Friday, April 12, 2024

The lions winning smile.

It seems to have done nothing other than rain solidly, every day, this year. Now that the new garden plants are in the weather has changed and it's now dry and warm. This means Angus is out at six this morning watering in the new trees .

We enjoyed the trip away. Edinburgh is a very livable small city. The elevator doors in the hotel  have a pattern  etched onto them. 'The Font' thinks the design is of flowers and trees. Angus thinks it's garden forks and bones. Possibly, just possibly, they could be thistles and rolled up parchment. Whatever they represent great time and expense has clearly been spent on them.


The hotel also has a skylight that runs up from the centre of the lobby to the roof. The architect must have had fun designing it.  From the top you can see all the way down to the reception six floors below. The skylight is surrounded at the top by a white sloping balustrade not unlike a funnel. Angus thinks this is cool. It is not a popular feature with those who don't like heights.


The carpet design has a 'strobe' effect . Was this intentional or just one of those things ? The quicker you walk the greater the strobe effect. 


The room has a huge sofa and a marble topped table with benches. The marble topped table is a definite hit. It makes reading e-mails so much more comfortable.


A large sandstone lion has pride of place in the gardens  facing the hotel.


Closer examination shows that the lion isn't merely large - it's huge. It also has rather a winning smile. How did they get it there ? The thing must weigh ten tonnes. Maybe more.

This morning the Volvo will be going to the local garage to have new tyres fitted. They will supply and fit the exact same make of tyres for 50% less than the dealership. There again the dealer manages to charge £117 for a pair of new wiper blades. 

8 comments:

WFT Nobby said...

The lion is quite magnificent. Gail is reminded that a trip to Edinburgh is overdue. Time to give Nobby some 'train training'.
As for the gaining weight as you age article - who knew that eating less and exercising more would be the recommendation?!

Linda said...

You're making me homesick for the city I lived in for 38 years until recently. Just a further thought on parking for another visit - the Park and Ride at Ferrytoll, at Inverkeithing, would be a much cheaper option than the airport parking. Because we lived in Edinburgh we still know the streets close to the centre where there is free parking and where you're likely to find a space, tho these are slowly disappearing as the council tightens the parking noose.

paphosmuseum said...

I went to a wedding in that hotel about 18 months ago. A good experience, although even the bride and groom found the room rates too budget busting to stay and opted for the Sheraton instead.

Love, love, love the lion.

Lisa in France said...

The hotel looks like a rare combination of interesting design and actual functionality. And I love the lion. My son has an application in to the University of Edinburgh's master's program in performance psychology. It's probably not his first choice among the schools he's applying to, as he is primarily interested in sport psychology, but I think the Edinburgh program is cool because it extends to other high-stress professions like medicine, the military and performing artists - not to mention that getting to visit him in Edinburgh would be a treat. (On the other hand . . . Loughborough.)

Anonymous said...

I live in the US and have only been to Scotland once. But my brief experience in Edinburgh left me wanting to live there. Sometimes when I swim laps at the gym, I daydream about renting an apartment there for three months or so. I would love to consider living in Scotland permanently, but it doesn't seem possible. I'm of Scottish ancestry, but my folks left there too long ago for me to qualify. Thanks for sharing your trips there - what a wonderful city.
Nina

Travel said...

That is a rather nice hotel room, I love the skylight design. The Mercedes just came back from it's annual spa visit, almost 10% of what we paid for the car new.

Coppa's girl said...

That's a very handsome lion, but I should imagine rather unusual for the centre of Edinburgh.
The last time we visited the city, the sun was shining and our Labrador pup behaved impeccably in an environment totally strange to him. He obviously felt at home as much as we did.

Diaday said...

This lion is grrrreat and must be a "mane" attraction in the park!