Or have you watched the above mentioned Downton Abbey? If so you might already know that wealthy people had big townhouses with three or more floors. And their servants lived right below them.

Edinburgh is a great place to see this. The whole of the West End if full of these houses (or flats) where you have a main front door and then stairs to go to the bottom floor. These days it is also cheaper to rent one of the low flats, as they are darker and less wanted than the top ones.

5. Dean Bridge and its Ghost

Edinburgh is full of ghosts. They are everywhere, in the Royal Mile, the Castle, quite a few pubs, some hotels, some private houses.... It is said Edinburgh is one of the cities with the highest number of paranormal activity! And the West End couldn´t be less, and Dean Bridge has its own ghost.

The story goes that a long time ago people witness a man jumping from the bridge. The police spent days searching for the body, as nobody could survive that fall, but they found nothing. It is said that every now and again, some people report seeing a man on top of the bridge, and then jumping. But there are never bodies to be found, and this figure keeps jumping from the bridge through the years.

Note: I used to live kind of "under" the bridge, and I have never seen the ghost :-( Maybe I was unlucky...

Do you have any other interesting findings in Edinburgh? Or anywhere in Scotland? What do you think of ghosts?

Thanks for reading!

Urban Angel - Edinburgh -

Yesterday I went for lunch to one of my favourite places in Edinburgh, Urban Angel. There are two of these restaurants, one in Hannover Street and the other in Forth Street, both right in the city centre. I like this place because they serve organic, freshly prepared, tasty food. And the prices are good too!

One of my favourite dishes there are the soups, which come with homemade bread. The bread is incredible, soft and full of flavour. Plus sometimes you get it straight out of the oven, and it is delicious when it is a bit warm.

Yesterday we ordered falafel sandwich on toasted flatbread with chilli jam, tzatziki and rocket; herb, parmesan and polenta crusted squid with lemon alioli and lightly spiced yellow split peas with toasted flatbread and tzatziki. The peas and the squid are two of the small plates, which are a bit like tapas, but bigger (does that make sense?).

What can I say? We really enjoyed our lunch there, and ended very full. The squid with the sauce was amazing, very light, tasty... one of those dishes that I don´t think you can´t get tired of eating. The sandwich is very good as well, a bit spicy but not overpowering. Plus it is a great option for vegetarians! Maybe the dish that didn´t wow me as much was the split peas, that was good but I think not as good as the other ones.

We also ordered a side of hand cut chips, with garlic, thyme salt and alioli. These were very nice, not greasy at all, soft in the inside and plenty for a side dish. After eating all that we didn´t have any space left for the desserts, which was a shame because the cakes are mouth watering! (Next time for sure!). The total bill was around 20 pounds, which taking into account the amount and the quality of the food, it is quite cheap.

I would like to add that their breakfasts are really good too. I have eaten eggs benedict and French toast there before and they are superb! For me this is the perfect place to go when you want to enjoy a nice, quick meal, plus it feels healthy too!

Scores:

Food: 9

Service: 8

Location: 10

Atmosphere: 9

Will come back? All the time, over and over again if I could!

Espa at the Balmoral Hotel - Edinburgh -

After a lot of stress during the last months, city pollution, weather changes and not been eating properly, I stated noticing that my skin was getting dull and lifeless. I tried different moisturisers, changed makeups, and tried some tricks at home but nothing was working and my skin was getting worse. That is why a couple of weeks ago I decided to phone the spa at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh and ask for an appointment. I had been once before for a treatment there, and it was fantastic. On top of that, the location of the hotel, and the hotel in itself, is beautiful, so that was also the perfect excuse for a day in Edinburgh.

The treatment I chose is called Espa Luxury Facial, and lasts for 70 minutes. When you arrive to the spa area they ask you to complete a file, in order to determine your skin type and condition and being able to use the products that will work best for your skin. After you are shown the changing room area, and once you are ready, your therapist takes you to the treatment room.

The rooms smell amazing, the lights are low and the music is nice. Plus on the bed they have an electric blanket, that keeps you warm and cozy during the treatment. My therapist was great. She explained to me all the steps of the treatment, let me chose some of the products, and made sure I was feeling comfortable.

I only have good words for the Espa Luxury Facial treatment. My skin feels great, it feels brighter and less tired. I even think my huge dark circles got reduced! I never felt more relaxed in my life, every cream, serum, exfoliation... felt better than the previous one, and I could feel all the muscles in my face getting more and more relaxed. Everything is apply with great care, making sure the eye area doesn´t get damaged. It finished with an scalp massage that was wonderful, and left my hear feeling so soft and shiny I can´t even believe it!

All the products they use for the treatments are from a brand called Espa, which is a natural cosmetic brand, not tested on animals (which for me is very important). It is also suitable for vegetarians.

If you ever want to pamper yourself, or want to buy a great present for a loved one, I can´t recommend enough this spa. It is great to go to places full of big professionals, that make you feel welcome and taken care off. I am already planning my next visit to the Balmoral, next time maybe including afternoon tea too!

PS Apologies for the photo of the hotel. It is from last winter and it looks a bit gloomy (although that is the atmosphere in Edinburgh that I love the most!).