A Quick Love Letter to Edinburgh...
- Ellie
- May 17, 2019
- 4 min read
Edinburgh has to be one of our all time favourite cities here at Mortica Olga. It is safe to say we are in fact a little in love!
This Easter we had the opportunity to return to the city for the wonderful and inspiring Dead by Dawn film festival curated by the wonderful Adele Hartley and hosted by the quirky art house cinema the Film House.
We had done all the obvious things on previous trips - the amazing castle, the ghost tour and the Royal Mile and all the galleries and museums are worth regular visits and most enjoyable.
This year however, we concentrated on some small independent businesses we had noticed on previous trips or spotted on the internet - this in our opinion is one of the most fantastic things about this city - as not only does it have the heritage, history and culture in bucket loads and despite it (like all modern cities) having its fair share gentrification and development, it still manages to be full of small businesses.
See the gems we discovered in the short list below - inbetween watching wonderful films at the Film house of course!
Mary’s Milkbar
Slap bang in the middle of the famous Grassmarket this ice cream parlour is a joy to behold, the vintage inspired decor and gorgeous attention to detail, ice cream shaped wall lights, stools made from crushed plastic milk carton lids ( Upcycling at its finest) and vintage style packing for all their handmade chocolates and treats. The window displays are beautifully arranged too.
The handmade ice cream ( all made by Mary of course) is amazing! We went for the Easter themed hot cross bun flavour and had it in a milkshake and it was Divine.
There was queue to get in but it went down quickly and the staff where so lovely and chirpy even though it was first thing on Easter Sunday - great customer service and a pure joy to visit.
Armchair Books
We love books and bookshops but the best shops are the secondhand ones which are slightly awkward to navigate due to how full their shelves are and full off odd and strange titles alongside the usual suspects. This place is very much one of those shops. Complete with the slightly grumpy sales assistant that disputes their mood will do anything to help ( which he did).
I was able to indulge my need to add to my vintage Agatha Christie collection finding a particularly bizzarre version of ‘The Third Girl’ with the creepiest cover!
Lots of lovely paperbacks and also a selection of more substantial antique hardbacks.
The added charm of random wall decor including some taxidermy and random bits.
Definitely worth an explore!
Maison de Moggy
A cat cafe with a comedy name cannnot be ignored!
Before anything else is said about our time here the most obvious thing was how well looked after and cared for the cats where and all the staff where so dedicated and patient ( with some of the more exhausting visitors!)
The cats had so many places to play on and of course sleep ( because you know ... cats!) even a little house with sofas and beds inside! As well little beds on the walls and the biggest selection of cat toys I’ve ever seen!!
The cake and hot drinks where lovely - even a vegan option which is always great. And clear rules about what cannot and can be done to protect the cats.
We didn’t want to leave and fell in love with all of them especially the Maine Coon who looked as if she had stepped out of a death metal album cover and charmingly named Pauline!
The cats where adorable and the staff spot on. A great experience.
We stayed at a fabulous Air BnB which deserves a mention. A short walk from both the Filmhouse cinema and the Grassmarket - housed in a fabulous 19th century building full of character and with the most enviable high ceilings and eclectic wall art.
A million times more enjoyable than the so called budget hotel chains - and exceedingly well priced.
And whilst there are of course negatives to supporting Air BnB this being our first experience using the website we where pleasantly surprised.
The Filmhouse is an art house cinema with two screens - an eclectic regular season and regular specialist seasons.
The cafe bar is worth a visit alone the food delicious and cooked on premises. They also have a little Blu-ray and DVD shop in the foyer.
The interior is period and the screen itself rather lovely and adds to the experience of your visit.
Staff always helpful and prices for individual tickets a reasonable rate - certainly a pleasant surprise compared to the multiplex.
Dead by Dawn is a horror film festival - not afraid to be more encompassing with what is considered to be the horror- it’s not full of films with the stereotypical busty coeds and Hollywood slashers - there are lots of psychologically difficult films as well as funny, surreal and foreign language films.
A very inclusive festival and great fun.
Here are favourite films and shorts from this year:
Heavy Trip https://youtu.be/Zl_4wYgXoFI
Helsinki Mansplaing Massacre https://youtu.be/GHmxwZeF3VI
Oscars Bell https://vimeo.com/255448420?ref=em-share
You might be the killer https://youtu.be/8IUC4Sb7hKY
Edinburgh we are always sad to leave you and miss you when we go!
Comments