Bouncing Around!

An adrenaline packed birthday gift to myself soon became a charity driven challenge when i decided to raise funds for Edinburgh’s Itsgood2give

Booking the jump with Highland Fling i secured a charity discount and setting up the Virgin just giving site was easy. Getting donations in was easy but i didnt want to overload facebook/twitter too much that people found me annoying. I wish now id done a little more such as arranged a fund raising event.

I genuinely had no fears, i was as cool as a cucumber on the drive up to Pitlochry. I also purposely didnt google ‘bungee’ in the fear of horror stories. My biggest dilema was forwards or backwards, forwards or backwards. Safety was the name of the game, weighed twice, it written on our hands, hands checked, harnesses checked. All very reassuring.

Climbing up a ladder to the under section of the 40m River Garry bridge made it feel very real. A teeny tiny flutter in my tummy! A walk along to the first ‘cage’ we were then split according to weight, different ropes and colours for different sizes. Sitting patiently watching the others jump for their lives. The dance music calmed the nerves that soon appeared and created a party atmosphere.

Climbing down to the main platform i was seated, my ankles shackled, photo taken and another safety conscious explanation of the winch back up procedure. The guys are brilliant, full of fun, but safety is paramount. I would and i did trust them with my life!

Shuffling my feet to the edge. Bungee cord attached. Few last photos. 3-2-1 BUNGEE!!!

Yes i leapfrogged off the edge, i was meant to be graceful but once the tension took hold in the rope and the stars spun round in my head i knew i was safe.

The winch lowered down, i attached myself on and was wound back up as i took in the view. I’d love to go back and spend some real time in the area as the views were amazing. I might even book a backwards bungee!!!

A huge thank you to all who donated to such a fantastic cause, i’ll update the final total once all money has been collected.

*£1010 (with gift aid) as at 4th May*

Casa Angelina

Always keen to try out somewhere new i just had to have my birthday ‘cake’ at the newly opened Casa Angelina.

Walking down the stairs with my mum and in to the vintage inspired parlour, myself and Marie Claire, owner/pastry chef, did a double take, we both work off all our indulgences at the same gym!

Afternoon tea was pre-booked so all we had to decide on was the accompanying tea. You can try as many as you like over the course of your visit. A fiery Chilli Roobis and a Bollywood Chai were our first choices.

Our tier of goodies arrived along with a small table to place all the extra’s on, a nice touch so not to overcrowd the table. The savouries included a salmon wrap, tomato and goats cheese crostini and an artichoke, bean and barley shot. We then tackled the huge scones and generously spread them with homemade jams, blackcurrant and rasperry, wow!

A short break was had while we decided on our second tea. A chocolate abyss and white peony arrived just in time for us to work our way through the cakes. We had a white chocolate and lemon eclair, strawberry tartlet, banoffee cheesecake and a chocolate chai gateaux.

The selection of cakes on display were just too tempting, we came away with isle of mull scones, carrot cake, coconut and mango cake and a bag of tablet.

A gorgeous tea room i’ll definately be visiting again x

Turquoise Tea

A belated Mother’s Day afternoon tea was a return visit to Hotel Indigo at York Place. A quiet Thursday afternoon saw us having the Turquoise Thistle restaurant all to ourselves at one point.
A glass of prosecco to start and soon our goodies appeared on a slate stand. The savouries were bacon and brie croissant, and open sandwiches of roast beef and smoked salmon. My favourite being the egg and mustard muffin sprinkled with dainty leaves. This was followed by a mini fruit scone and madeira cake. Then what looked like vanilla pod meringues which were infact caraway seed meringues, one word – wow!
We just had enough room for chocolate, salted caramel and a pop of vibrant turquiose macarons. The many pieces of shortbread slipped into my bag for later

Definately the best savouries to be found on an afternoon tea stand in Edinburgh!

You turned my world upside down!

Always intrigued by things that are slightly different i came across Aerial Yoga by chance. Whilst searching for a hot yoga class i happened upon a workshop being held for ‘A Super Strong Core’ at Bristo Yoga School.

