Winter Wonderland

Pour le jour de l'an 2010, nous étions a Edinburgh, la neige était au rendez-vous ainsi que le froid glacial.


Le sapin (voir photo) vient du grand magasin à 5 ou 6 étage, Jenners (on y trouve de tout, je vous invite à gouter a leur restauration).


L'écureuil, je l'ai rencontre dans le jardin de "Princes Street Gardens" jour de l'an.


Et pour les 12 coups de minuits, nous avons assisté au concert du groupe qui a donné naissance au Ska, Madness. Dans le jardin sité précédemment. Je vais vous raconté notre incroyable chance au cours de la nuit de Hogmanay. Cette nuit là, était le dernier jour de l'année et en écossais cela s'appelle Hogmanay.


Un petit aperçu en vidéo : http://vimeo.com/9888642


Pour célébrer cette fête, la ville d'Edinburgh et plus particulièrement une partie de Princes Street ainsi que le jardin éponyme de la rue sont bloqués a la circulation pour laisser place a :


- Concert in the garden
- The Keilidh
- West End DJ Stage
- Party Stage
- Waverley Stage


Pour en savoir aller sur http://www.edinburghshogmanay.org/


Acte I Scène I


Pour ce soir là nous avions acheté un Pass (je crois que c'était 10 £ par personne) pour nous rendre sur Prince Street et assister au différents événements et voir le feu d'artifice.
Tout le périmètre était bien surveillé, les bouteilles en verre interdites pour raison de sécurité. Nous avons rencontrés au cours de toute la soirée aucun problème, aucune bagarre, ni bousculade malgré le nombre importants de fêtards.
L'ambiance du jour de l'an commençait a monter, la foule circulait dans les rues, la musique du DJ se faisait entendre au loin, quelques un s'agitait le gobelet de bière à la main et d'autres étaient collés à la barrière de "Princes Street Garden", au début j'ai remarqué des groupes de 2 ou 3 personnes et tout ça en remontant ou en redescendant la rue.


Acte I Scène II


Ensuite j'ai vu que des dizaines de personnes fixées leur regard en direction du jardin. Comme tout le monde, nous nous sommes approché et nous avons vu une scéne de concert, chouette !! On essaye de trouver une entrée, on traverse la foule qui afflue. Arrivés à une des entrées du jardin, nous apercevons un second contrôle de billet, mince !! Tu crois qu'on peut entrer ? Ne sachant pas quoi faire et ne sachant pas trop a quoi nous attendre nous donnons a nouveau notre billet qui nous avait servit a passer le 1er contrôle, au grand monsieur en "yellow jacket". Il nous dit avec son accent qui roule les R, No, this ticket is vx and hfxc not possible, il n'y avait pas encore ma belle-mère, elle nous aurait aidé en comprendre et à discuter avec yellow jacket.


Acte I Scène III


L'accès au jardin nous a été refusé car nous n'avions pas les bons billets. Nous retournons alors dans la rue, errant a la recherche d'un réconfort due a la déception de ne pas pourvoir assister a ce concert dont on ne savait rien, ni les artistes, et ni si nous pouvions acheter les billet et à combien surtout.


Suite de l'évenement


Acte II scène I


Nous essayons d'avancer tant bien que mal, la foule grandie en meme temps que l'ambiance, nos voyons vraiment que c'est un jour de fêtes pas comme les autres, pleins d'amour et d'allégresse, very Bliss !!!


Nous essayons de nous renseigner pour pouvoir acheter les billets, car nous avons appris qu'il y avait Madness !!! Wahouu, un des groupes de mon enfance, les maîtres du Ska.


Acte II scène II


Tout le monde était fou, pas de joie car nous n'avions de billet mais d'impatience. Au fait, maintenant nous avons Evelyn avec nous, elle va nous aider à comprendre un peu mieux cet accent Scotish atypique mais dont nous avons du mal à comprendre.


On arrive au niveau du West End DJ Stage. Quelques pas de danse et un déanchement plus tard, nous nous dirigeons vers une autre entrée.


Nous envoyons Evelyn au front, moi je reste un peu en retrait.


