adventures | the stand comedy club - edinburgh

Last month, I booked a train ticket down to Edinburgh (again!) with my friend to attend the Edinburgh Zoo Late Night event but unfortunately, we were too late in getting tickets to the event but the train was already booked. My friend used her epic event planning skills to arrange some alternative evening entertainment.

She didn't tell us ANYTHING until we arrived in Edinburgh but she had arranged to go to a comedy club called The Stand on York Place. It's an intimate setting where 4 comedians play during the evening and they aren't necessarily well known. It was such a good laugh even though there was one comedian who was just not getting any of my laughs by using the f-word in every second word he spoke. In my opinion, comedians don't have to swear to be funny. 

Afterwards, we headed to the Grassmarket for a few drinks to end the night We ended up in a cocktail bar called Dragonfly which I was led to believe did cocktails in goblets and fishbowls but apparently they stopped doing them. Devastated. 

The next morning, our train was at 1.30pm so we went to re-fuel in the form of breakfast. I think breakfast is one of my favourite meals of the day despite the fact that I rarely get time to eat it! My friend recommended Cafe Lucano on George IV Bridge which is a little cute cafe. I ordered 'The Breakfast' and I didn't realise how much food there was. Under the toast lay another meal in itself in the form of black pudding, mushrooms, tomato, sausages and bacon. Oh my. Are you salivating yet?

We had a little wander down to the train station stopping at some of the small boutiques which I ended up buying a print from. It's currently waiting patiently for a pretty frame to be housed in. 

I had such a great weekend with my old uni friends and so many laughs! Edinburgh is fast becoming one of my favourite Scottish cities ever. I would love to live there one day and explore even more!

Vanessa

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day out: edinburgh edition

I never used to spend a lot of my time in Edinburgh but now because one of my oldest uni friend lives in Fife, we end up spending a lot of our time either in Aberdeen or Edinburgh. This time, it was my turn to make my way to Edinburgh. I booked a train ticket and on Monday, I rode the rail South!

The morning started off with a cheeky Starbucks and making myself comfortable on the train. A book and my iPod are my travel essentials!

I'm under the impression that most shops and tourist attractions like to close on a Monday! I came across Cuckoo's Bakery whilst surfing Instagram one day and lo and behold, it's in Edinburgh! Me and my friend walked all the way there and saw that it was closed. Fail. Then it started raining. Double fail!

My friend wanted to take me to the National Museum of Scotland because she knows I love museums. How beautiful is the interior? Can't believe it was free to go in as well! It was interactive and had lots of fun things to do inside. I was most in love with the astronomy and earth section. And I found out I weighed the same as a platypus. Time to go on that diet!

Jamie's Italian for lunch. This was the first half of our Jamie's Italian Feast. It was really good!

More eats came in the form of the Hard Rock Cafe. Best place for nachos but I'm pretty sure they changed the cheese because I had the most terrible nightmares when I was sleeping! I was one of those customers that bought the (non alcoholic) cocktail and took the glass home with me. No regrets. 

Don't take life too seriously. Make a face out of the salad. 

We shall meet again soon Edinburgh for I shall be back on the 12th February for a fleeting visit!

Vanessa

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sunday summary #17 (on a monday): edinburgh edition

A day late, but you'll forgive me...right?

If you follow me on Twitter (@ParisianOrchid), you will know that I was in Edinburgh over the weekend. My oldest uni friend lives in Kirkcaldy and her family always welcomes me for a visit so with a few free days off at the weekend, I decided to ride the rail down South and enjoy a well-rested break. 

My friend had planned a jam-packed day so we kicked off the morning with a lovely coffee and breakfast at The Elephant House. Sound familiar? That's where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter. So you could say, the birthplace of Harry Potter. My friend knows how much I love HP so this was fantastic. Oh how I loved it in there!

We mosied on up to Edinburgh Castle next. I had been before but I had never gone in so it was great to be immersed in Scottish history and dusty rooms! Oh and the views from up there are amazing! 

It was great being a kid again in Camera Obscura which is an optical illusion place. I had never seen it before but it was filled with crazy mirrors, camera illusions, fun games, mirror maze and just general cool things. Me and my friend looked crazy running around the place like kids in a candy shop!

My friend being the awesome person she is, researched all the closes and wynds down the Royal Mile and conducted a mini tour for me! I saw some of the spookiest places and even made a wish on the Heart of Midlothian (I'm not even sure if that's what you would do!) I learnt a lot actually and it was interesting to see the Signet Library which makes my inner law nerd happy! It was proper driech but made it all the more better!

We headed to Harvey Nichols later in the day and had a chocolate fondue in the chocolate lounge. Oh. Em. Gee. It was death by chocolate for sure but so yummy at the same time! After a little wander down Princes Street, we wanted to end the day with our traditional Hard Rock Cafe dinner but with luck never on our side, it was a very long wait so we headed over to TGI Fridays where the wait was a little more acceptable. Finished the night with delicious cocktails and food then went back home to Kirkcaldy where we caught up with The X Factor and a good ol' gossip!

It was all over a little too quickly and I came down from a high quite suddenly and got the Monday morning blues. I'm at that stage in my life where work is the main focal point so whenever I get any time off or a free weekend, I want it to be filled with adventures and activities!

Have you all had a great weekend?

Vanessa

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