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Edinburgh - The Dome, The Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Outsider

After spending most of the morning at Edinburgh Zoo, we were very hungry. Having looked at places to take afternoon tea, The Dome really stood out for me.
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The building is very impressive from the outside, and looking inside, it is even more beautiful. There are many floors dedicated to different occasions. For afternoon tea, we went to the Georgian Tea room, and this was the view looking down. We received a warm welcome from the host.
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Afternoon tea is served from 11am to 4pm at a cost of around £18 per head. It consists of a selection of cakes (we had white chocolate eclair, chocolate mousse, and a white chocolate orange tart), a choice of fruit or plain scone with jam and cream, and a selection of sandwiches (egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon and cucumber, beef and horseradish and ham and mustard), as well as tea or coffee.
20150711_14342920150711_14363820150711_14363020150711_14361920150711_142652I think it was a good value afternoon tea, and I was very full at the end. The waiters were very friendly. My only criticism is that I would have like to seen more variety amongst the mini cakes, which all had chocolate on. Some more fruit based ones would have been nice. Nevertheless, they were still very tasty.
We made the walk to the Palace of Holyroodhouse next. An adult ticket is £11.60, which includes a free audio tour, allowing you to explore the palace at your own pace. There is a lot of history inside. It is particularly fascinating to learn about the past of the Scottish royals, but the tour also includes information on the present Royal family, who regularly stay here. The rooms are very ornate and the detail in some of the artwork is great. No photography is allowed inside the palace but I did take some photos outside.
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The forecourt
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Fountain
The visit also includes the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Originally destroyed by fire, a lot of the building still survives to this day.
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20150711_171659The Palace Gardens are full of beautiful flowers and garden ornaments, and plays home to the odd squirrel or two. You can also see Arthur’s Seat, which is nearby. Arthur’s Seat is a dormant volcano which is very popular for tourists to climb. People say at the top, there are the most magnificent views of Edinburgh which make the climb worthwhile. I didn’t walk up Arthur’s Seat on this occasion, but it is recommended as one of the must-do things when you visit the city.
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A squirrel hiding in the plants
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Arthur’s Seat
For dinner, we went to The Outsider, on George VI Bridge. It was extremely busy when we entered the restaurant. After a bit of a wait, we ordered the whole lobster with aioli, garlic butter and chips, and the flat iron steak with potato wedges.
20150711_194900 20150711_194919The food tasted nice and the pricing was reasonable. For me, the layout of the restaurant is very squashed. The tables are quite close together – I had a waitress walk into the back of me when I was eating! The restaurant is also quite loud it is very hard to have your own conversations. The service is friendly but slow, which could be attributed to the busyness of the restaurant, but it made for a poor experience for me.
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