C'est là que s'opère la magie de l'instant. C'était là, maintenant et pas, à une seconde de plus. Au moment où Evelyn et sa fille discutent avec un des contrôleur, un grand monsieur, 1m90 environ rejoint le groupe de contrôle. Un moment après il s'avance vers Evelyn et le contrôleur, ils discutent tous les 4.... Et sur le moment, je n'ai pas vraiment su ce qui c'était vraiment passé. Je l'ai su ensuite.


Acte II scène III - Le Final


Ma femme se retourne pour nous chercher, un couple s'avance vers le point de contrôle, elle me cherche, se retourne vers sa mère puis se retourne à nouveau, je lui fait signe, elle ne me voit toujours pas, le couple s'avance vers elle et lui tend deux billets et presque au même moment, le grand monsieur sort de sa veste deux billets et les donnent à Evelyn. Tous les deux reviennent avec le Sésame.


Et là, la fête prend une autre dimension...


Les billets en main, le sourire aux lèvres, un pied devant l'autre nous avançcons dans la nuit noire en direction de la scène. Nous avons dansé toute la nuit. D'abord en 1ère partie, "The Noisettes" et ensuite

This is our second year coming, and I forsee this being a regular event each and every year. The Christmas Market in Edinburgh out shines anything Glasgow puts on, which is a shame, but totally amazing at the same time.

You can barely step out of the train station without seeing all the lights and people hustling about eating and drinking and buying loads of Christmasy stuff! I absolutely love it!

This year, they have a really cool Rekorderlig hut set up at the top of the Market area before you even head in to the stalls. The great thing is that they have a spiced plum cider on offer that isn't even listed on their website! Try it, it's great! This is great as it makes grabbing a warm boozy bevvy that much easier. They also have drinks stands down in the kids play area which I think it a bit odd, but hey ho!

This place is massive and it's very easy to lose people in here if it's quite crowded. I basically hold on to my guys hands and we manage to make it through without too much of a fuss.

This is a must see- spend the day in Edinburgh and check out the Christmas markets- you won't be sorry that you did!

Despite the chilly weather the warm atmosphere at Winter Wonderland really eased the chill.

Starting off at Prince Street gardens theres plenty to see from the giant ferris wheel, to the scary biscuits high flyer to the ice rink; not to mention the food and craft stalls and market. For kids (or indeed big kids), theres Santa's land with rides and a Christmas tree maze.

The market is packed full of all the continental delights you can imagine. Wooden ornaments and lights, candles, coffee beans, waffles, crepes, chocolate fountains, mulled wine and hot chocolate... the smell is amazing. Yes, admittedly the place is mobbed and some of the goods are quite expensive, but hey its Christmas and we're in Edinburgh.

In St Andrews Square the new for 2015 circular ice rink was fun to watch and there's some quality Scottish market stalls which I think is important at a Christmas market.
A crunchie hot chocolate from Mimis Bakehouse with some shortbread was tasty and suitably Christmassy whilst we soaked up the atmosphere.

By far the best Christmas markets in Scotland, with wares which could rival many a European city, and somewhere I'll continue to visit each year.

Big wheel, ice rink, plethora of stalls selling all things Christmas & liquid Christmas cheer. What's not to love about the Winter Wonderland. Yes, it's mobbed but surely that's the point.

There is a fair bit of repetition amongst the stalls but it's laid out better this year compared to last. I like the fact that the ice-rink is st the top & I much prefer the new style big wheel (pods to shelter in rather than being open to the elements).

A great way to while away a few hours with friends on a wintry afternoon.

HIGHLIGHTS:

- 20% off for EH postcode locals.
- 'The Wallace' burger from the Bavarian stand facing onto Princes Street. Gorgeous piece of meat.
- Scotch & Soda circus show; not as accomplished as NoFit State but highly entertaining all the same.
- Ice skating for the first time in about 6 years!
- The Big Wheel.

LOWLIGHTS:
- That slight niggly feeling that the prices went up a bit this year, taking the edge off the EH postcode dicsount.
- Sky flyer is now on Princes Street, meaning the view of Fife is somewhat diminished this year.
- The sign inside the Big Wheel cabin that read: 'Smile, your on camera', which really made me question the state the world is in right now!

First time I've really got involved in the Christmas Festivities this year but overall it's been wonderful and put me right in the mood for Santa!

Maybe it's because I'm getting older but I loved the Winter Wonderland this year. With the addition of the Speigal tent it was a great addition to Edinburgh's Christmas celebrations.


Here's to Christmas '09!


