It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS! Edinburgh is a huge tourist destination when it comes to Christmas and Hogmany (New Years), so they start early and go big. Happily, because we ended up living on the far side of downtown from the University, I get to walk through the festive decorations nearly every day. And I get to see them in their best light, because yes, the sun sets by 4:30 now - it is officially winter. But Edinburgh makes up for it by lighting the town with over-the-top LIGHTS!
     Remember the flags which used to hang above Rose Street? They've been replaced by strings of blue lights. I walk along, behind tourists who stare up with smiles at how beautiful it all is. Heck, I'm doing it too - while plugged in happily to jazz or holiday music on my iPod. And right in the heart of it is the most stunning Christmas staging of all - The Dome restaurant. On the Rose Street side, they set up their massive Christmas tree. On the George Street side, they wrapped the pillars with garlands of greenery, ribbons and light. Inside, the lights are even more spectacular. Truly, I don't usually go in for that sort of thing, and yet, it took my breath away. There isn't an inch in this elegant old building (built in the late 1700s) that hasn't been adorned in some luscious, luxurious, spectacular way. We stopped in for drinks at the bar and to gawk, but we have to return for dinner - soon! Because if this place doesn't get you in the holiday spirit, nothing will!