- The Basics:
Wedgwood
Royal Mile
267 Canongate
Edinburgh, EH8 8BQ
0131 5588 737
Royal Mile
267 Canongate
Edinburgh, EH8 8BQ
0131 5588 737
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Delicious Dining in Old Town
My DC family is in town visiting this week, and luckily for me, Gordon and Stacia have exquisite taste in food and wine. Translation: I don't have to cook for myself this week and I get to enjoy good wine. Anyway, we discovered a gem on Sunday night. Wedgwood on the Royal Mile has great food, amazing wine and a good atmosphere. It has only been open for about six months, but if you ever find yourself in Edinburgh and need a good place to eat, it is well worth the visit.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
What Happened to January?
I have no idea where the time has gone - but to fall back on the old cliché, I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. Scotland is still incredible, especially since the weather has improved. It has been mostly sunny for two weeks (I hope I didn't just jinx it), and not too unbearably cold. Classes have been going well, I just finished my reading week, something that I think all American universities should implement. However, as my father says, British universities just seem to take the notion of being civilized a bit more seriously. If you don't know what a reading week is (although the name is fairly self explanatory), it is a week, without lectures and tutorials, dedicated solely to reading and writing papers. Moral of the story is, while I haven't done as much reading as I should have, it still makes for a nice break and plenty of time to explore the library. Rugby is also going well, we played in Aberdeen last Sunday (a very gray city, but an exceedingly pretty drive) and in Leeds on Wednesday (also a pretty drive through some very picturesque English country side). The return trip from Leeds was very interesting. Our bus broke down on the side of the road, and thanks to a very kind twist of fate, instead of sitting on the bus for two and a half hours while it was fixed, we invaded a small pub. I think the 6 old men who were quietly watching a football game were quite surprised when 20 girls walked in, but they were good sports and better company and we spent the 2 1/2 hours drinking pints, watching football and playing Scrabble. A very funny way to end a 5 hour bus rid at any rate.
In my last post I mentioned the start of the 6 Nations Tournament, and while I am reluctant to discuss how poorly Scotland has been playing (and the prospect of France winning yet again), I have to say that going to a live international rugby match is quite an experience. I managed to get tickets to France v. Scotland on February 3 at the very last minute. The student tickets were only 15 pounds, and we actually had great seats. I think that might be because we sat in Row V instead of Row VV like we were supposed to, but no one kicked us out, so we watched from the first row of the upper deck and had an unobstructed view of the pitch. The game was abysmal rugby - Scotland at its worst and France slipping by on sloppy play and Vincent Clerc's speed. The final score, 27-6, was disappointing, especially since several commentators had picked Scotland to put on a good show, and possibly even surprise the young, untried French team. Unfortunately Scotland never played like they wanted to win - they were always playing catch up, made too many basic mistakes (an International team should not drop the ball the way Scotland did in that game) and seemed to lack passion. For what it matters, I can say the same thing for the Scottish fans. The French fans won the contest of pride in Murrayfield that day. I expected they would be vocal and boisterous (while watching France beat the All Blacks in the Quarter Finals of the Rugby World last fall, I thought the floor was going to collapse because of all the jumping and screaming from the French fans), I was unprepared for the reality. The French fans sang "La Marseillaise" so passionately I was amazed. "Flower of Scotland" was moving as well, but at the time I felt like the French fans far outnumbered the Scottish fans. The bands and costumes and the constant cheers ("Allez les Bleus" is amazingly catchy and incredibly grating all at once) were entertaining if nothing else. Not even Loch Lomond got the Scottish fans into the game. Admittedly the French had much more to cheer, but still, it was obvious that the Scottish fans didn't expect much and the team reflected that. At one point I could clearly see the Scottish replacement players, and even they seemed disappointed. To be fair, I almost went deaf when Chris Paterson took the field, but although he galvanized the team and the fans, it was too little too late. The Scotland-Wales game last weekend went a little better, but Scotland has yet to score a try in the tournament. If they continue at this rate, it looks like another year with the wooden spoon. Sigh, I had such high hopes going in. But, the Calcutta Cup is in Scotland this year, and if Scotland can manage a repeat of the 18-12 victory over England in 2006 the tournament won't be a total loss. As for who I'm picking to win, my vote goes to Wales. They are on fire right now, Gatland is keeping all the players on their toes with his ruthless selection process and they are playing like a team that wants to win. Their first win at Twickenham in 20 years, and a convincing win against Scotland at home should give them a lot of steam for the next three games.
