Weekending: Edinburgh (March 2015)

Edinburgh is one of my favourites. I've been there with friends and with boyfriends, for romantic trips away and to the festival. I have been there enough times to have my favourites that I always visit as well as always having a list of new places to try. On our most recent trip we (me, my boyfriend, my friend, her husband) were there mainly to visit a friend, but my boyf and I decided to make a long weekend of it to get the most out of the city.

Travel

We got the train there and back - going up at around 11am on the Friday and returning about 2.30pm on the Monday. My friends who joined us got the sleeper train up overnight arriving Saturday morning and then flew back Sunday evening. Like most UK cities, Edinburgh is easy to reach via a number of travel options, and if you book well enough in advance then it's more than affordable.

Accommodation

Once again, we stayed in the Nira Caledonia hotel - one of my favourite hotels in the world. This was my third stay there, and we definitely had the best room I've stayed in there so far as our bathroom had a bath with jets rather than just a shower that I've had in previous stays. The bed was as big and comfortable as I remembered, and I gave the huge bath a go (and used the jets, though be advised to not try and figure out how to turn them on until the bath is full) which was delightful. The hotel gifted us a bottle of wine as well which was a lovely touch. We ate there for breakfast all three mornings during our stay, and also ordered some room service on Sunday night, and each meal was exactly what we were after. I cannot recommend the Nira Caledonia highly enough - with the lovely staff and relaxing rooms I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Edinburgh.

Food

Friday night - burgers at Red Squirrel - one beef and one chicken. They were awesome. We also shared a beetroot salad which was deffo in my top ten salads.

Saturday morning - breakfast at hotel (I believe I had poached eggs on toast, followed by some fruit and yoghurt)

Saturday evening - Hanams. We left it until that afternoon to decide where to eat, and after some googling I came across Hanams, which serves Kurdish and Middle Eastern cuisine. It's also BYOB with no corkage fee, which definitely made it a cheaper meal. Definitely one I would return to if I was in the mood for that type of food.

Sunday morning - breakfast at hotel (think this was my scrambled eggs and smoked salmon day)

Sunday lunch - Set-menu at Wedgwood. This was delicious, and such good value! I'd eaten there before on my birthday last year, and the food was just as inventive and interesting as I remembered. I believe I had goats cheese with curried lentils to start, then sooomething for my main (i'm annoyed I can't remember this) and then sticky toffee pudding. The food here is delicious, and the set lunch menu costs £12.95 / £16.95 for 2 / 3 courses. You can't really go wrong!

Sunday evening - room service. I had a smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich, with some chips. Obviously.

Monday morning - final breakfast at the hotel.

Monday lunch - train picnic!

Sights

As we had all visited the city before, we didn't feel the need to do any of the touristy sight-seeingy bits this time around. Instead, we did a few geocaches along the Leith River Walk, and visited the Camera Obscura museum, which, although pricey, I would definitely recommend.

Shopping
The main shopping street in Edinburgh is Princes Street, which is full of all the standard high street shops. A couple to look out for though are Zara, which has a huge section upstairs of their child and baby clothes; Russell and Bromley, which has a great selection particularly from their mens range; and HMV, which has a really awesome vinyl section (I picked up Purple Rain and Blue whilst I was there).

Writing this all up now it doesn't seem like we did much aside from eat. But that's the great thing when you visit a city you know so well - you can just relax and wander and have a lovely time without feeling like you have to be go-go-go all the time. For me, that's what Edinburgh is all about.

A Guide to... Rome

Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill

You can buy a ticket that grants you entry to both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (plus Palatine Hill) for €12 per person. The best way to get your ticket without having to spend too much time queueing is to buy your entry pass from outside the Roman Forum - the queues here are much smaller than at the Colosseum, and when we got there at around 9.30am we were only waiting for about five minutes. Once at the Colosseum, if you are after an audio or visual guide you have to queue again, but this is a much (much) shorter queue than if you were buying your tickets then and there. The audio tour we did cost €5.50, but we found it a bit lacking in information and wasn't all that clear. Also when we went, two of the 6 audio-tour points were closed off and there is currently no replacement audio so these two sections were a bit redundant. Probably worth doing for the cost, but maybe do a bit of reading-up on it first.