With our hammocks knotted above our heads, Karen guided us through a series of vinyasa to warm us up!

We each untied our silky hammock and began a few trust exercises. With 4 bolts either side there were a few unsure glances, but these can apparently hold 2000lb’s. Swinging about like a kid to begin it wasnt long before we were suspended off the ground doing bouncing crunches. Intense splits followed, ouch! We worked through another sequence mainly suspended by our ankles, but i struggled with some due to wrist problems. Then the finalle; suspended upside down crunches. Mega ouch!!!

The last few minutes saw the lights dimmed and us open up the hammock beach style, a cocktail would of been nice but my head was already slightly fuzzy from being upside down!

*that’s not me in the above photo!

Its Good 2 Give – Bungee Jump

2013 is the year for having fun. Last year i gave myself an empowering, confidence booster of a birthday present. This year it will be an adrenaline rush. I will be bungee jumping 40m/132 ft from the Garry Bridge at Killiecrankie!

Raising money at the same time for local Edinburgh charity, ItsGood2Give. The charity have set their own goal for 2013 of doubling their funds raised to date. In the spirit of this i will personally donate double the cost of my jump and hopefully i can gain double that again in sponsorship.

Link to my Virgin Money Giving page

Wish me luck for Sunday 28th April!

What goes on behind Door 74

I happened upon Door 74 by pure chance, it’s a well kept secret! Not to be found in guide books with only a few reviews appearing online, relying only on word of mouth. It was the ‘underground’, mysterious element that intrigued me along with the list of rules to be obeyed.

Not taking prior reservations, clientelle must call after 9am on the day they wish a table. So with our alarm set a phone call was made, message left and a day of being tourists awaited us. Miss S missed the phone call but was happy to hear the voicemail message (in English) that a table would be reserved for us from 11pm, as requested.

With much excitement we made our way down Reguliersdwarsstraat in search of Door 74. There is no signage. Walking past we had to back track. As advised we rang the door bell and waited. Both slightly unsure what was to be found behind the black door, it was Amsterdam afterall! We were greeted and taken through a velvet curtain to the ‘wardrobe’ where we could hang coats or leave any bags. On entering the bar area I knew immediately Door 74 was my kind of place. The bar seats maybe 50 people; in 4 booths opposite the bar, 10-12 seats at the bar and some low lying tables to the rear.

We were lucky to be sat at the bar on black croc skin leather stools and handed the quirky menu. The menu changes seasonally, the current being called “Class and Character”, I ordered a Full Moon Fun from the ‘Friends with Benefits’ section and Miss S a Hard Grapht from the ‘Big Bold Bossman’. Using only craft spirits you wont find mainstream brands we watched in awe as the drinks were made in front of us. Bowls of nuts and olives are provided along with a glass of water to be sipped along with the potent cocktails.

Next up was a complimentary shot drunk with the bar staff, a minty nutty concoction. One of the rules is sociable friendly chatty people (no tweeting and facebook allowed!) so we must have done something right as we were chatting to the staff for most of the night. Next up was a bespoke cocktail, we each had to name a favourite spirit and leave it in the bar staff’s capable hands. So a Frangelico take on a frappuccino and a Hendricks rose water and cucumber cocktail were next on the list.

Watching what other people were ordering was an experience in itself. Numerous glasses with fresh chilli kept making their way to the other end of the bar. Not one for letting anything past me I had to try one of these. It turned out to be a Meet me in the Struggle Buggy from the ‘Dont Give a F**k’ section. A dry gin with fresh lime juice, pepper syrup and fresh chilli. The best cocktail ever to have passed my lips!

I was then dared to order a Sex on the Beach, considering they don’t do requests for Mojito’s I think may have been shown the door.

I’m so glad Miss S now lives in such a fun city and we’ll be able to walk through this secret door many more times

 

Scone School

Last night was spent at insideoutchefs inaugural ‘Scone School’ along with 3 others.
We chatted about scone disasters but being ever so domestically challenged I admitted I hadnt baked scones since high school.

