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EXECUTIVE DESTINATION
EXECUTIVE
TRAVELLER
A mountain in virtue of its bold design
The beautiful city of Edinburgh is marked by its special aroma, its gorgeous skyline and its vibrant annual Fringe
Festival. This is why Veronica Stivala loves Scotland’s capital city.
Every city has its own distinct smell. For me,
Edinburgh smells of Weetabix. Crisp, fresh mornings
in this beautiful city are permeated by a perfume
idiosyncratic to Scotland’s capital city. Of course this
homely, nutty, malty aroma is not really Weetabix but
originates from the hops being used to make beer.
exhilaratingly fun festival as well as its warm and
friendly people. A word about each:
the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place
annually in Scotland’s capital, in August.
Edinburgh’s iconic skyline forms an essential part
of the character and appearance of the city and is a
unique asset to it. The old sits comfortably with the
new, creating a majestic scene that is at once aweinspiring and breathtaking.
The Fringe is a melange of performances from all
the arts disciplines be it dance or music, with a
special emphasis on theatre and comedy. In 2012,
a staggering 1,418 shows had their world premiere
at this festival.
Beer aficionados must try The Sheep Heid Inn.
Located behind the imposing Arthur’s Seat at
the back of Arthur’s Seat - the main peak of the
group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park,
described by Robert Louis Stevenson as “a hill for
,magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design”
is the village of Duddingston and its deservedly
famous Sheep Heid Inn.
Key gems in this skyline include Calton Hill, home
to impressive monuments such as the Nelson
monument, the Robert Burns monument and the
City Observatory. One cannot mention Edinburgh
without speaking about Princes Street and the
overpowering Victorian Gothic Sir Walter Scott
monument that peaks poignantly through the city’s
skyline. The tower is over 200 feet high, and has a
series of viewing platforms reached by a series of
narrow spiral staircases giving panoramic views of
central Edinburgh and its surroundings. The ultramodern Scottish Parliament is also noteworthy,
perhaps all the more so because this over-budget
construction is both loved and hated in equal
measure.
As anyone who has witnessed the festival will tell
you, one of the must-sees, and must-dos, is to
simply walk the Royal Mile. During festival time,
this road becomes home to performers doing their
utmost to attract an audience. Every year, actors
and comedians alike get more competitive so
be prepared to see people coated in blue paint
reciting an original take on Shakespeare’s Romeo
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