Circus Maximus

En route to the Colosseum, and open to the public to walk through. Has a running track around the edge if you are that way inclined!

Vatican Museum, St Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel

Everyone who visits Rome will tell you that the queues for the Vatican Museum are ridiculous. Well, they were being kind. The museum opens at 9am and when we got there at that time the queue was already enormous, so goodness knows what time the people at the front had arrived. Luckily, we had planned ahead and booked our tickets and tour in advance - there are a few options but we pumped for the 3-hour one that took in the museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basilica, at a cost of €37 per person. Our tour guide was spectacular - she knew her stuff and made the whole thing so much more interesting and engaging than I could have ever imagined. She gave us a detailed overview of the paintings to look out for in the Sistine Chapel so when we got in there we knew what we were looking at (no loud conversations and no photos allowed at this point) and it made the whole experience so much better. At the end of the tour we climbed up to the top of the dome of St Peter's Basilica (which has some very questionable steps) and the view of Rome from their was breathtaking. I highly, highly, recommend this tour, and even if this one doesn't take your fancy then you really must look online and book something in advance. 

Pantheon

Free. Can get very busy - we wandered past a few times and there didn't seem to be a quiet time. They request silence as it is a sacred building, although the large crowds mean that this isn't often adhered to. The bar directly opposite does a good bottle of house red wine if you fancy a drink with a view, although I wouldn't bother stopping for the food. Instead, walk about five minutes and eat at Maccheroni instead.

Trevi Fountain

Beware: this is currently under renovation and covered in scaffolding. Google suggests that this will be the case until Autumn 2015, but as there is no clear date it suggests this could be an ongoing process. You can still walk over the top of the fountain so you can get the scale of the structure, but this is currently not a trip highlight.

Spanish Steps

Currently has scaffolding and a large Fiat advert at the top so slightly underwhelming. Is worth it to sit on the steps and take in the surroundings, plus there's a very nice coffee bar nearby.

Piazza del Popolo

Rome is awash with various piazza's, but Piazza del Popolo was our favourite. Large, relaxed and with a beautiful fountain, this would make a great pit-stop.

Piazza Navona

Probably our second favourite piazza. Another good one to have a wander around in, before stopping for food and great service at Cantina e Cucina.

Stadio Olimpico

Rome's largest and main sports stadium, this is primarily used for football but also hosts rugby games. It is a bit of a walk out of town but if you're going to an event there the atmosphere will drag you along.

Altare della Patria / Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

A beautiful building, particularly when the sun is shining. There are two guards watching over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which makes for a moving memorial.

Santa Maria in Trastevere

A beautiful church in the equally beautiful Trastevere. The square outside hosts a number of bars and cafes, and this is a great spot to stop and have a drink and people-watch, before heading to dinner at Ivo a Trastevere for a pretty incredible pizza.

We flew to Rome from Luton on Monarch.

We flew back from Rome to Stansted on Ryanair.

We stayed in Trastevere, in an AirBnB apartment.

My Favourite London Burgers

Not very long ago I ate five burgers in one day. It was a really good day.

I've been meaning to write a post like this for ages, but I didn't really know how best to format it because the thing with burgers is that quite often the dirtiest ones are the best ones. There are so many superb places to get a burger in London now that just writing a list of my favourites would seem a bit redundant, so instead I thought I'd just write a few of my thoughts on some of the ones I have ended up visiting the most.

When I'm asked to recommend somewhere for a burger my first thought is always MEATliquor. I think it will always remain my favourite because it was probably one of the first dirty burgers I had, before the world exploded in a big burgery cheesy mess. The issue, though, is that the queue situation can sometimes border on ridiculous, so it's definitely one to visit at 3.30pm rather than 7pm. However! MEATmission, in Hoxton Square, takes bookings so if you don't mind getting the bus (or if you're infinitely cooler than me and live near there) then this is the perfect option as their menus mirror one another. You should make it a bucket list point to order the Dead Hippie burger, and I'm also particularly fond of the chilli cheese fries. People also rave about the monkey fingers, but I'm not so bothered. Both venues are dark and noisy, but MEATliquor is definitely the darker and noisier one of the two so I'm not sure I would take a first date there! It's also messy (obviously) so if that's the sort of thing you don't like a date to witness you navigating then, again, maybe not best for a first date. Totally delicious though.

