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Edinburgh<br />
UK<br />
DIALLING CODE +44<br />
CURRENCY £<br />
FROM THE<br />
AIRPORT<br />
Visit the Europcar<br />
desk on arrival for<br />
easyJet infl ight rates.<br />
Holiday Taxis<br />
(easyjet.holiday<br />
taxis.com) take you from<br />
home to the airport, then<br />
city or destination.<br />
TAXI<br />
The 25-minute<br />
journey to<br />
Edinburgh costs £15.<br />
The Airlink 100<br />
service goes to<br />
Waverley Bridge in the<br />
centre of Edinburgh.<br />
Tickets: £6 open return.<br />
BON APPETIT<br />
UP TO €15 Café at<br />
the Palace (Palace of<br />
Holyrood House)<br />
A spacious café in the<br />
mews of the Queen’s<br />
Edinburgh residence,<br />
where you can tuck<br />
into delicious, homebaked<br />
goodies.<br />
UP TO €30<br />
L’Artichaut (14 Eyre<br />
Place, tel: 0131 558<br />
1608) The application<br />
of French techniques<br />
to vegetarian cuisine<br />
works a treat in this<br />
friendly restaurant.<br />
UP TO €50<br />
Wedgwood (267<br />
Canongate, tel: 0131 558<br />
8737) A real gem on the<br />
Royal Mile, this elegant<br />
restaurant serves<br />
Scottish cuisine with an<br />
international twist.<br />
EXCLUSIVE 21212<br />
(3 Royal Terrace,<br />
tel: 0131 523 1030)<br />
Michelin-starred chef<br />
Paul Kitching brings<br />
wit and invention to a<br />
fi nely tuned menu. The<br />
decadent interior will<br />
tempt you to linger over<br />
another bottle of wine.<br />
AFTER DARK<br />
LOW KEY Banter<br />
(85–87 Fountainbridge,<br />
tel: 0131 228 8793)<br />
A laidback bar just off<br />
Lothian Road, Banter is<br />
great for lounging with<br />
a coffee or enjoying<br />
a meal with your pint.<br />
LIVE MUSIC Electric<br />
Circus (36–39 Market<br />
Street, tel: 0131 226<br />
4224) A vibrant venue<br />
with touring and local<br />
bands playing. Recent<br />
refurbishment has<br />
provided new, private<br />
karaoke rooms.<br />
THE<br />
GLASSHOUSE<br />
★ ★ ★ ★ ★<br />
This luxurious hotel’s<br />
individually styled<br />
rooms come with<br />
wooden fl oors, fl oorto-ceiling<br />
windows<br />
and extremely<br />
comfortable beds. The<br />
hotel is a short walk<br />
from Princes Street.<br />
From €81, book at<br />
hotels.easyJet.com.<br />
LATE & LIVELY<br />
Medina (45–47 Lothian<br />
Street) Open till 3am<br />
nightly, this Moroccanthemed<br />
club below<br />
Negociants attracts<br />
top name DJs.<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
SHOP There are party<br />
frocks, special outfi ts<br />
and unique accessories<br />
at Armstrong’s,<br />
Edinburgh’s biggest<br />
vintage and retro<br />
clothing emporium<br />
(83 The Grassmarket).<br />
SEE Scottish<br />
pantomimes are famous<br />
for being big and brash,<br />
and Edinburgh’s <strong>2009</strong><br />
edition, Robinson<br />
Crusoe and the<br />
Caribbean Pirates at<br />
King’s, promises to be<br />
no different (King’s<br />
Theatre, 2 Leven Street).<br />
GO East Princes Street<br />
Gardens turn into<br />
‘Winter Wonderland’<br />
for the festive season,<br />
with a fair, Christmas<br />
market, big ferris wheel<br />
and magical ice-rink.<br />
ESCAPE The Rosslyn<br />
Chapel is just 11km<br />
south of Princes Street<br />
(take bus number 15),<br />
but the ornate carvings<br />
of pagan “Green Men”<br />
are a million miles<br />
from Edinburgh’s<br />
classical architecture.<br />
NO WAY!<br />
The huge Christmas<br />
tree on the Mound,<br />
traditionally given to<br />
Edinburgh by the<br />
people of Hordaland,<br />
Norway, is now<br />
grown in the Scottish<br />
Borders to reduce its<br />
carbon footprint.<br />
Thom Dibdin<br />
Faro<br />
Portugal<br />
DIALLING CODE +351<br />
CURRENCY €<br />
FROM THE<br />
AIRPORT<br />
Visit the Europcar<br />
desk on arrival<br />
for special easyJet<br />
infl ight rates.<br />
Holiday Taxis<br />
