The Edinburgh Insider Blog

If you had the money, would you spend it on a £23,000 bottle of whisky? Maybe you wouldn't (and neither would I). But some daring soul has done just that. Last November, the Edinburgh branch of auctioneers Bonhams sold a 1858 bottle of Dalmore Oculus for £23,000, according to local paper, the Edinburgh Evening News.

The Sheep Heid in Edinburgh is Scotland's oldest surviving pub. When you consider how many people rave about the place, it's not surprising it has notched up more than 600 years in business.

If you like cheese, you must visit Edinburgh. The city's IJ Mellis is one of the best cheesemonger in world. The business has three stores dotted around Edinburgh. In each of them you will find a selection of the best hand-made cheeses from Scotland and abroad.

Tired by the hustle and bustle of daily life? Worn down by winter? You could escape with a trip to the Edinburgh Floatarium in Stockbridge.

It is turning out a good year for the 'great chieftain o' the pudding race'. Edinburgh haggis maker Macsween reports haggis sales up a quarter to last week's Burns' Night.

The cost of the building remains more controversial than any legislation passed within its walls. But, despite its set-backs, the Scottish Parliament has changed our sense of what it means to be Scottish. Even if that change if based more on the idea of parliament than its actual legislative powers.

It is the sight that welcomes drivers from north, south, east and west back to Edinburgh. At 250 metres tall, Arthur's Seat is visible many miles from the city centre, a beacon that draws people home after they have been foolish enough to venture away.

A friend has given me a copy of the beautiful book 'A year at an Italian table'. Written by Mary Contini, the book pays homage to well-loved Edinburgh delicatessen and cafe Valvona & Crolla.