Honest Burger is the next one on your burger to-do list. There are a few branches now, but they're all ridiculously small and so if you're going at dinner time then expect a wait of at least an hour. At least! The good thing though is that you can give them your number and then fanny around doing your own thing waiting for their call, so you don't have to stand in a queue watching the lucky ones inside stuffing their faces. The other thing to note about Honest is that the burgers come with fries, and these rosemary-salted ones are roughly 3423 times better than the average fry. 

Another good option is Patty & Bun but, unlike the queue situation at Honest, for these burgers you do have to stand in the cold salivating. It's another small place so the wait can be super-long but! I have a super tip for those people like me who don't really care about how they look in public situations - you can get takeaway here, so the best (maybe not everyone's idea of best) thing to do is place your order when you arrive, have them placed in your hand about 15 minutes later and then you can run away and scoff your delicious burger on any street of your choosing. For a first-timer I would recommend the Ari Gold cheeseburger, but make sure you also swipe as many napkins as you can carry as it's a bit of a messy one.

Shake Shack and Five Guys opened in London about the same time and at first were both, for obvious reasons, ridiculously popular. I ate at both in their first couple of months of opening, and while I didn't really care for Five Guys I still have a soft spot for Shake Shack. Now the hype has lessened somewhat, and the winter nights are drawing in (i.e., it's too cold and full of tourists to hang around in Covent Garden) the queue situation for SS is really no big deal, although finding somewhere to sit can be. SS is perfect for a quick-stop bite to eat, they do serve alcohol but I wouldn't bother - get a milkshake or lemonade and then once you've wolfed down your burger you can just take your drink with you so you have something to concentrate on whilst getting the hell out of there. I am also partial to a portion of cheese fries, but I wouldn't say they're as healthy [ahem] as everything else on the list [double ahem].

Some of the best burgers I've had are unfortunately no longer with us, such as the ones at the Brioche pop-up at Pip's Dish and Slider Bar at The Player, or are potentially only in a temporary home such as Burger Shack at The Royal Oak. For a safe no-queue option there's always Byron - with their current count of 5474280 outlets if one is busy you can always find another one less-so.

Any ones I've missed??

My Favourite London Restaurants

I quite often get asked for restaurant recommendations, which I always find slightly tricky. It's one thing to love a restaurant yourself, but eating out means something different to everyone and what I love about a restaurant might not be the same as what someone else would love. That said, there are a few London restaurants that I personally love, and have returned to again and again (and will continue to do so!) Here are some of them.

Quick Eats and Budget Treats

* MEATliquor

Everyone knows about the burger ting. London is awash with awesome places to get an awesome burger and I could quite easily compile a list of my favourite ones (note: do this). However, one of my all-time favourites is MEATliquor - maybe because it was one of the first dirty burger places I visited - and I have never had a bad time there. Although they have one of those dastardly no reservations policies (though their Hoxton branch is bookable), the place is big and if you time your arrival right then you won't have to wait more than 20 minutes. Get the Dead Hippie burger with some cheese fries (chili cheese fries if you're a piggy like me) and prepare to get deliciously filthy.

* Clockjack Oven

Fried chicken is another one of those on-trend phenomenons, and there are loads of places you can find that do this both well and terribly. Clockjack Oven is awesome, because for the location (off Leicester Square) you would expect it to be busy, expensive, and terrible - and it is none of those things. You can book a table here, but I've also been able to walk-in without a wait and it's one of those great places that is cosy enough to go to as a couple but also completely family-friendly if you are that way inclined. 

* Dishoom

A bombay-fusion cafe, there are two branches now - one in Covent Garden and one in Shoreditch. This is a great place for group dining and a good one for recommendations as the food is not only delicious but also quite unique and interesting. Although I love the dinner food, I ESPECIALLY love their brunch menu - the bacon naan roll has a reputation that precedes it, for all the right reasons.

Special Mentions: Slider Bar, Kimchee, Koya

Middles

* Mishkins

Mishkins is probably my favourite London restaurant. It's super cosy, with a different daily special as well as a bunch of staples. It leans towards a jewish deli vibe, but has got the mix between authentic and accessible bang on. I have taken dates here, had a birthday dinner here and visited with my papa, and each time everyone has left vowing to return. This is one of those restaurants that is permanently on my list, it's a safe choice that has never let me down.

