Edinburgh: Victoria Street and The Grassmarket

Ah, back in Edinburgh. Here we are in the Old Town--these streets are just south of Edinburgh Castle.

I love how doors and woodwork are often brightly-painted in Edinburgh--such a lovely way to offset all the local stone that gives the city so much of its character.

Part of that purple exterior on the right is the front of Howie's. We tried to eat there (and in their other Edinburgh location nearby), but we were turned away both times due to large holiday party bookings.

No matter. We had lunch a few doors down at Oink instead. The people at Howie's recommended it, and I'd already read good things about it, anyway. And let me tell you, it was good. The friendly guys who work there said that all they do is salt a whole pig and roast it--they bring the roasted pig from the restaurant's farm each morning, and when they run out of pig, they close for the day. Oh, and that's all they serve--roasted-pig sandwiches, with your choice of haggis or sage-onion stuffing inside, and chili relish and pork cracklings atop, if you want them--and you do. The sandwiches are inexpensive and huge, and we pronounced them delicious--with haggis! The Boy ate his alongside a non-alcoholic ginger beer, his favorite drink while in Edinburgh.

This view looks toward the street/area known as The Grassmarket.

Here are the kids, hamming it up inside the incredible, stuffed-to-the-gills second-hand shop Armstrong's. It's visible (barely) in the photo above this one. I found a wonderful vintage green tweed coat there, but I didn't have room to bring it home on the plane (after all, we flew RyanAir), and I probably didn't really need it anyway. I guess. 

This photo was taken a day or two before the others, in The Grassmarket at a little cafe that should definitely be known more for its Castle view than for its cuisine. It was very cold, rainy, and windy on this afternoon, though, and we were just happy to rest our feet and ingest warm, cheap soup and baked potatoes. Speaking of the Castle, I'll share more about it in my next post!