Wonderland

Yesterday turned out to be a wonderland in so many ways - a trip to Edinburgh, pampering, shopping, fun, culture, coffee, wine, great company. What's not to like?

I was due in town for a haircut and as luck would have it I was able to persuade my partner in crime to accompany me. We did some shopping - yes, I even managed to get my Christmas gift buying started - and then explored the Christmas markets before heading on to the newly re-opened National Portrait Gallery for a quick look.  After that it was the hairdresser's for me and more shopping for Frances, followed by more coffee, a quick file and polish and some wine before heading back home to Stirling.

I even managed to get closer to confirming arrangements to meet up with a friend at Christmas, so happy day all round really. The only fly in the ointment was that our other friend wasn't able to join us in our crimes. Maybe next time?

Visiting strange new worlds

No, I haven't gone on holiday yet. As an East Coast girl, Glasgow is a foreign country for me, so what better way to continue with my limbering up?

Actually, I'm getting much better with Glasgow now. I realise that's there's more to the shopping than Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. I can navigate my way round the Clockwork Orange. I can get to and from a number of cultural venues with relative ease. And I even know where you can get a mean cocktail and imagine you're inside an Art Deco cruise liner.

But when it comes down to it, where would I choose to spend a free weekend? Sorry guys, but Edinburgh wins hands down.

Art for art's sake

At a friend's suggestion I popped into the Royal Scottish Academy today while I was in Edinburgh instead of spending all my time shopping.

And I'm glad that I did. There was some amazing new art on show, including 3 pieces from a rising star of a new artist by the name of Ross Brown. His paintings (one of which is shown here) of the now derelict St Peters Seminary in Glasgow are stunning. A worthwhile detour indeed.

But don't worry I did find some time for shopping too and am now the proud owner of a pair of proper dance shoes for my tango. And I get a chance to try them out at tonight's Milonga.

Amazing discoveries

I was wandering through to my hairdressers in Edinburgh when I came across this amazing open air photography exhibition in St Andrew's Square. It's part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival and features simply stunning photographs by Steve Bloom. There were so many amazing shots to choose from, but this is the one that I just loved.

Well worth a visit if you're in Edinburgh before next Saturday.If you can't get there, there's an online slide show that's well worth a look. But seeing them in real life is by far better.

On the town

I have just finished having the most fabulous day out with my sister in Edinburgh. It started with a quick trot down to the train station to get the express to Edinburgh, from which mercifully the Tartan Army disembarked at Stirling - but leaving behind their empty (mostly) tins of beer.

Once through in Edinburgh we hit the shops, making Harvey Nicks our first stop. While it was supposed to be my big sister's birthday treat, I was the one that ended up splurging the cash on a Paul Smith suit. Well, half of one for now - they didn't have the trousers in my size but are "sending them up from Knightsbridge" for me. Boy, do I feel extravagant!!

I then disappeared to have my hair cut while my sister went off on her own shopping mission. Sadly she wasn't able to find the top she'd been looking for but did come back beautifully made up courtesy of the nice girls at the Benefit counter in Boots. Lunch at John Lewis was followed by coffee at Vin Caffe (I'm sure we did some shopping in between!) and then back to Harvey Nicks for our Champagne Manicure in the wild colours illustrated above. A quick visit to the MAC counter (and another make over for big sis) and then we were ready for our cocktails.

We both look hot to trot now, and more importantly, we've had fun! A highly recommended day out for girls of all ages. Well, over drinking age that is!