* Canteen

The most chain-esque one on my list, but one that is always a good recommendation to have in your back pocket. There are currently three branches (Royal Festival Hall, Spitalfields, Canary Wharf) and the focus is on that sort of home-away-from-home dining that sometimes you just need to have in your belly. My favourite is the Royal Festival Hall branch because I love the seating arrangements (especially the booths for two where you sit next to one another as this is one of those things that most people find awkward but I LOVE) and its proximity to the Hayward Gallery which is one of my London faves. For home-comforts this is a no-brainer, and although it's not the cheapest one on the list there are a wide range of pricing options for those who are on a budget. These days I am especially enjoying the bacon, eggs and bubble and squeak from their breakfast menu.

* Ciao Bella

There are loads of Italian restaurants not just in London, but everywhere. If it's a chain, it's likely to be an Italian one. I think it's for this reason that Italian food has fallen out of favour somewhat - it's such an easy child-friendly choice that people associate it with unimaginative dining. However, there are some absolutely amazing family-run Italian restaurants in London and one of my favourites is Ciao Bella. It has that authentic feel that you want when eating out somewhere like this, and the most impressive parts of the menu are definitely the non-pizza options. Both the pasta and the meats here are delicious and this also happens to be on one of my favourite London streets.

Special Mentions: Elliot's Cafe, The 10 Cases, Medcalf

Special Occasions

* Bam-Bou

I went to Bam-Bou again last week, and it was just as wonderful as I remembered. The food there is so tasty, the service is always right, and the Red Bar on the top level is perfect for a post-dinner cocktail. It's not cheap (though last week we had a toptable 35% off deal so keep your eyes peeled) but is so, so worth it for a special occasion meal. The food is a mix of chinese and thai (with a bit of a western influence) and all the flavours are just so interesting - it's one of those places where you feel completely justified shelling out the cash as you would never be able to recreate the dishes at home. I also completely love the cocktail bar, especially as last week they made me my favourite cocktail off-menu.

* Hawksmoor

Pretty much a London institution now, the Hawksmoor brand has just run away with itself over the last few years. I don't think I've had a better steak in the UK, and anyone you take here would find it impossible not to be impressed. The staff all know their stuff and can talk you through the options in that quite hard to do non-patronising way, leaving you feeling like actually you were the expert all along. Despite the price (though they do a late theatre menu) this is a massive safe bet.

* Bob Bob Ricard

Home of the eponymous Press for Champagne button, this is the perfect place to have a special occasion meal. It is flamboyant without being over the top, with the food all being incredibly delicious. I last visited for my birthday, and I think I might just continue this trend for all my birthdays from this point onwards.

Special Mentions: The Wolseley, Mon Plaisir, Opera Tavern

Simple Summer BBQ Recipes

Last weekend was my annual summer party. I have a bbq every year and invite everyone I know, and then proceed to freak out about everything that could go wrong for the two weeks beforehand (examples: rain appearing, people turning up once the food has gone cold, running out of beer...)

Over the years I have made various different food and drinks, some simple and some complicated, but I think this year I generally got it right. I vetoed certain dishes that have been popular in the past because they're just not right for an outdoor event that will last throughout the day - I always used to make Sophie Dahl's guacamole but it just doesn't look that appetising after an hour in the sun. So this year I tried to keep the things I made in advance super simple - there were of course also the various burgers ad sausages that are a bit of a staple (a lot of which are now in my freezer) - but here are the (super, super) simple things I dished up...

* Lime and Honey Chicken Thighs

Literally one of the easiest prep-in-advance dishes ever. For 800g of chicken you will need one large lime and 4 tablespoons of honey, as well as a bit of sea salt and black pepper. You just need to chuck it all in a pan - in the order of half a lime, all the honey, the other half the lime - cover in tin foil and leave to marinade for a couple of hours (as long as you can, really) and then just chuck it onto the fire!

