What to do this weekend: 29-30 July

ALL WEEKEND

Edinburgh Art Festival

First of the August festivals, the Edinburgh Art Fest has just kicked off with a bunch of cool exhibitions, temporary art installations and accompanying events such as their flagship Art Lates. Why not explore the installations and exhibitions this weekend, before the Fringe crowds arrive! The Skinny Magazine has put together a handy guide to the Art Fest including food and drinks stops on the way.

Edinburgh Food Festival

The Edinburgh Food Fest is celebrating the finest of Scottish produce this weekend at George Square Gardens. Expect delicious street food from your favourite local vendors including Poco Prosecco, Umami Spice Girl and Boy and The Marshmellow Lady. There will be also interesting talks such as The Great Gin Debate, Tasting with Whisky Tube Map as well as Urban Foraging.

29TH JULY, SATURDAY

New Reekie 2 (Titan Arum)

You might remember back in June 2015 when botanics enthusiasts got excited about New Reekie: the first ever blooming Titan Arum plant in Scotland. It was not supposed to happen again this soon, but the plant must be really enjoying the Scottish soil and decided to bloom again! Keep checking the Botanics' website for updates when the full bloom is likely to happen. They measure the plant every day and New Reekie 2 can return in a few days with a smelly bloom.

30TH JULY, SUNDAY

How and Why to Eat the Wild

Another exciting event on foraging with the guys behind Buck & Birch (and the Aelder Elixir). The event is hosted by the beautiful Newton Walled Gardens and lunch is provided. Only limited number of tickets available for booking details check out the Facebook event.

Visit Dalmeny House

This is the last Sunday this summer when Dalmeny House is open to visitors. Entry is by guided tour only, tours start at 2.15pm and 3.30pm. Find more info here.

Have a nice weekend!

What to do this weekend: 22-23 July

ALL WEEKEND

Heverlee at New Waverley

Head to the New Waverley Arches this weekend - there is a cracking Belgian micro-festival is happening in the 'burgh, brought to you by Heverlee. They have teamed up with The Pitt, The Skinny and Firecracker Recordings, so there will be Belgian style streetfood, music, street art as well as cinema screenings by Kino Klub. Check out the full line-up on their Facebook event site. We are very much looking forward to munching on Belgian waffels, tasting some Heverlee limited brews and watching The Adventures of Tintin. Oh and we almost forgot the best news: it's free to enter!

Dunkirk on 70mm

If you are a true cinema lover, we recommend you watch Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk at the Filmhouse on 70mm. Make sure to book your ticket in advance - all Cinema 1 screenings will be 70mm, while Cinema 2 and 3 will screen from DCP.

22ND JULY, SATURDAY

Hungary and thirsty

Small promo for my home country - this weekend you have the opportunity to taste Hungarian cuisine and wines at the Edinburgh Food Studio. They might still have a few spots left, be quick if you don't want to miss the mangalica!

National Whisky Festival

The National Whisky Festival is coming to the Corn Exchange this Saturday. Exhibitors include Elements of Islay, Aelder Elixir from Buck and Birch, Arbikie, Glenfiddich and others. Buy your ticket here.

23RD JULY, SUNDAY

Wild Wine Fair

Timberyard at Lady Lawson Street is hosting Scotland's first dedicated natural wine fair. Athough tickets are sold out, you might still get on the waiting list. (Yep, sadly we were also too late to get tickets and hoping we get in from the waiting list!) The good news is that the after party is open to everyone and it is hosted by one of your favourite wine bars, the Good Brothers in Stockbridge.

Blondilox Pop-up

The lovely Blondilox will be popping up at Lululemon Edinburgh this Sunday between 11am and 1pm with a porridge and healthy snacks shop. Make sure to say hi to her and stock up on your favourite porridge blend.

Have a nice weekend!

Edinburgh's 101 Objects

Last weekend we were lucky to enjoy a touristy day out with Mr Enthusiast and explored some of Edinburgh's 101 Objects. If you are unfamiliar with the initiative, Edinburgh 101 Objects is a collection of Ediburgh's most treasured objects ranging from the world's first blended Scotch whisky to Dolly the cloned sheep. You can find the full list of objects and more information on each object at the Edinburgh 101 website. Why not celebrate the year of History, Heritage and Archeology by exploring them all at your own leisure?

Here's an example itinerary we followed.

Object 19: The Skating Minister

The weather was not brilliant when we left home, so we decided to head straight to the National Galleries of Scotland on the Mound. Lots of other people had the same idea, so the museum was pretty busy! I have been wanting to check out The Skating Minister for ages and glad we finally made it. The Skating Minister is a painting by the famous Scottish artist Sir Henry Raeburn and shows Reverend Robert Walker skating on Duddingston Loch. It is quite unlike other known portraits by Raeburn!
While it was still raining outside we had a stroll around the gallery and admired their newest acquisition, The Monarch of the Glen. It is a beautiful painting of a red deer stag and well worth checking out if you have not yet seen it.

Object 33: David Hume's Lucky Toe

After the gallery we headed towards the Royal Mile and rubbed David Hume's lucky toe in the hope of improved weather for the rest of the day. It worked!
Would you have thought that the shiny bronze statue of the philosopher is actually not very old? It has only been there since 1995, created by sculptor Alexander Stoddart.

De-tour: Walker Slater

The other day I noticed that Walker Slater has opened a new sales shop on Victoria Street, so we had a quick detour to find a new Harris Tweed hat for Mr Enthusiast. The sales shop has great offers for a fraction of the original price - head there to find some bargains. Also I had to admit that I have never been to their shops before as I thought it was too touristy stuff. How wrong I was! I have now becaise a Walkers Slater convert and we ended up buying a hat for myself too.

