The Edinburgh Fringe Festival literally takes over Scotland's capital for the month of August. I, surprisingly (considering I lived only 2 hours away)  have never been to the festival. BUT this year, I was able to spend a couple of days exploring what it had to offer with my two sisters.

We only had time to go to two shows as we were there for such a short time, and we had to follow the Johnston girls tradition of a hang over buffet Jimmy Chungs lunch, but it was amazing to experience the atmosphere and excitement that is in the air. It was next to impossible to walk down the Royal Mile, people were swarming everywhere, and street performers were at the centre of the crowds that blocked the road.

*my only photo as I forgot my camera and phone ran out of battery! :( *

We spent much of the afternoon and between shows at the Beer Gardens, our favourite being the one at George Square, where felt grass had been put down and fairy lights strung above. It was weird to actually see the university buildings, those dull lecture rooms that I dread going to each day, change into lively venues. We managed to bag ourselves seats in a cabin since it was a little cold- it is still Scotland after all- but the picnic benches and the grass was filled with people enjoying the day. We of course drank and got a little bit giggly in time for the comedians. For our dinner- which we didn't get until 8 as our stomachs were still stretched beyond belief from the buffet- we got a Bratwurst from a regular stand outside the uni, 'On The Roll' which I have made only a couple of trips to (quite possibly a lot) and it was as good as I remembered it from May. We then treated ourselves to a large portion of Nachos from a Mexican stand inside the Beer Garden, including salsa, sour cream and guacamole, because just a Bratwurst wouldn't keep us going- right?! And it was the perfect treat, very very delicious and moreish.




The first show that we went to see was Peter Antoniou, a psychic and comedian. Holly had been to see him last year, and loved him, so we thought we'd give him a go this year. And he was amazing! We spent the rest of the night trying to read each others minds, without any luck. He was so impressive, and was "telling the future" and finding out facts about the audience. The whole show itself was really funny, Peter Antoniou was very smart and easy on the eye, and had us laughing from the start. We were totally drawn into the performance, and it was even more impressive when Holly was picked at the end. He wrote down names of friends who Holly hasn't mentioned in years, and told her that she would stay in France- where she is moving in 2 months- which was her question that she wrote down at the start of the show. I honestly can't recommend Peter Antoniou enough- he is a serious rival to Derren Brown, so if he's ever in your area go and see him!




We then went to a stand up comedy show, and chose the late showing which was 16+ meaning that there was of course some rude jokes and strong language. The show consisted of three different acts and a host and lasted 2 hours. The host, out of all the performers, was  the funniest- he picked on the people in the front row and interacted really well with the whole audience. I unfortunately didn't take down the name of all the acts, so annoyingly I won't be able to give links/ shoutouts. All the acts were local and they all were funny in their own way. I do love a bit of stand up comedy- sometimes the rehearsed comedy sketches can be a bit wooden, whereas these acts fed off of the audience.



Despite the fact that my experience of the fringe was a fleeting affair, it was still amazing to see the city literally transform. It's so busy and lively- even when we left at 1 in the morning there were still people going about everywhere. So many buildings become Fringe venues, little shops that you wouldn't have previously heard of are used. I know for a fact that I will be going back year after year.

Outfit wise, I went for a comfortable one, as I knew the day would include a lot of food and a lot of walking. Sorry for the bad quality picture- it was taken at the end of the day after running through the rain, hence the hair!

• Chequered Leggings- G21, George
• Turquoise Top- Matalan
• Leather Coat- Miss Selfridge
• Red Shoes- Primark (pictured on my instagram) 
• Brown Handbag- Matalan
• Necklace- Primark

Love,
Emily
xxx

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