* Pork and Mango Skewers

For 400g of diced pork shoulder you will probably need one large mango. Rub your pork in olive oil, wholegrain mustard and crème fraîche (I went for an equal amount of both the mustard and cream, and kept adding until I thought they were suitably covered), and then once this is done cut your mango up into similar-sized pieces. I bought some small skewers (rather than those super long ones that always seem too big when the moment comes) and put 3 bits of each on each one. I did start to run out of mango before I did pork (which is definitely the better option!) towards the end and started to cut down to just two bits of mango, so try and get the largest one you can find.

* Feta Cheese and Pomegranate Salad

This is a salad I usually chuck together when I'm stuck for inspiration as it's delicious and easy and goes with pretty much everything. You need sweet gem lettuce, a big old chunk of feta, cucumber and pomegranate seeds. I usually add avocado as well but swapped it this time for some salmon that we cooked on the barbecue before most people arrived.

* Mint and Lime Sparkling Water

I like to make one non-alcoholic drink for things like this as there is always at least a couple people who will be driving and it's nice to make people think you've made an effort for them. This is one of the simplest ones I've made and is so inoffensive it generally works for all occasions (it also works when used as a mixer for vodka and white rum, which is always handy towards the end of the evening!). Cut a lime in half, and squeeze the juice of one half into a jug of sparkling water. Cut the other half into segments and chuck those in, along with as many mint leaves as you can be bothered with. Mix it all up and, for good measure, chuck in the lime shell from the half you squeezed (you could always add a bit of lime cordial if you're that way inclined). Very summery and refreshing.

Weekending - Oslo

This past weekend my boyfriend and I visited Oslo. It was the first time either of us had spent more than a few hours in Norway so we were both super excited to have an explore and discover somewhere new.

Since we've got back and people have asked me about it, the two things I have found myself repeating are that it was a) HOT and b) PRICEY. I think Norway is one of those places that people assume is all hats and snow, but it was actually hotter the weekend we were there than it had been in London over the last couple of weeks so it just goes to show how important it always is to check the weather forecasts! We already knew food and, especially, alcohol would be expensive so we took a bottle of wine with us and then bought two at the airport when we arrived in Oslo to save us a bit of money.

I would generally write a bit of a highlights list when writing up trips like this, but as there were no real low-lights I'm instead going to do a mini travel diary.

Friday

We flew with Norwegian and ended up choosing a flight that left at 5.50am. This was, obviously, a decision led by price, but it actually worked out well as it meant we had the whole of Friday to spend in Oslo. The flight was great - we had loads of leg-room, the in-flight magazine was actually full of interesting articles and it had free wifi! Thoroughly recommended. We were staying in Grünerløkka in an apartment I found on airbnb which was perfect for us - cheaper than most hotels and meant we could be as flexible as we liked. We spent Friday exploring the area - stopping for coffee / hot chocolate and apple juice along the way. We walked along the river and even though it rained a little it was still absolutely beautiful.

After a quick change of clothes at the apartment and a glass (ok a bottle) of wine we headed out to dinner at Villa Paradiso. After a 30-minute wait at the bar which we spent nursing a (£7.90) pint each of the locally brewed beer we were seated and ordered a pizza each - one four cheeses and one ndujla - and both were delicious (and huge). The broccoli and ndujla sausage on mine were fresh and spicy accordingly, without being too overwhelming. Including the beers the meal came to about £45.

Saturday

This was the day we had dedicated to exploring Oslo a bit but not doing anything too taxing. We walked over to the Royal Palace park and spent a couple of hours sitting, reading and taking in the greenery. One thing we noticed about Oslo was that it was very, very green - there are parks, trees, and grass-filled areas wherever you look. We took a wander over to Frogner Park to look at the sculptures - stopping to buy some watermelon on the way (to give you an idea of the heat!) Frogner Park was quite a strange experience - it was one of the busiest places we visited over the weekend but seemed to be popular with both tourists and locals. It's worth a visit, but nowhere near as relaxing as the park at the Royal Palace.

It was well into an acceptable drinking time by this point, so we headed to the Summit Bar at the Radisson Blu for a couple of drinks. The good thing that we found about Oslo drinking prices is that they are pretty generic across the board - so the drinks we had here were no more expensive than the drinks we had in the pub on the corner. It's pricey, yes, but at least you know what you're getting when you walk in somewhere for the first time.

We headed on to dinner after this and, after a bit of searching, made it to Illegal Burger. The burgers and fries were exactly what we needed after a day of walking around in the sun, so I'm glad we persevered! The burgers were around £10 each, so in total we spent around £40 I think.

