Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Another sunny morning in Edinburgh, not what was predicted but we’ll take it. Started with a delicious breakfast and lots of fresh squeezed OJ. I’ve been lucky this trip, all the hotels have had fresh squeezed OJ.

Our first task today was to find an ATM. Taxis and pubs have been depleting our supply, so it’s time to replenish. We found one right around the corner, but alas, it wasn’t dispensing cash. Continued our search all the way up to the Royal Mile where we finally found a bank. With cash in hand or securely stashed we strolled back towards the hotel area.

No judgement, but we saw a young woman doing a walk of shame. Looked a bit disheveled, long gown was a bit grubby near the bottom and shoes in hand. Must have been a good party.

Looks like our sunshine won’t be lasting too much longer. Just had a weather notification of thunder storms moving into the area. Looks like we’ll be taking a taxi to the restaurant tonight.

Hung out in the lounge while it was raining. Enjoying the gin & tonics, while Sue has her Rosé. Today’s gin was called Caorunn, it’s a local gin with a hint of apple. I hope my local liquor store has “The Botanist”, that has been my favorite gin so far.

Dinner this evening is at the “Castle Terrace Restaurant”. It’s another restaurant that was highly recommended. The head chef trained at Taillevent in Paris. Though it was close by, we took a taxi since it was still raining lightly. If the streets were not one way, we would have been there in two minutes; as it was, it only took five minutes.

Castle Terrace Restaurant

Very pleasant decor. It’s nice, yet understated. The staff were extremely friendly and extremely professional – a perfect mix. Many delicious choices on the menu. There is an ala carte menu, a Chef’s three course seasonal menu and a six course Chef’s Surprise menu. We went with the three-course seasonal menu.

Castle Terrace Restaurant

Sue had the chef’s signature dish as a starter. It was spelt with crispy ox tongue and asparagus, followed by a melt in your mouth wild Scottish salmon. I had crab ravioli in a crab bisque and then grilled Skate wing. We both finished with a warm caramel soufflé. Sounds like food porn, doesn’t it?

And for the wine porn people – a couple kir royales, a bottle of Leflaive Puligny Montrachet, and a glass of 1970 Warre’s Port. Oh yes, and a bottle of still water. Had to stay hydrated!

After our meal, our lead server took us down to the kitchen and wine cellar. We always pass along our compliments to the kitchen, so she thought we might like to do it ourselves. We felt like some kind of VIP’s meeting the chef and his staff. They all seemed very happy with the compliments. Sue’s food service days surfaced as she also noted how spotlessly clean the kitchen was.

Castle Terrace Restaurant

It was a nice little treat that we hadn’t expected. We had our tea in the lounge before paying the bill and heading back home. Though the rain had stopped, we opted for a taxi.

No nightcap tonight. Sue watched a movie, while I caught upon the crazy world events.