Our flight from Paris to Edinburgh left and arrived on time, something that is often not the norm in this day and age. We'd be spending one evening in the city before our driver would be picking us up for a private tour. We'd be staying on York Place which was quite convenient, since the last stop of the airport tram is on St Andrew Square. From there it was a short walk to our hotel.
Once we settled in….well, the Missus was ready to do a bit of exploring, so we headed out.
The really friendly folks at the hotel suggested that we take Leith Street over to Princes Street and take a walk in the New Town.
The first thing that struck us was all the signs and "stories"….it seemed that every corner, crook, and building had one!
And there seemed to be monuments on every block.
I read that there are over 200 monuments in Edinburgh alone!
That's the statue of the Duke of Wellington below, in front of the National Archives, which was unveiled in 1852 to mark the anniversary of Wellington helping to lead the armies of the Seventh Coalition to victory over Napoleon at Waterloo.
We decided to just walk along Princes Street and the huge Princes Street Garden which was created by the draining of Nor Loch and was completed in 1820.
We could see the towering spire of the Scott Monument, the second largest monument to a writer in the world. I'm sure folks my age would have had to read one of the classics by Sir Walter Scott in school. I recall reading Ivanhoe.
It's quite amazing to see places like this….they have a way of bringing history "alive" for me.
And of course one cannot ignore all of the classic architecture, like the Jenners Building.
Which housed the Jenner Department Store, which sadly closed permanently in December 2020 partially due to the Covid lockdown. I recently read that the department store will be renovated and hopefully reopen in 2025.
The views along Princes Street of Edinburgh Castle are quite stunning.
As are those of the gardens below.
This is the Royal Scots Grey Memorial.
There was one memorial that I had on my list, so we entered the park, passing the Scottish American War Memorial.
The inscription reads:
"The Call 1914. A Tribute From Men and Women of Scottish Blood and Sympathies In the United States of America to Scotland. A People that jeoparded their lives unto the Death in the High Places of the Field."
Right pass that was the monument I wanted to see.
This is the statue of Wojtek the Bear, whose story I read years ago. In short Wojtek was purchased as a cub in Iran by soldiers of the Polish army. He was trained to transport ammunition and other supplies. Because pets were not allowed and to make sure he got rations, he was given the rank of private in the Polish army. Eventually, he was promoted to corporal!
So, why is his statue now in Edinburgh? Well, in 1945 his Company was moved to Scotland….and so was he. In the end, he lived out his years in the Edinburgh Zoo. You know I love stuff like this, right?
Soon it was getting close to our dinner time, so I had to find the "close" where our dinner destination was located. We headed down the Mound and onto the Royal Mile and High Street. Right across St Giles' Cathedral (photo above which I'll cover in a future post), is Advocate's Close an alleyway with wonderful views. There's something somewhat dark and mysterious about these narrow streets. I'd come to learn the difference between a a Close and a Wynd during our stay in Edinburgh.
Down this narrow street is a Gastropub/Restaurant named the Devil's Advocate, which I'd made reservations at. We found the place; but then, we had to actually find the entrance….and this wasn't it.
Folks inside waved us to the actual entrance where we were greeted by a Hostess…..people in Edinburgh and Scotland for that matter, were so very friendly….really fun and nice. We were led to a table on the upper level. Where we were seated and handed menus. The place is dark and somewhat funky….but what do you expect here! After all, who knows who walked along the path in this close? It might have been the "real" Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde or perhaps even Burke and Hare! One's imagination can run wild!
The menu seemed kind of what I'd call "hipster – Scottish"….or perhaps more politically correct, modern gastropub fare? We placed our order and as is the way we do things, we went with mostly items off the 'Starters' and 'Sharing' portion of the menu. Like I've said many times before, these dishes seem to be the most interesting.
I'd been really wanting to try some Haggis….and really couldn't wait. So the first dish up was the Crispy Black Haggis (£8 – about $10 at time of visit).
It looks so "gastro-pubby" don't you think. It was perfectly fried, but was bland and doughy…….folks I know had always made so much of haggis, but this was so mild in flavor, I was sure that this wasn't what they were talking about, right?
Next up was the Confit Pork Belly (£9.5 – about $11.50)
So, I think it's time for a reality check here…..when we visited, with the exchange rate, this was like $11.50. Can you imagine that? The pork belly was a bit over-fried, though the interior was nice and buttery. Both the Missus and I loved the celeriac remoulade, which was crisp and refreshing.
And then came the dish that made the dinner. We ordered a "small portion" of the Smoked Fish Platter (£14 – about $17.50/US). Could you imagine getting this for less than twenty bucks?
Oh man, this was so delici-yoso…..and drove our decisions during our entire stay in Scotland. Salmon smoked two ways; I gotta say, both the hot smoked, more buttery and rich and the cold smoked, great texture and wonderful on bread have an appeal. The smoked mussels were wonderful, the perfect balance of smokiness, great , almost buttery texture, the brininess adds character. The capers and cornichons provided relief and refreshment….this was so good!
And of course I had to have some "chips". The variety here were with truffle and parmesan ( £5 – about $6.25 on our visit).
Ok, so let's be real about this. Twice cooked, crisp on the exterior, creamy interior………flakes of truffle……really. We loved the flavor of potatoes in Scotland; there's an inherent sweet-starchiness to it.
And our meal here was a nice start to our trip!
Devil's Advocate
9 Advocates Close
Edinburgh, Scotland
Thanks for stopping by!