Wendy had 4 places set out on her new kitchen island for us to work on. We were each to make 12 scones of an individual flavour and divide them between each other once baked. The flavours Wendy had chosen were sultana, mincemeat, cheese and tomato and dill and parmeasan.

Wendy shared her tips on rubbing in, butter temperatures, flours, egg glazes and alternative flavour combinations.

As the scones were baking we chatted over pots of tea and coffee and a few sneaky scones with homemade jam!

We all left with a laminated recipe card and Wendys assurance our attempts at home would be just as good.

There was chat of future nights possibly covering breads, pies, sauces, soups or muffins so I might just be back for another lesson.

Autumnal Tea – The Bonham

Another lazy Sunday spent with Miss E chatting over cakes and cocktails, this time a return visit to The Bonham.

On my last visit i only got a glance at the newly opened Consulting Room, this time we were lucky to be seated by the elegant wooden panelled stairway.

We started with a Hendricks G&T with a slice of cucumber, so good we ordered more! A pot of tea each; Japanesse Cherry and Chinese Passionfruit.

The cake stand arrived and we began to work our way through the sandwiches, the only problem being there were far too many! Then on to the fluffiest lightest scone. Ive said it before but my pet hate is mini jars of jam however the scone made up for it. The cakes were chocolate chip with vanilla bean cream and a dense carrot cake. A light and zingy lemon meringue pie and a delicate chocolate macaron left until last.

Miss E commented it was the best afternoon tea she had had, it was certainly the most filling i had ever had.

The only thing i would have liked to have seen was a pop of colour on the tier from something fruity, however we are coming in to autumn so the neutral earthy colours were rather fitting.

Decadent Delights – Prestonfield

A visit to Prestonfield always draws on childhood memories, growing up by the entrance to the grounds lead for lots of adventures and wanders to see the Highland cows.

Prestonfield with its grandeur and opulence captivates as guests are met by black kilted porters and drawn into the magical entrance. Once inside we were shown to the “Yellow Room” with its black leather, rich golden touches and exotic scented candles.

So with the pop of a champagne cork we worked our way through the savouries of finger sandwiches, fruit scones and plain scones. The delights were a profiterole filled with creme patisserie, strawberry and lime financier and a rhubarb cheesecake. Always leaving what looks best until last then followed a coconut and passionfruit bonbon. Silver teapots sat along side on a stand filled with Elderflower and Raspberry and a Rose and Black China leaf teas.

Although we had the perfect view of a mid-week wedding this did slow service but we were in no rush and happily sat chatting for hours.

A visit to see the highland cows had to be abandoned as I hadn’t brought along wellies, a great excuse to return if we ever see summer sunshine!

An Afternoon of Temptation

What better way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon than with one of your best friends over cake and cocktails. Making use of a voucher offer for afternoon tea at Tigerlily we worked our way through club style finger sandwiches, fruit scones, lemon drizzle cake, strawberry tartlets and one of the best strawberry cupcake’s. This was accompanied by a teapot full of Hendricks Gin Collins ; almond, cucumber, elderflower, lemon and mint.

Tigerlily is a favourite place of Miss E, but she was easily persuaded that I knew of somewhere more exciting at the opposite end of the street… Harvey Nic’s Chocolate Lounge. A conveyor belt style bar with lots of tempting treats whizzing past while sipping on champagne and ‘Choctails’. The stark white leather seating and the high gloss white bar area is the perfect backdrop for rich deep chocolatey colours. Not the perfect backdrop for a bottle of dettol, blue roll and dirty dishes that remained in front of us for nearly an hour. We finished our Frozen Choctails, a Malibu Coconutini and Chocolate Mocha, well worth the £10 each but headed somewhere less pretentious on Queen Street.

Bramble Bar served us up real cocktails where we sat for a few hours sipping on Hendricks Mint 500′s, Blueberry Soup’s and Crystal Mojito’s. Its one very special place and if you’ve visited you’ll know why its one of Edinburgh’s best kept secrets. Say no more!