Ess

The winter wonderland opened this weekend - woo hoo!


Visiting the WWL is the start of christmas. We always wait until we get a nice cold crisp evening and get our hats and coats and gloves on to really enjoy the experience.


there is a lovely Christmas market, ice rink, big wheel and a lovely food market. We always start here and get a big mug of mulled wine and a plate of something warm and filling. Then we have a wander round all the attractions.


Defo great way to start christmas :-)

So much to see and do in Edinburgh Princes St Gardens this past festive season. I had a ball.


Fun factor no.1 REINDEER


The real live Reindeer (would make my reindeer-obsessed auntie bawl her eyes oot!). I have never been in the presence of a real Reindeer before and I was extremely excited to see these lovely little furry antlered beautiful beasts. I've always had an idea in my head they weren't or shouldn't be real (being attached to such a mystical figure an 'all) - and yet every time I am reminded they are Im filled the ole forgotten feeling of being young and believing it ALL......a lovely wee bit of magic. They looked quite unphased and relaxed to be plonked in the centre of Edinburgh too which made them all the more pleasing to see.


Fun Factor no.2 ICE SKATING


As it has been years I thought I would spend most of the time on my rear but no it was all kosha. The stewards were very satefy conscious yet un-obstructive and the background dated techno tunes made for a bit of a cheesetastic time. The outdoor rink looked lovely lit-up at night from the road above too.


Fun Factor No.3 SANTA EXPRESS
Although this trip of a lifetime is clearly meant for kids, myself and the boyf hopped into the front seat no less. It was awesome and a lovely a wee trip around the gardens, picking up and dropping, off, tooting and waving. The christmas tunes were pumping and those kids were loving it - Santa was too, I've never seen such a happy Santa! Oh bless...


Fun Factor no.4 MARKET


I don't need to say much about this other than the clobber on offer was lovely and a tad on the pricey side. The food was tasty and the hot drinks (alco and non) filled a need to get a wee bit cosy on the cold windy days!


Fun Factor No. 5 AMUSEMENTS


Although a bit disappointed to have not experienced the big wheel - which Im sure would have been awesome, we did go on the huge fairground swings. What a mixed bag of delight and sheer terror. You feel like yer wee flippers are gonna get ripped from the ankles right in front of your eyes when you see how close they get to stationary objects on the ground and in the sky. AMAZING!!!!


All in all a brilliant time (and I haven't even covered everything!), I wasn't feeling to christmassy before I went but it sorted me right out!! Go in 2008, you won't regret it!

Walking along Princes Street yesterday I saw signs that its nearly time for the annual Winter Wonderland in Edinburgh.


This is a wonderful festival to bring some light to a city that can be incredibly dark and cold in winter.


Every year the Winter Wonderland commences with a firework display which always attracts huge crowds to Princes Street gardens.


The festival always has a Big Wheel, Chair-o-Planes and Helter Skelter, along with smaller rides for smaller children and an ice rink for the hardier, and fitter, amongst us!


The Big Wheel offers some amazing views over the city centre and is something you should try both in daylight and at night, when you can enjoy the wonderful Christmas lights.


There is also a German Market, selling some wonderful confectionary, ornaments and gifts for Christmas along with, of course, some mulled wine.


You pay per ride for the attractions at the Winter Wonderland and it can get very busy at peak periods, but its something I visit with my daughter every year.


To get touched with some magic in winter, you cannot miss it!

Winter wonderland is back... and bigger and better than ever before!

In addition to the German and Scottish stalls there are also stands selling Dutch pancakes, Spanish churros, olives from Provence and French crepes. It is now more of a European market. This year there are two ice skating rinks and there is also a scary looking spinny chair ride which I really want to try-apologies for my inability to explain this one! I am pretty sure the children's market is new too, and comes complete with a mini train and a Christmas tree maze.

It really is exciting walking around the pretty stalls and trying out new food/drinking mulled wine. So why not 5 stars? A lot of the food is seriously overpriced. £5 for some churros? I paid it, but I regretted it when I realised what I was getting and what I could have got for the same price... It is also seriously hectic and on days when I just want to go shopping I miss the liberty of passage between Princes street gardens and the National gallery of Scotland.

Aw its nearly Christmas again and what better way to spend a evening than hot chocco and ice skating? And all in the city centre.

Wrap up warm and let the fun begin