Alas, today we leave sunny London, England for very-unlikely-to-be-sunny Edinburgh, Scotland. I figure as long as I keep referring to London as
Sunny London the deity or deities who control the weather will continue giving us atypical weather when we visit. A better strategy might be to drive as much as possible so that even more CO2 enters the atmosphere and makes London a warmer, happier place to visit.
Our morning coffee on the top floor of the Four Seasons. In the photo please note the binoculars, coffee maker, and general awesomeness of this lounge that proves one
must explore the hotel on day one to make sure one does miss out on generally awesome things.
Not a bad spot for breakfast.
My croissant and my double espresso, with the London Eye. I recall once hearing it called
Millennium Wheel, as the sucker was put there for transition from the 1,000's and 2,000's, but it would seem that over time the accepted name is
The Eye or
The London Eye. I just wonder how sturdily it was built. I mean, are they going to have maintain this ferris wheel forever?
Before heading to the airport, we have one last hotel site inspection.
The silly Brits pronounce this, "Barkley." Barbie needed to pay a visit as she often books clients here.
Interesting way to pretty up a fireplace, no?
A very nice hotel employee took us to a suite and the pool and gym. I wanted to take a picture of The Berkely's pool for you, as it is London's
only outdoor hotel pool and sits on the roof overlooking Hyde Park. However, there were around seven older ladies in the pool, and when women over sixty are hanging out in a pool even I find it to rude to pull out a camera and start recording permanent images for distribution on the internet.
Though thinking about it now, there are surely hundred of websites devoted to just that.
This Ferrari was parked in front of The Berkeley. I find it fascinating that there are Ferrari owners who think to themselves, "I'm not really showing off enough. Let's jazz up this puppy."
He really, really wants you to notice this car. And I do feel comfortable referring to the owner as
He.
I doubt I will hear a single voice of disagreement on that example of gender bias.
We do need to catch a flight today. Time to walk back to the Four Seasons and get going.
Four Seasons patio... how we should have enjoyed you in the sunshine. When we first saw you we had visions of Londoners coming over to sit in your lovely space. Shame it did not happen.
Yesterday Barbie and I had noted that this was our first visit to London during which we never saw the Tower Bridge and Tower of London.
The taxi ride to City Airport solved that one.
London City Airport, the smaller, closer
Businessman's Airport. Think LAX=Heathrow; Burbank=CityAirport.
Lunch at the airport. The prosciutto and gruyere croissants were quite good, but I could not help but imagine the cheese melted.
Good bye, England.
Hello, Scotland. This photo represents the very first time I have ever seen you.
Cloudy, foggy, rainy, and fairly pretty. Based on what I have heard, my first view of Scotland is an accurate representation of the whole.
This was our ride from London.
Bravo, Edinburgh. You greet your visitors well, even in the rain. I will only say this once, since everyone knows it but it also seems to be a personal choice that can be ignored;
Edd-inn-burr-uh. That is how you pronounce the name of Scotland's largest city and capital.
Nearing our hotel in the rain, I quite liked how this shot captured the attractive, medieval qualities of the old town center as well as the rain on the windshield.
We are here for what is for us an extended stay. No hurry to cover the history and such. Let us get in that room.
A Rocco Forte Hotel. This marks my fifth Rocco Forte experience. The first was the amazing-never-wanted-to-leave Villa Kennedy in Frankfurt. Then we stayed at Hotel de Rome in Berlin. Then came The Browns in London. That was all 2009. In 2010 I got to stay at The Augustine in Prague, and now in 2011 I get to check out the first Rocco Forte hotel, The Balmoral in Edinburgh. You might recall my raving a bit too much about Rocco Forte hotels, but when I first arrived in Frankfurt with a shoulder and neck in searing pain, it took one night on the perfectly firm bed there with ideal pillows to wake up a restored human. So, yeah, I kind of have a thing for this hotel group.
The doorman of The Balmoral. I was taking a shot of the lobby, and he walked through. I later learned he was the doorman.
This shot is more about Barbie's reflection than Sean Connery's visit here. Even though
the best and only real James Bond was born here in 1930, publicly championed Scotland's independence and is very attached to Edinburgh and Scotland, we happen to know he prefers to live significantly further South in a country for which the word sunny is not used sarcastically, Spain.
There is always a kind welcome from the Rocco Forte staff in our room.
As this is the first Rocco Forte hotel, and a very old building, the room lacks that punch of style you get in other RF hotels. But according to our driver from the airport, this hotel is leaps above others in Edinburgh.
We were upgraded to a suite, providing this lovely living room.
After some work time, we were both hungry. Good thing we made a reservation at the hotel's brasserie at check-in. Yes, this is another tip you should learn from Barbie. Make a dinner reservation at check-in. It prevents the whole
oh now that we're hungry where are we going to eat problem that many travelers experience after some time in a new city.
I find it interesting that the hotel's casual restaurant is named after the Roman Emperor who built a wall between England and Scotland. Historians disagree now on the purpose of the wall. It might have been more about customs and trade than defense. Regardless, I will personally assume that the Scottish see it as a former barrier between them and the wankers to the South, and from this view Scottish history paints Hadrian with a decidedly positive brush.
I mean, imagine if a former Spanish King had built a wall halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles? That monarch would be adored in San Francisco today, with bridges, streets and tunnels named after him.
The early evening sunlight was hitting our bread
just right, no?
Barbie's grilled chicken caesar, hold the grilled chicken.
My french onion soup. How do you think the french onion soup is going to be in Scotland?
Is this a clue? It was, and you know I avoid exaggeration, one of the best cups of french onion soup I have ever had the pleasure to meet.
We shared a main., the char grilled Blairgowrie rib eye, with chunky chips and Bearnaise sauce. (If you say entreé around these parts it causes confusion. Starter & Main, those are your courses.)
Symmetry.
Even the water here is Glenlivet.
Complimentary desserts. I might as well come out and say that this meal excellence was unquestionable. No surprise there. The menu had an entire page devoted to Executive Chef Jeff Bland and his goals with the brasserie, and well as mentioning the local butcher who manages the
farm to plate meats served at the restaurant, as well as the cheese supplier and seafood supplier. You might think of this attention to detail as something found in
foodie cities like San Francisco and New York, but the restaurants there have nothing on Hadrian's at The Balmoral, Edinburgh.
We will eat here again.
After dinner we stepped outside, as it was close to sunset and we wanted to get great pictures. But it was cold and rainy, and we were not dressed for it. Instead we bought some bottled water and a post card down the street, I took a few pictures like the one above, and then we ducked back into the hotel.
Note the picture above hides a medieval castle.
Noted.
Until tomorrow...
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