Object 14: Sir Patrick Geddes Bust

It was time to get back to our Edinburgh 101 Object itinerary, so we were back on the Royal Mile. We headed to a secret garden in Trunks Close, just behind the Scottish Storytelling Centre (John Knox House). The garden is normally only open on weekdays, but with the Architecture Fringe Open Close exhibition ongoing (until 11 August) we managed to sneak in. The bust of Sir Patrick Geddes sits on a beehive - don't worry it's not a real beehive but part of the statue. Scottish sculptor Kenny Hunter explained this with Geddes' appreciation of bees. Geddes himself is best known as the father of town planning and thanks to him we have some pretty wee urban gardens today in Edinburgh's Old Town.

Object 16: The Scotsman Steps

Next we took my favourite shortcut from North Bridge down to Market Street: the Scotsman Steps. It's a beautiful artwork of Martin Creed and it was originally commissioned by the Fruitmarket Gallery for Creed's solo exhibition back in 2010. The piece is named 'Work No. 1059' and it has 104 steps of different marble from all over the world. I was also pleased to see that Edinburgh Council has removed the grafitti I spotted a couple of weeks ago at the top of the stairs.

Object 31: 'Still' by Alison Watt

The Scotsman Steps led us right next to the door of Old St Paul's Church, home of the beautiful artwork 'Still' by Alison Watt. The painting comes in four parts and I adore how Alison shows the monumental image of hanging folds of fabric so light and airy. It was originally commissioned by the Ingleby Gallery in 2004 - I cannot believe I have not heard about this beautiful piece earlier.
If you have fallen in love with Alison's work like we did, you can find another painting of hers ('Flexion') at the Scottish Parliament.

Object 7: Starred Dome of 36 St Andrew Square

Our final stop was Dundas House at 36 St Andrew Square. You might have walked past this Royal Bank of Scotland branch numerous times and used the outside cash mashines. Next time make sure you enter the building - inside is certainly not your average RBS branch but possibly the prettiest banking hall in the whole UK. The wow factor of the building is certainly the starred dome and you can count as much as 120 stars. You will also find a section of the original tiles and a great wee exhibition telling you the history of the building.

Lunch at the Printing Press

We were kindly offered a three-course lunch at The Printing Press Bar and Kitchen which has long been on my 'to-visit' list. The restaurant is conveniently located at George Street and it was only a few minutes walk from our last Edinburgh 101 Object.
The restaurant opened last autumn and the beautiful listed Georgian townhouse went through complete restoration. The end result is a stylish and elegant space, perfect for brunch or afternoon tea with friends or a lovely lunch/dinner with your partner. The menu features some Scottish favourites - now I know where to send friends visiting from my home country to try haggis!

This is what we picked from the menu:

To start with, we had haggis (obviously) and delicious gin cured Loch Duart salmon.

(no picture - Mr Enthusiast ate his starter too quickly!)

Our mains were wild garlic gnocchi and charred Peterhead mackerel.

For dessert Mr Enthusiast picked chocolate as always while I went for the boozy-fruity option - rhubarb and champagne syllabub.

All dishes were delicious and would be hard to pick my favourite - but if you ask Mr Enthusiast, he could have had at least 3 more portions of his Valrhona chocolate cremeux.

All photos by The Edinburgh Ethusiast (C).
Acknowledgement: Even though Mr Enthusiast and myself enjoyed the hospitality of The Printing Press Bar and Kitchen, the views and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and purely my own.

What to do this weekend: 15-16 July

ALL WEEKEND

Open Close

We have just attended the launch event of Open Close which is part of the currently running Architecture Fringe festival. The Open Close project is a pilot for the Twelve Closes initiative of Edinburgh World Heritage to revitalise some of the unloved and unused closes of the Royal Mile. The Open Close consists of temporary art installations in three of the closes: Trunks Close, Chalmers Close and Carrubers Close. You can check out Open Close until 11 August.

15TH JULY, SATURDAY

Wild Pizza Making

How about some foraging and wild pizza making in a wood-fired outdoor oven at Jupiter Artland? The event is ran by experienced forager Lisa Cutcliffe and you can learn from her about nutritious plants, fungi and seaweeds.

16TH JULY, SUNDAY

Jazz Festival Carnival

The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival has kicked off and it is running until 23 July. The ever popular Davina and The Vagabonds are back and there are quite a few Edinburgh Firsts too. Free events include Mardi Gras at Grassmarket this Saturday and the Festival Carnival this Sunday.

Have a nice weekend!

What to do this weekend: 8-9 July

ALL WEEKEND

Architecture Fringe

Yes, there is such thing as Architecture Fringe and it's on until 23 July. If you are a fellow architecture lover you should not miss this fest! Featured events include New Town walking tours by Cobble Tales, archi-cinema, various talks and installations. Make sure to register for events on Eventbrite in advance.

True to life: British Realist Paintings

True to life has just opened at Modern Two of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The exhibition is part of the Edinburgh Art Festival and it is devoted to the work of British realist painters of the interwar period. Can't wait to check this out once my National Art Pass arrives.

8TH JULY, SATURDAY

Visit Little Sparta

Have you heard of Little Sparta? It's a secret garden in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh and it was created by Ian Hamilton Finlay. The garden is only open to the public on certain days between June and September, and now on Saturdays there is a bus from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Book your tickets for the Saturday bus trip via Eventbrite.

9TH JULY, SUNDAY

Brunch at Custom Lane

Visit Williams & Johnson this Sunday at Custom Lane for their brunch event organised together with the Leith and Southside Food Assemblies. Find more info on their Facebook event page.

Have a nice weekend!