Inside the Dome, George Street, Edinburgh

The Dome was the corporate headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland from 1969 until it closed in 1993. Prior to that it had many guises which can be read about on their website here

The opulence and grandeur of the building was retained by the new owners who really go to town during the Christmas period. This is really THE place to visit in Edinburgh at this time. Crowds line up waiting for the bar to open for the evening and if you want a table for dinner over Christmas you'll need to book by September.

We were very fortunate to get in and to get a table due entirely to having Doreen in a wheelchair. The doormen were most courteous, operating the stair lift, opening the doors and enabling us to jump the queue. We enjoyed tea and scones and would have enjoyed a mince pie if there were enough!

This shot does not do the place justice and it's not just the main room, the whole building inside and out was wonderfully lit.

Earlier we'd been to see the 40 Christmas trees on display at the St Andrew's and St George's Church opposite the Dome. That was very moving.

The evening was finished off by a meal at L'Escargot Bleu which was nice enough. I had to send back my main course of slow roast Gloucester Old Spot pork as it was tough! How can "slow roast" anything be tough? In the end I had turkey which was very acceptable.

A great start to our Christmas with the Smiths.