By yon bonny banks...

I've just returned from a whirlwind three-day stay in Edinburgh, and I'm here to tell you that all the rumors are true - Scotland is amazing. Not only did I play fetch with an adorable little dog with a stick he fished out of the North Sea, but I also ate some delicious food and had a fabulous cocktail or two.

Most notable were the two scrumptious lattes and the bacon sandwich I had at Renroc cafe, my (very generous) hostess Louise's local, run by her friends Bill and Jane. The coffee is excellent, and the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich (served on a poppyseed bagel) was fantastic. The cafe appears tiny, but actually has seating outside, upstairs, and downstairs, so don't let that put you off. They do take-away as well as eat-in, and I highly recommend the lattes.

Louise's friend Diane, who is apparently the authority on all things new and cool in Edinburgh, found a new cocktail bar called Voodoo Rooms (plural because they also have a restaurant, cabaret, and ballroom) for us to try. It just opened a week ago, so things are still a bit quiet. The bar is quite stunning, painted black and trimmed in white, gold, and gilt skulls. Looks like the cocktail revival has hit Edinburgh in full force - they had Bourbon, rye and Laird's Applejack behind the bar, something that I've found to be rare in the UK. Good stuff.

Of course, cocktails and coffee are hardly the only reason to get thee to Edinburgh. So I leave you with a far more compelling reason (a few more reasons can be viewed here, if you choose):