(easyJet.holiday<br />
taxis.com) take you from<br />
home to the airport, then<br />
city or destination.<br />
TAXI<br />
The fare to the city<br />
centre is about €9.<br />
Eva buses<br />
go to various<br />
destinations. It’s a 20minute<br />
journey to Faro.<br />
BON APPETIT<br />
UP TO €15 Casa da<br />
Igreja (Cacela Velha,<br />
Tavira) An evening-only<br />
restaurant specialising<br />
in oysters, picked daily<br />
by the owners of the Ria<br />
Formosa lagoon, just<br />
below the cliff-top where<br />
this gem is hidden.<br />
UP TO €30 Atlantico<br />
(30 Rua General<br />
Humberto Delgado,<br />
tel: 289 562 098) This<br />
traditional restaurant<br />
has been a local<br />
institution for 30 years.<br />
The food has hardly<br />
changed because it<br />
doesn’t need to – expect<br />
tasty, rustic creations.<br />
UP TO €50 Piri Piri<br />
(Sheraton Algarve,<br />
Falesia, tel: 289 500<br />
DESTINATION GUIDES | 133<br />
100) There’s a new<br />
look and menu for this<br />
hotel-based favourite<br />
with a modern take on<br />
the Portuguese spice<br />
theme, from grilled spicy<br />
beef to piri-piri chocolate<br />
mousse. They even have<br />
a chilli sauce sommelier!<br />
EXCLUSIVE The<br />
Ocean (Vila Vita Parc,<br />
Porches, tel: 282 310<br />
100) Take in stunning<br />
sea views from this<br />
gourmet hotel resort,<br />
where Austrian chef<br />
Hans Neuner gives<br />
a Germanic twist to<br />
locally caught produce.<br />
Try the mussels with<br />
pumpkin and caramel.<br />
AFTER DARK<br />
LOW KEY Pickwick’s<br />
Tavern (Praia Olhos<br />
d’Agua) An English pub<br />
with a sense of humour<br />
– they have a “husband<br />
crèche” where the girls<br />
can leave their men to<br />
have a drink, while they<br />
hit the nearby shops.<br />
LIVE MUSIC Santo<br />
Estevao Town Hall<br />
(Tavira, tel: 281<br />
320 500) The local<br />
municipality hosts an<br />
interesting and varied<br />
selection of Portuguese,<br />
Brazilian and world<br />
music concerts at<br />
the weekends<br />
throughout winter.<br />
LATE & LIVELY Casa<br />
do Cerro (Cerro da<br />
Piedade, Albufeira)<br />
A Moorish-themed club<br />
with a dramatic hilltop<br />
setting, bustling bar<br />
and pulsating music.<br />
Cool off away from<br />
the crowds on one of<br />
the outside terraces<br />
– Algarve winters are<br />
milder than most.<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
SHOP The awardwinning<br />
Veneza wine<br />
shop now ships its<br />
renowned products<br />
throughout Europe.<br />
Get to the store before<br />
the boat sets sail and<br />
sample its superb range<br />
of Portuguese wines<br />
(Mem Moniz, Paderne).<br />
SEE The only “snow”<br />
you’ll see in the Algarve<br />
is at Portimao’s ice rink.<br />
There are also New<br />
Year’s Eve parties with<br />
live music, fi reworks and<br />
gourmet food in Tavira,<br />
Vale do Lobo, Quinta do<br />
Lago, Faro, Albufeira,<br />
Portimao and Lagos.<br />
GO Guia has been<br />
smartened up: but<br />
it’s the fantastic<br />
choice of restaurants<br />
in the Algarve’s city<br />
of chicken that will<br />
continue to draw most<br />
visitors – as well as<br />
the Algarve Shopping<br />
retail complex.<br />
ESCAPE Odeceixe, on<br />
the Alentejo border, is<br />
the Algarve’s furthestfl<br />
ung outpost (about<br />
75 minutes from Faro)<br />
and one of its prettiest<br />
towns. Eat, shop, take<br />
photos, and then blow<br />
away the cobwebs with<br />
a walk on one of its two<br />
spectacular beaches.<br />
NO WAY!<br />
The traditional<br />
Portuguese equivalent<br />
of Christmas pudding<br />
is bolo rei (king’s cake),<br />
a wreath-shaped fruit<br />
brioche. Whoever fi nds<br />
the broad bean hidden<br />
inside has to pay for<br />
next year’s cake!<br />
Paul Rouse/<br />
inspirationsalgarve.com
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