Lunch in Edinburgh, Dinner in Leith



After savouring the extensive breakfast choice, we set off on foot to arrive at the east end of Princes Street where we ‘popped into’ the Balmoral, Edinburgh’s famous hotel (the ground floor décor of which is no longer tartan!). After shimmying around the road works (they are currently everywhere in Edinburgh and Glasgow), we made our way along Princes Street and then to Charlotte Square in the New Town (via the Spanish Café Andaluz which served latte which was up to Wendy’s standard). We admired the statue of Queen Victoria in the square gardens and visited the Georgian House (National Trust of Scotland).

Then we took a bus to the Botanic Gardens where we marvelled at its size (70 acres); the architecture and wood used in its restaurant/shop/information building (where we had a good lunch); and the extensive glass houses. We were particularly interested in its very large range of Vireyas – a plant of the same family as Rhododendron which is not commonly seen in England but which is widely available in New Zealand and several varieties of which feature in Keith and Wendy’s own garden in Wellington.

In the evening we made a somewhat disappointing visit to Leith which Richard and Vanessa remembered as a very ‘happening’ area on a previous trip. It seemed quiet and rather boring this time. There was little sign of life around ‘Tom’s Kitchen’ or ‘Fishers’, so we chose to eat at the Malmaison where we ended up having a good meal in their busy restaurant. We appreciated a very drinkable Chilean white wine and the excellent customer service we received.