Skip to main content

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.
20150711_153926
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.
20150711_153711
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.
20150711_162548
The forecourt
20150711_162629
Fountain
The visit also includes the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. Originally destroyed by fire, a lot of the building still survives to this day.
20150711_172143
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.
100_6579
A squirrel hiding in the plants
100_6600
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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Little Box May 2015: The Provence Box

I saw adverts for My Little Box on Facebook, checked out its website, and gave it a go! For £11 a month and £3.95 P + P (although I used the SPRINGTIME code to gain free postage for the first box), you receive a box containing beauty samples and products, a magazine, a print and lifestyle items too. I received my first box a few days ago, and was it worth the wait? I am not too sure. First of all, here is the box... Included is a drawstring canvas bag containing the beauty products, a box entitled "Sunny things inside" and the print, dress-up doll magnets and the magazine tied up with a ribbon. One of the beauty products, the shower gel, was already open and had leaked inside the bag, which was annoying. The beauty products are actually small samples, showcasing the best of L'Occitane, a well known and good quality brand. However, most of these products have been given away as a free gift from L'Occitane themselves. You can already get i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Edinburgh - Eteaket Tea Room and Ibis Hotel

We arrived on a Thursday afternoon. Luckily for us, the sun was shining as we made our way to the Eteaket tea room on Frederick Street. Eteaket is famed for its teas, and they supply many local restaurants and other cafes. The tea room itself is quite spacious and full of customers, which shows how popular it is. As well as teas, light lunches and afternoon teas are also on the menu; something to suit any occasion. I opted for a high tea, with Royal Earl Grey tea. The high tea is priced at £8.45 and includes half a sandwich of your choice (I had Scottish Ham and Cheddar Cheese), scone (fruit or plain) and a mini cake (I think I had lemon cake). Tea is also included. Eteaket uses loose leaf tea, good quality and better tasting. The waitress also brough a mini timer. When the sands run out, the tea has brewed for long enough and is ready to drink after you remove the filter. What a beautiful cup of tea! The food was tasty and filling too, making it a great value high tea...
Post a Comment
Read more

Molang!

Recently, I have discovered Molang: a cute fat rabbit from Korea! In Korea, you can get a lot of Molang merchandise, but it is also possible to find some online to deliver to the UK. I have started a mini-collection already haha! Far left is my Molang suction doll, about 13cm. On the back, there is a suction cup, so you can stick him to the window if you wanted to. Far right is my big Molang doll. This is a 25cm plush doll, with a big cute pink bow! The Molang Figure Doll Boxset contains five 3cm Molang figures. This one is the macaroon collection, and all five Molangs are holding macaroons. They like to eat macaroons. Next is the Molang zipped bag. This is about 20cm in length, perfect for make up or small documents. This is the strawberry version, and also contains a Molang charm on the zip! So happy!
Post a Comment
Read more