Okay, stint as a rugby reporter over. Back to real life. I recovered from my illness in time to go to the Sports Union ball a couple of weeks ago and had a fabulous time. The ball was held in the Presidential Suite at Murrayfield (yep, the rugby stadium, it was quite exciting) and was part céilidh and part disco. What is a céilidh (pronounced k-lee) you ask? Great fun!! Comparable to square dancing in the states, it involves partners or groups, lots of spinning, jumping and clapping and is quite confusing if you don't know what you're doing. If you're lucky you can find an experienced partner and they'll tell you what to do and when, thus making the night go much smoother. I can't remember the last time I had more fun at a dance. Every time someone mentions céilidh now I get really excited, I'm still on the lookout for another one. All the men in kilts doesn't hurt either!
Well, I think that's it for now. I have papers to write (funny how easily I forget that I have actual school work to do) and philosophers to read. On that note, I guess I should give a shout out to the newest member of the family - my father's cat, Hobbes. (Apparently of Calvin and, but I think it is really the dead philosopher - I could be wrong though). Sorry this was a rugby heavy post - hopefully subsequent posts will focus more on exploring Edinburgh, which is on the agenda for this week since friends are visiting. Oh, and I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!
In my last post I mentioned the start of the 6 Nations Tournament, and while I am reluctant to discuss how poorly Scotland has been playing (and the prospect of France winning yet again), I have to say that going to a live international rugby match is quite an experience. I managed to get tickets to France v. Scotland on February 3 at the very last minute. The student tickets were only 15 pounds, and we actually had great seats. I think that might be because we sat in Row V instead of Row VV like we were supposed to, but no one kicked us out, so we watched from the first row of the upper deck and had an unobstructed view of the pitch. The game was abysmal rugby - Scotland at its worst and France slipping by on sloppy play and Vincent Clerc's speed. The final score, 27-6, was disappointing, especially since several commentators had picked Scotland to put on a good show, and possibly even surprise the young, untried French team. Unfortunately Scotland never played like they wanted to win - they were always playing catch up, made too many basic mistakes (an International team should not drop the ball the way Scotland did in that game) and seemed to lack passion. For what it matters, I can say the same thing for the Scottish fans. The French fans won the contest of pride in Murrayfield that day. I expected they would be vocal and boisterous (while watching France beat the All Blacks in the Quarter Finals of the Rugby World last fall, I thought the floor was going to collapse because of all the jumping and screaming from the French fans), I was unprepared for the reality. The French fans sang "La Marseillaise" so passionately I was amazed. "Flower of Scotland" was moving as well, but at the time I felt like the French fans far outnumbered the Scottish fans. The bands and costumes and the constant cheers ("Allez les Bleus" is amazingly catchy and incredibly grating all at once) were entertaining if nothing else. Not even Loch Lomond got the Scottish fans into the game. Admittedly the French had much more to cheer, but still, it was obvious that the Scottish fans didn't expect much and the team reflected that. At one point I could clearly see the Scottish replacement players, and even they seemed disappointed. To be fair, I almost went deaf when Chris Paterson took the field, but although he galvanized the team and the fans, it was too little too late. The Scotland-Wales game last weekend went a little better, but Scotland has yet to score a try in the tournament. If they continue at this rate, it looks like another year with the wooden spoon. Sigh, I had such high hopes going in. But, the Calcutta Cup is in Scotland this year, and if Scotland can manage a repeat of the 18-12 victory over England in 2006 the tournament won't be a total loss. As for who I'm picking to win, my vote goes to Wales. They are on fire right now, Gatland is keeping all the players on their toes with his ruthless selection process and they are playing like a team that wants to win. Their first win at Twickenham in 20 years, and a convincing win against Scotland at home should give them a lot of steam for the next three games.
Okay, stint as a rugby reporter over. Back to real life. I recovered from my illness in time to go to the Sports Union ball a couple of weeks ago and had a fabulous time. The ball was held in the Presidential Suite at Murrayfield (yep, the rugby stadium, it was quite exciting) and was part céilidh and part disco. What is a céilidh (pronounced k-lee) you ask? Great fun!! Comparable to square dancing in the states, it involves partners or groups, lots of spinning, jumping and clapping and is quite confusing if you don't know what you're doing. If you're lucky you can find an experienced partner and they'll tell you what to do and when, thus making the night go much smoother. I can't remember the last time I had more fun at a dance. Every time someone mentions céilidh now I get really excited, I'm still on the lookout for another one. All the men in kilts doesn't hurt either!
Well, I think that's it for now. I have papers to write (funny how easily I forget that I have actual school work to do) and philosophers to read. On that note, I guess I should give a shout out to the newest member of the family - my father's cat, Hobbes. (Apparently of Calvin and, but I think it is really the dead philosopher - I could be wrong though). Sorry this was a rugby heavy post - hopefully subsequent posts will focus more on exploring Edinburgh, which is on the agenda for this week since friends are visiting. Oh, and I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
