Last Saturday, my family and I took a day trip to the
city of Edinburgh to enjoy all that the Edinburgh Fringe Festival had to
offer. So starting the day off I enjoyed a mooch round the stalls situated in
the Grassmarket. And much to my delight there was even a couple of record
stalls! I'm currently a bit obsessed with vinyl records and enjoy
the experience of visiting record stores/stalls and finding exciting hidden
gems as well as some great bargains. Needless to say I did NOT leave the
record stalls yesterday empty handed-that was just too difficult I'm afraid!
Now all that's left to do is save up some money and actually buy myself a
record player so that I can actually listen to what I've bought!
Just a little further along the Grassmarket, I
visited one of my very favourite shops in Edinburgh, a fabulous vintage shop
named W. Armstrong & Sons. Armstrong's has remained a firm favourite of mine throughout the
years and is always a highlight of my trips to Edinburgh. It's like walking
into a jungle of colours. Everywhere you look there are clothes, shoes,
hats and even jewellery hidden in every nook and cranny possible. There was a
selection of dresses from almost every era you could ever imagine
hanging from the ceiling high above your head.
As you can probably imagine I was in my absolute
element as I raked through the rails and walked round the store
in awe. Oh goodness! Now I sound a little bit geeky! But seriously you'll
never have seen anything like it before! In fact the shop size of the shop in
itself is deceiving; it's like walking into a Tardis. The front of the store is
small room covered in rails of clothing but if you continue walking down the
corridor you pass a line of changing room which are amazing in themselves. The
changing room walls are covered in colourful and exciting murals-I could just
stand and stare at them all day! Past the changing rooms is a further two rooms
filled to the brim vintage clothing and accessories. What's not to love?!
As always, I usually leave Armstrong with a bag in hand
and of course this particular visit was no different to the others. This time I
left with a beautiful black velvet jacket similar to one I'd seen my style
inspiration Stevie Nicks wearing in photographs. When my eyes fell upon as I
worked my way through the rails I instantly knew I had to try it on! Funnily
enough, it perfectly matched the outfit I was wearing so in my opinion; it was
meant to be! I also tried on two velvet dresses but unfortunately, they were
too big for me!
We left Armstrong and followed the road to Greyfiars
Kirk where another of our favourite shops is. Joe is a cute and quirky store
that sells a range of accessories such as bags, hats and jewellery. My sister
and I have loved this shop since we were little because of all the cute, girly
bits n' bobs they sell. To this day we still love it as they have something to
suit almost everyone! Another plus side about Joe is that they sell hats
so of course I took full advantage and tried on a bunch of different hats (as
you do!). Eventually, I decided upon a black top hat which my Mum
purchased to put a way in advance for Christmas so I'll have to wait a few
months before I finally get to wear it! But it'll be worth the wait in the end!
Lunchtime was dawning and a trip to Edinburgh for us in
never complete without a visit to the Muscle and Steak restaurant situated in
the Grassmarket. I've loved visiting the Muscle and Steak for lunch ever since
I was little and as always the food never disappoints!
Following lunch, we made our way onto the Royal Mile
which was heaving with people coming and going from all angles. There were
street artists, performers and people handing out leaflets advertising shows
that would be on throughout the festival. We had a browse round the stalls at
another of the many craft markets in the city that day. I could have easily
spent a fortune as there was so many lovely handcrafted goods that I fell in
love with!
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| This photo doesn't do it justice as to how busy the Royal Mile actually was |
The Royal Mile was so busy that you could barely see
beyond your nose which was not much fun as I was sitting in my wheelchair. When
there is as many people as there was; they barely notice what's below them
meaning that I am at very high risk of being bashed and bumped. Not an
experience for the fainthearted might I add! With this in mind we didn't hang
around on the Mile for very long and escaped into the safety of one of the side
streets.
The side street was built on a hill, which isn't unusual
for Edinburgh but thankfully we opted to go down the hill instead of climbing
up it-much easier on the wheelchair I have to say! Although the downwards slant can be a
little nerve-wracking having someone push you in a wheelchair. Thankfully,
I got down the hill safely in one piece.
On the way down we popped into some more shops (surprise!
surprise!) including a shop named "Enchantment" which sold a bunch of
fairy-tale inspired goods! It caught my attention as we passed by so I
definitely had to pop in for a browse! Also on the street was a shop I'd
visited previously whilst in Edinburgh named "Miss Katie Cupcake" and
was desperate to go back for a look round. The shop is filled with cute,
vintage chic gifts and accessories which you just can't help but fall in love
with! Everywhere I looked, I spotted something else! It's definitely worth a
visit if you're ever in Edinburgh!
After, popping into a handful of other shops along
Cockburn Street we then made our way to Princes Gardens and took a seat in one
of the almost non-existent empty park benches. I of course had my the
digital camera on hand so spent quite a bit of time snapping photos of
buildings surrounding the area. The architecture on some of the buildings is
quite spectacular if you look closely enough. So as you can probably imagine, I
now have quite a number of photos to go through and edit! Ooops!
Edinburgh was extremely humid and we were all ready for a
nice, cold refreshment to cool us down a little-I seriously don't think I could
permanently live in a city; they're far too warm for my liking sometimes! With
that in mind a visit to the nearest Starbucks and Costa was in order.
Surprisingly, quite a few of the branches along Princes Street had a large
number of steep looking steps to access them which isn't ideal for someone like
myself. We just continued walking until we found a Costa branch up another side
street which thankfully on the flat. Sitting down with a much
needed chocolate cooler in hand, I managed to connect up to some Wi-Fi so
I could catch up with what was happening in the world.
Next, we visited the West End Craft, Art and Design Fair
situated in St John's Episcopal Church. There was over a hundred stalls filled
with some amazing handmade goods. The highlight of the fair for me was a stall
ran by a lady named Holly who sold some fabulous paintings as well as cards and
prints of her artwork. Instantly falling in love with Holly's artwork I had to
purchase a couple of her cards and one of her prints-they were just too pretty
not to! Holly, herself was such a lovely lady and got chatting to me about the
hat (funnily enough!) I was wearing that day. Everywhere I go I always
manage to get speaking to someone and like I said before, it's usually about
one of my hats! Anyway, Holly's artwork was so unique, quirky and overall;
right up my street! If you'd like to check out some of her work and fall in
love with it just like I have, then be sure to click here!
After browsing through the craft market we decided to
call it a day and head back home as time was ticking on and we had a couple of
hours drive ahead of us. So until next time; farewell for now Edinburgh!
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