Sunday

Whilst I was doing my research I stumbled across a walking tour on frommers.com that was right up our street (how punny of me). We chose to do it on this day as the National Gallery has free admission on Sundays, so we spent a lovely few hours making our way through this in the sun. I'm really glad we found this, as it seemed a much better use of our time than if we had just been wandering aimlessly around the city.

For dinner that night we headed to Egget Kafe where I had a spanish tortilla and he had bratwurst. Again, with drinks, this came to around £40, so in general I don't think we did too badly in our food-spending. After dinner we went to Fru Hagen for a drink which was nice (although the food didn't look too desirable) before we headed back to the apartment to pack for our flight the next morning.


As always, I had done all my research before we left which was even more important than usual seeing as food and drink can be so expensive. We didn't eat anywhere super fancy but our three meals out were all delicious and, I think, really good decisions. If I were staying in Oslo again I would re-visit all of them. And I guess that's the question - would we visit again? The only thing that would stop me from re-visiting really is the price, it was a lovely city - quiet, clean, green - but I'm always going to be someone who likes to have a bottle of wine with dinner and house wine is always going to be at least £40 a bottle. For those of you who this isn't an issue for then yes - visit immediately! For me though, I think there will be other places I'd like to visit for the first time before I make a trip back.

30th Wedding Anniversary

Not too long ago it was my parents' 30th wedding anniversary. Generally my mum and dad are the types to let these sorts of occasions pass without a fuss but, what with this being one of their first anniversary milestones I felt like an adult for, this time I felt it was right to make a fuss!

My initial requirements for the event were relatively simple:

* Family Only (plus, and importantly, affordable for all family members)

* Restaurant

* Nothing Embarrassing (my Mum is not a centre-of-attention sort!) but still Personalised

Cosy yet extravagant is, I guess, a way you could look to describe the type of thing I was going for!

My family have always been an eating-out type of family. Birthdays are always marked with a trip to a nice restaurant, and so for this it was really always going to be the case that this would all centre round a nice meal. I wanted to be able to make it really clear that we were celebrating a special occasion but without it being obvious to any other diners, and so the search was then on for a suitable restaurant with a private dining room, that would suit a group of 10. In London there are countless restaurants that fit this criteria, ranging from casual to fine dining, so the trick was really to find somewhere that would suit the wide range of tastes and ages in our group. Some of my favourite restaurants in town offer private rooms (Bam-Bou; The Delaunay; Balthazar) but I eventually settled on The 10 Cases, in Covent Garden.

The 10 Cases is so-called because of the wine - they only ever have 10 cases of the wines on their list, and once they're gone they're really, really, gone. The idea behind this is that it means that the wine list will continually stay fresh, in-season, on-trend and interesting - and knowing my family this was right up their street! At the time, and I mention this as I think their menu offerings have changed since, The 10 Cases offered a menu of three options, though they were keen to mention when I initially spoke to them that they would be happy to amend the menu if we needed to cater for any allergies or discuss any preferences with me. The menu choices are only chosen a couple of days in advance, depending on the ingredients available. Although I hadn't visited it myself, all of the reviews I had read of it were positive, and with those in mind I felt they qualified me enough to take the risk and make a booking!

The great thing about The 10 Cases is the fact that you can hire their private dining room (which seats 6 - 14 people) for no charge, and with no minimum spend. We were able to have the room for the entire evening, and I was able to pop in as soon as they started setting up for the evening. We decorated the table with photos from their wedding day (as well as the obligatory 'congratulations' confetti, of course) and then everyone lay in wait until the big arrival. I had a quick chat to our waitress and then my boyfriend and I went to where my mum and dad were due to meet us (they were under the impression it would just be the four of us for dinner), while my sister took control of the ipod dock.

We got to the restaurant and headed downstairs (after some brilliant acting by our waitress pretending to be clueless...) where they were greeted by the dulcet tones of everyone else. They absolutely loved the evening - they loved the fact that we were in a lovely restaurant with awesome food (which it definitely was) but it still felt like a cosy family meal. We all had three courses, a 'few' wines and even some champagne, and it came out at £50 per head.

Ticks all round!

www.10cases.co.uk