The Georgian House, Edinburgh

Last weekend, I took a very quick trip to Edinburgh for a lovely Regency Ball that was held in the city's Assembly Rooms. The day after, my friends and I had a few hours to spare before our flights so we took in a couple of the city's highlights. Our first stop was The Georgian House, a wonderful georgian townhouse owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

The facade

China cabinet in the Parlour

A tea table with a tea draw!! I had never seen anything like it. Apparently tea tables usually come in pairs with a games table. 

In each room there was a little mouse dressed in edwardian-esque clothes. I'm am pretty sure they were there for children to find, but they were too adorable to resist so I had to take a photo of each one! :)

A gorgeous tea caddy in the Parlour

A rather rubbish photo of another gorgeous one

Decorated with tiny rolls of paper!

The Drawing Room

:)

The beautiful bed in the master bedroom.

The little pockets on the headboard are pocket watch holders! They were meant to keep them warm and upright so that they kept accurate time.

The Dining Room

This is a little silver contraption to keep you melted cheese on toast warm, whilst transporting if from the kitchen to the dining room!!

Mouse maid in the kitchen :)

The Butler's room

It was a fabulous house with very jolly and knowledgeable staff, and definitely worth a visit!!

Malta Regency Weekend 2016 - Part 2

On the Saturday night we had a ball in the Chamber of Commerce. A lovely old building in the centre of the city. Here are some photos of the evening.

On Sunday we spent a lovely day at the President or Prime Minister's (can't remember which one!) summer home. It was a beautiful old house which used to belong to one of the original Knights of Malta.

Below are a few photos of the rooms

Relaxing in the Drawing Room

Admiring the paintings. :)

The Ballroom

During part of the Napoleonic wars Malta was occupied by the French. In to the floor of the ballroom, french officers carved two chess or drafts boards (not sure which they are). The floor has been re-tiled since then, but the two boards remain.

The rather breathtaking stairwell (this photo no way near does it justice)

The gardens

We had a lovely sunny afternoon enjoying the house and grounds. There were also archery and watercolour classes. Not being much of an artist, and thoroughly enjoying the archery class I took at JAF last September, I decided to turn my hand to archery once again. However, apparently I seemed to have lost any talent I had for the sport (at JAF I came second in the class competition - which I am now thinking was pure fluke!! :) ). This time I was awful at it, and managed to get a giant bruise on my arm in a place that is apparently really hard to bruise whilst doing archery!! The instructor was completely baffled about by how I managed to to do it!! Still enjoyed attempting to do archery! :) 

A traditional Maltese farmer's tool shed, in the grounds

We had a lovely tea on the terrace. :)

Overall I had a wonderful time in Malta. It was lovely to spend a few days sightseeing and then rounding it off with a regency weekend. I would love to go back though as there is so much more to see. :)

Malta Regency Weekend 2016

In April I spent a lovely week in Malta with some friends. It is somewhere I have wanted to visit for a while, mainly because my father was born there and my grandmother talks about there time there quite a bit.  We spent most of our time in the city of Valletta. 

The Grand Harbour

A very picturesque street

Georgian playing card stamps

We wondered around quite a few lovely museums. In one we found a sedan chair which rather suited Zack's outfit. :)

Meditating in the garden

Taking a boat across the Grand Harbour

Another view of the Grand Harbour

Old Mint Street - the steepest street in Valletta. 

Next - Regency Malta :)