Well here I am in Scotland!
Edinburgh is a wonderful mix of the old and exotic! Its so picture-esque with tons of little restaurants/cafes that I can't believe I get to live here :)
And Dereen Mason and her family are so wonderful! I am so well fed and taken care!
Things I learned (or re-learned) today:
1. Scottish and Canadian people are the sweetest!!
2. When all electronic trappings fail you, you get a lot closer to the world.
3. I am so happy that I ended up in a country where people speak English!
4. I can figure my way around a city pretty well.
5. The public transit system here is almost too good.
6. I have to devote an hour or two to brainstorm ways to lose weight and tone here.
7. It will be expensive; I will try my best but will also just have to accept it.
8. Go with the Flow :)
I'l start from the beginning. The flight went pretty well. My checked bag didn't make it here the same time I did but it came along in the afternoon so it's all good.
Got my first taste of Scottish speech right out of the terminal. At the Costa coffee bar I ordered a white coffee (not really sure what it was) and a Sticky Toffee Pudding muffin. The coffee was good; the muffin was not to sweet and kinda tasted like anise. It was all right but I couldn't finish it.
Spotted Dereen (fortunately) and drove with her to Musselburgh. I went to the right-hand passanger side without thinking. Rolling hills of green and orange, with rolls of haye and stony hills. Kinda reminded me of Seattle and Central California.
Her house is small and quaint with lots of nice wallpaper. lol I have my own really nice room! First day basically just took a nap, waited for luggage, watched Kallamity Jane (shout out to Grandma Kitty) and dereen took me to a store (kinda like Wal-mart but muucch nicer) and then on the way out through the town :)
And then we went to the restaurant where Sam works. It was called the Birdcage and housed in an old mill that they updated. how cool is that! had something simple cuz my stomach still felt weird from the airline food. I had lemon and oregano chicken with a spring potato, green bean and olive salad. Had some really good looking things on their menu- too bad I wasn't really hungry.
Later we went to the Mason's family friend (I met more Scottish people!) and watched some weird game show while Dereen and the mom walked their 3 huge huskies and an even huger dog- a Paranian Mountain Dog named Holly :)
And then we went to Princes' Street and saw the most unbelievable fireworks show over the castle. Mom yExcept that my enthusiasm was too much for my camera apparently. Decided to record it because it would come out better than photos. Now....my camera says the battery is exhausted and it is charging super slowly. Thought I charged it last night; apparently somehow I didn't :( So I thought o well I will use my phone camera. Till that died and the memory filled up. haha so the sights from today will be just for me. I think I will explore Musselburgh tomorrow (with a working camera) and then re-trace my steps once school (and all the school tours start).
Today, basically walked around and up and down (hoping somehow someway it will burn significant calories) settled on a scone with butter and jam and a ginger beer at Wellington's on Hanover Street (would have taken a picture if I could) chased buses across streets until I finally got on the right bus back to Musselburgh.
Came back from the bus stop to grab my new phone house, opened the front door and noticed the wall of wallpaper in front of me, and the scent of cigarettes. Then realized I went to the wrong house! whoops :)
Came home to another warm meal of beef stew :) Now I am being lazy (see #8) and watching TV and finally chatting with people back home.
Tomorrow's challenge: Spend max of $5 and explore musselburgh, work in some jogging, then tea in the afternoon with Dereen!
Edinburgh is a wonderful mix of the old and exotic! Its so picture-esque with tons of little restaurants/cafes that I can't believe I get to live here :)
And Dereen Mason and her family are so wonderful! I am so well fed and taken care!
Things I learned (or re-learned) today:
1. Scottish and Canadian people are the sweetest!!
2. When all electronic trappings fail you, you get a lot closer to the world.
3. I am so happy that I ended up in a country where people speak English!
4. I can figure my way around a city pretty well.
5. The public transit system here is almost too good.
6. I have to devote an hour or two to brainstorm ways to lose weight and tone here.
7. It will be expensive; I will try my best but will also just have to accept it.
8. Go with the Flow :)
I'l start from the beginning. The flight went pretty well. My checked bag didn't make it here the same time I did but it came along in the afternoon so it's all good.
Got my first taste of Scottish speech right out of the terminal. At the Costa coffee bar I ordered a white coffee (not really sure what it was) and a Sticky Toffee Pudding muffin. The coffee was good; the muffin was not to sweet and kinda tasted like anise. It was all right but I couldn't finish it.
Spotted Dereen (fortunately) and drove with her to Musselburgh. I went to the right-hand passanger side without thinking. Rolling hills of green and orange, with rolls of haye and stony hills. Kinda reminded me of Seattle and Central California.
Her house is small and quaint with lots of nice wallpaper. lol I have my own really nice room! First day basically just took a nap, waited for luggage, watched Kallamity Jane (shout out to Grandma Kitty) and dereen took me to a store (kinda like Wal-mart but muucch nicer) and then on the way out through the town :)
And then we went to the restaurant where Sam works. It was called the Birdcage and housed in an old mill that they updated. how cool is that! had something simple cuz my stomach still felt weird from the airline food. I had lemon and oregano chicken with a spring potato, green bean and olive salad. Had some really good looking things on their menu- too bad I wasn't really hungry.
Later we went to the Mason's family friend (I met more Scottish people!) and watched some weird game show while Dereen and the mom walked their 3 huge huskies and an even huger dog- a Paranian Mountain Dog named Holly :)
And then we went to Princes' Street and saw the most unbelievable fireworks show over the castle. Mom yExcept that my enthusiasm was too much for my camera apparently. Decided to record it because it would come out better than photos. Now....my camera says the battery is exhausted and it is charging super slowly. Thought I charged it last night; apparently somehow I didn't :( So I thought o well I will use my phone camera. Till that died and the memory filled up. haha so the sights from today will be just for me. I think I will explore Musselburgh tomorrow (with a working camera) and then re-trace my steps once school (and all the school tours start).
Today, basically walked around and up and down (hoping somehow someway it will burn significant calories) settled on a scone with butter and jam and a ginger beer at Wellington's on Hanover Street (would have taken a picture if I could) chased buses across streets until I finally got on the right bus back to Musselburgh.
Came back from the bus stop to grab my new phone house, opened the front door and noticed the wall of wallpaper in front of me, and the scent of cigarettes. Then realized I went to the wrong house! whoops :)
Came home to another warm meal of beef stew :) Now I am being lazy (see #8) and watching TV and finally chatting with people back home.
Tomorrow's challenge: Spend max of $5 and explore musselburgh, work in some jogging, then tea in the afternoon with Dereen!
Sounds positively lovely. You live in East Lothian? Is that a county? What's been your favorite food thus far? Are you able to understand everyone's accent?
ReplyDeleteyeah its part of East Lothian County Fav food from now- that meal at the Boathouse (the restaurant on Loch Ness) I can understand pretty much everyone - except a few things Sam's boyfriend Jay said I couldn't get.
ReplyDeleteor the beef stew Dereen made
ReplyDelete