After our previous post from Café Sunart in the wilds of Scotaland’s west coast Pat said that she was looking forward to our next trip. Little did she know it was to be on the Orient Express. Today we are travelling from Venice to Paris in the grandeur and splendour of this magnificent train. On the way we pass through Verona before crossing over the Brenner Pass to Austria. Then on to Zurich before reaching Paris for the Olympics. All the while drinking champagne and being entertained by a chap playing the music of bored piano players in restaurants the world over. If you would like to get a sense of the journey in the western part of Italy just click here  Orient Express 15 480 

Okay, okay, you’ve probably guessed by now that this is too silly even for us. We’re actually in a restaurant in Edinburgh that serves afternoon tea and tries to replicate the Orient Express experience. They make a very good job of it!

Contrasts

It was back in 1883 that the first train left Paris on a seven day trip to Constantinople with just forty passengers.  It’s a journey I’ve done in reverse. In 1970 I had hitchhiked Falkirk to Istanbul over nine days. The return trip was by train. However, that experience was about as far away as it’s possible to get from this. There wasn’t even a buffet car, I had to rely on the generosity of my Turkish travelling companions who knew the ropes and had food and drink with them.

No such problems here. First we had to select our sandwiches from the sandwich menu and our champagne was served with a piece of strawberry delicately balanced on the rim of the glass. A three tier plate appeared with the sandwiches we had selected on the bottom, hot pastries in the middle and cakes on top. It was all delicious. As we  watched the vineyards slip by on the approach to Verona we were asked how we would like our scones … plain, fruit or cherry. We both opted for fruit. There was a tea menu and coffee on offer. We were almost in Milan when they asked if they could begin preparing our scones. This is how it should be done!

Disembarkation

Our scone was accompanied with clotted cream, strawberry jam and bergamot curd. The bergamot curd was unusual … very tangy but delicious. Bergamot is supposed you help you relax … hardly necessary here. The scone wasn’t crunchy on the outside but was still fantastic. Eventually we had to disembark in Innsbruck because we had to get back for a BBQ in Falkirk courtesy of the Scotrail Express. The whole experience only cost us £25 each; great value and highly recommended!

Andy Murray has lost his doubles match at the Olympics and announced his retirement. We feel a sense of relief, pretty much the same as when Biden announced his. The modern Olympics is full of sports you only hear of at the Olympics … “race walking” and “quadruple skulls”, “BMX freestyle”, “surfing shortboard”, “golf”. Okay, we put that last one in just for badness but they all sound equally daft and a bit tiring! We’re fine where we are.

Queen Charlotte

This restaurant is in Queen Charlotte street. Queen Charlotte was born in Germany in 1744 and became queen of Great Britain and Ireland in 1761. She had fifteen children (two of them future monarchs) but that is not what she should be remembered for. No, she seems to have been responsible for the introduction of the Christmas tree. The first was at a children’s party at Windsor in 1800 … and we’ve all been mindlessly mimicking it ever since. What are we like?

EH6 7EX       Tel: 0131 555 6660          Orient Express

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