Last weekend I spent most of Saturday trying to decide what essentials I needed to pack to take down to London when I move there on the 17th September and what to box up to leave at my parents. It was a daunting task 🙂 but helped by my Mum, who managed to thin out my wardrobe and reminded me of everything else that I will need to take with me to quite a small room, we eventually got the job done!
As I am away in Antwerp next weekend (more about that to come) it was important to get myself organised and not leave everything until the last minute.
With the packing sorted out we decided last minute to spend Sunday over in Edinburgh, it was the last weekend of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and we knew it would be a great time to visit. We arrived mid-morning and though the sun was out you could still feel a chill in the air which isn’t too unusual for Scotland this time of year.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes part in Scotland’s Capital every August and has run each year since 1947. It is billed as the largest Arts Festival on earth and from the number of venues and street performers around that could well be the case. This year the festival hosted 50,266 performances, 3,269 shows across 294 separate venues.
We walked around the streets and soaked up the atmosphere, and as the morning turned into early afternoon, the temperature started to rise. We made our way up to Edinburgh Castle which hosts the Edinburgh Military Tattoo each August during the festival, a great spectacle hosted by the British Military which has raised over £8 million pounds for charity.
We made our way back down the winding staircases to Grassmarket Square where several street performers were sharing their talent with an enthusiastic crowd. After a quick stop for refreshments in one of the many quirky cafes around this side of Edinburgh, we made our way back towards the Princess Street Gardens. It was quite impressive to sit in the gardens in front of the Ross Fountain and take in the splendour of the castle high above us on the craggy outcrop which is the visual centre of Edinburgh.
After a wonderful day walking around the city, listening to music, playing crazy golf and enjoying the wonders available to watch at the Festival, we found a great Chinese restaurant just off Rose Street and sampled some amazing dishes which were so well prepared. So with smiles on our faces and full bellies we headed back to Glasgow to put our feet up and reflect on a fantastic day out.
