Edinburgh: New Town

Last evening, after a wonderful dinner, my Swiss friends and I went to have a drink in a local institution — Sandy Bell’s folk music pub. Each night, musicians stop by to have a jam session. On this particular evening, there were two gentleman on guitar and one on fiddle. We stood with our glasses, compressed against the bar as people packed in and filled the narrow room. Very fittingly, they played a rollicking version of “I would walk 500 miles,” which we sang along to with gusto, changing the lyrics to “I would walk 96 miles!”

This morning I met my other American walker friends for breakfast! My plan for the day afterwards was to explore the “New Town” part of Edinburgh.

I passed the Scott Monument, fancy Balmoral Hotel, a cafe I thought was cleverly named - “Pep & Fodder”) and up to Calton Hill, which had views of Arthur’s Seat.

I nipped into the Royal Bank of Scotland, on the advice of a Scottish friend at home, to see the amazing ceiling. There was a bank employee in a kilt who came over and frowned at me disapprovingly, so I quickly snapped my photo and sauntered out!

I wandered along the pedestrian-only Rose Street, with lots of shops and pubs. (I saw the Milnes Bar, Jen! And the Standing Order made me think of TR :)

For my late lunch/early dinner, I was very much anticipating a visit to Dishoom, on St. Andrew’s Square. I had researched it beforehand — it's a bustling Bombay-style cafe filled with the scent of incense and pleasantly loud Indian fusion music. Interestingly, the restaurant is dedicated to a Scotsman called Patrick Geddes who worked in Bombay/Mumbai in town planning (their website has lots of fascinating information about him). I had learned via Instagram that this restaurant has a policy of bringing staff members who work with them for at least 5 years on an all-expense paid trip to Mumbai. I asked my server if that was true. His eyes lit up and he said yes, he went on his trip 6 months ago: “There are so many people! Too many people! I will definitely go back again.”

I had their house chaat: fried potatoes with yogurt, chutneys, pomegranate, etc, which the menu correctly described as “warm-cold, sweet-tangy, moreish,” and a dense chocolate pudding with chili ice cream. (Like your delicious diablo cookies, Dorothy!)

I've checked into my next hostel, where I'll be staying for the remainder of the trip. It's in an old jail, next the Supreme Court and St. Giles Cathedral. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my cozy pod!