A Taste of Edinburgh

Qype has hosted a range of parties, meet-ups, classes and other cool events in London so far this year and when it came time to take the party outside London, Qypers all around the country made their voices heard in determining the location for the first non-London shindig. The outcome of a lengthy discussion thread on the Qype Party Forum was last week's trip to Edinburgh and the Qype Team thoroughly made the most of the 4h30 train ride up by spending an extra day exploring the city.

We met some of Edinburgh's finest Qypers on Thursday night, and took to the streets on Friday night for some good eating, ale drinking, and what was for me a most surreal insider view of Scottish culture being privy to some of the finest fiddling and folk music in the land during our mini pub crawl. I had my first Deuchars in the first pub stop, and all of a sudden I like ALE! Who knew?!

My Qype reviews of the pubs we visited cannot by any measure do justice to the amazing fiddlers, ridiculously smooth guitar pickin', and the incredible mix of funny, sad and touching folk songs belted out by performers and audience members throughout the night. Everyone in the Royal Oak seemed to have an amazing singing voice! Unbelievable all around. And I must give a special mention to Mike Duffy, who can always fall back on singing if the BBC thing doesn't pan out :)

Quite a memorable trip and next time I go to Edinburgh, I'll definitely make it to the castle, and I'm sure I'll be revisiting Sandy Bells to park myself right next to the guy with the 12(?)string guitar.

Qype: Sandy Bell's in Edinburgh

Edinburgh - Pubs & Bars - Pubs - Pubs & Bars - Bars

I really liked this pub and am rating it higher than the Qype boys did as I could have definitely stayed here for a couple hours, happily tapping and bouncing along to the fiddles (at least 4 of them!) and guitars. Truth be told I was overjoyed and got even more of the Scottish experience than I hoped for as soon as the musicians got going.

As it was my very first time in Edinburgh (and in Scotland as a matter of fact!) it's hard to say definitely which was my favourite pub from our Friday night crawl but I did think the music and atmosphere here was more upbeat than in the other spots we visited. I had a great time despite the very crowded bar area, and trust me when I say I *really* don't like tight spaces so that in itself says a whole lot!

Clearly, this is on my must-revisit-in-Edinburgh list.

Check out my review of Sandy Bell's - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: Chocolate Soup in Edinburgh

Edinburgh - Food & Drink - Sweets & Chocolates - Restaurants - Cafes & Coffee Shops

With all the chocolatey options on the menu I'm still shocked I somehow walked away with a breakfast sandwich! Utterly flabbergasted. The sandwich (egg, cheese, ham on a light and buttery croissant) was exactly what the doc ordered though, after the uncounted number of drinks at the Qype party the night before. Also had a latte and it was good, not remarkable, could have been hotter, but good nonetheless. They have lovely tables out on Hunter Square too and I could easily chill out here with a coffee and something sweet and sinful. The chocoholic in me won't let me not return on my next jaunt to Edinburgh to sample some of their inventive 'soups' though.

Check out my review of Chocolate Soup - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: Marie's Cafe in London

London - Restaurants - Thai - Restaurants - British - Cafes & Coffee Shops

I have mixed feelings about Marie's Cafe, which I had heard so much about as one of London's tastiest Thai eateries. First the positives: the food was indeed delicious (I had the chilli basil noodle with chicken), the menu was pretty darn long (lots of starters, noodle dishes, mains, and desserts), and the prices were rock-bottom at 4-6 quid a pop (less for starters naturally). That's the good stuff.

Now the less good. The portions are modest. At least for the noodle dishes. And this is very understandable given the price you're paying. Moreover it's not such a bad thing cuz it would mean their starter+main at under 6 quid(!) would be quite do-able, nice and tidy-like.

More importantly though, I feel duty-bound to report that although I wolfed down 80% of my noodles before the ol' faithful Jubilee line arrived (ha!) I was very conscious that I was doing something terribly bad for me at 10pm eating what must have been the oiliest noodles I've ever seen, that were certainly not to be digested before 3am.

And lo but I was correct. Soon after I was getting that familiar grease-driven queasy feeling, not unlike the kind of shaky stomach you'd expect the day after mixing and matching your poisons like Richard Simmons let loose in a lycra store near you. That said, the pros stand a fighting chance at getting me back to Waterloo for cheap Thai, but only if they don't laugh at me mockingly when I ask to go easy on the oil.

Check out my review of Marie's Cafe - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: I Knit London in London

London - Fashion - Knitwear - Arts & Entertainment

Knitting store, classroom, bookshop and counseling! All together in one location. The folks at I Knit have really got something here. They offer classes for beginners to more advanced. Staff members are really friendly and encouraging. And they even have a little bar stocked with beer, cider and red and white wine. Brilliant!

The shop boasts a large stock of yarns of all varieties, colours, textures and all the accoutrements you need to get going. There's also quite an eclectic library section with all types of books on knitting and you can tell that the accomplished knitters that own the place take pride in keeping up-to-speed on all that's new and interesting in the newly-trendy-again world of knitting.

A fab time was had by all in our group class, with most of us being beginners and a few stars and fast-learners impressing us all into sticking with it, for the greater good. I can see why knitting can become such an addictive hobby!

Check out my review of I Knit London - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: Ladurée at Harrods in London

London - Food & Drink - Sweets & Chocolates - Food & Drink - Bakeries

I took my first trip to Harrods this past weekend and I was determined to 'do' tea in the Laduree tea rooms on the ground floor. The beautiful selection of pastries, croissants and macaroons that are on display in the center of the tea room/shop further heightened my excitement and was a great distraction during the short wait for a table (very short actually given that it was a Sunday). I was sat in the posh black and silver room and only glimpsed the balcony seating area but it also looked as lovely as you'd expect.

There was a slight damper on the experience in the form of 3 loud 'fidgetybouncy' teenage boys that seemed to have not given any thought to where they were, what they wanted, how they should speak to the waiter or how many people could come and go from their small table without disrupting their neighbors.. i.e. me. I can appreciate the fact that Harrods is for everyone (yada yada) but I hope to never again have tea next to ADD-afflicted teenage boys telling the waiter to "quickly hurry" their milkshakes.

Tea was lovely and I was happy to go a la carte rather than have the full afternoon tea experience. The mini almond & walnut laduree croissant was sublime. And the coffee macaroon, priceless!

Check out my review of Ladurée at Harrods - I am CaribQueen - on Qype

Qype: All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in London

London - Sport - Tennis

Going to Wimbledon has revived my love of tennis! I used to watch the tournies on tv when I was young (ah the good ol' days) and somehow slacked off in recent years. No more! It was really thrilling to snag a seat in centre court and get swayed along with the crowd's oohing and ahhing, and to have chilled on henman hill as Murray took Gasquet to the cleaners. Great time!

A few quick tips: Bring water, stuff to nibble (unless you'd rather paying an arm and a leg for grub there), and take advantage of the allowed 1 bottle of wine or 2 beers per person if you're so inclined. And better to scoop up any drinks you want to bring beforehand rather than rely on the selection at the nearby Spar.

Check out my review of All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club - I am CaribQueen - on Qype