Archive for December, 2006
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31
Dec
2006
Edinburgh: Multiplicity
As beautiful as yesterday was, today was its antithesis, but I’d read as much about today’s weather.
I had a very late start. I think I stirred this morning around the appropriate time to wake-up, but I thought better of it. I didn’t actually wake up until about 10:30am local time. And by the time my lazy bones really left, it was noon. Suffice to say that lunch was breakfast today. As I’ve had much stones thrown at my boring eating habits, I hate to say where I ate, but there were arches and they were golden. If it’s any consolation, dinner last night was pizza. I passed a Mexican place on the way here… I’m sorely tempted, but Mexican in Scotland? Sure, I had it in Camden Market awhile back in London and lived to tell it… Maybe another day.
There wasn’t much else to tell from yesterday. After my e-mail, I went to the Hub, this gorgeous old church that’s now a restaurant and the, well, Hub, of all the festivals in Edinburgh. I had made my tickets “will call” so that I would have one less thing to keep up with. The line took me around half an hour. After that dinner and much sleep.
Once finally stirring and nourished today, I walked down to Holyrood palace, the Queen’s official home in Scotland. Last time I was somewhat castled out by the time I had time for Holyrood. So, it was still on my to do list. By the time I got down there, the blustery ugly day had cleared up somewhat. Little bits of blue were poking out through the dark clouds. Holyrood, for the eductational requirments today is Holy Cross essentially. The old Scots word for cross is rood. And St. Margaret was supposed to have brought a piece of the true cross here, hence the name Holyrood.
As if to illustrate Scotland’s ability to throw out multiple weather patterns a day, while inside the palace, it began to rain once more, this time with gusting winds that even had the palace’s workers peering out the windows. I’m sure everyone wonders if this could be a replay of Hogmanay a few years ago when the street party had to be canceled because of storms.
By the time I exited the palace to see the ruins of the Abbey it was clearing up for what was probably a spectacular sunset if you were in the right place, the Palace sits at the bottom, literally of the Royal mile, a long slope up to the castle, so my view was somewhat impeded. What I did see was lovely. The Abbey ruins were closed off due to the rain, but I got a good view throug the door and what I saw reminded me a lot of the Abbey ruins at Dunfermline, Scotland, from two years ago, so I guess that will suffice.
The walk back up the Royal Mile was picturesque as the sun had all but set and there was this incredibly dusky sky with the city lights on the old streets. Expecting some decent pictures from that (I hope). A bit more meandering up until now, but nothing of much note. It’s getting towards time to go eek out some dinner and back to the hotel to relax a little before heading down to the street party on Princes Street. I pretty much missed Night Afore last night. I walked through just a bit of it before dinner, but I was just way too tired and my whole body was too sore from the climb up Arthur’s Seat. So, it’s just this and maybe some of tomorrow’s activity’s. Decidely won’t be throwing myself into the River Forth (never have understood wanting to freeze to death to celebrate the New Year). I haven’t had a chance to read what all is on tomorrow. Two years ago it was a marathon and there was a pseudo dog sled event (no snow, wonder how they pull that off?) I think tomorrow is supposed to clear up, so I’m sure I’ll figure out something.
Hope everyone back home has an awesome New Year. I’ll think of you a few hours earlier. And I know I’m wild and crazy and all that, but I’ll probably be in bed by the time you see the New Year roll by!
30
Dec
2006
Edinburgh or Bust or Both
First, if you spot some strange characters, it’s going to take me a bit to get used to the UK keys again, so bear with and all that jazz.
With each trip, I seem to be more haphazardly packing at the last minute. This one was made worse by a Christmas gift gone wrong. One of my gifts was a new lens for my camera. Well, of course, turns up defective. My luck ya know. So, day after Christmas, I called and explained the problem with the lens and that I wanted a replacement by Thursday as possible as I was heading to the airport Friday morning. Oh, no problem, I was told. No problem if they had mailed it that day. Or if they had mailed it the next day and sent it anything other than GROUND… right… ground, the day before… I can at least say I’ve had remarkably good luck with them over all, why I’m not dragging names into it. But Thursday found me calling around various camera places in Atlanta until I found… ding.. ding… same lens, same price. Only fun part was is the company in question is really mail order but you can pick up in the evening, which is what I did.
So, I finished packing and obsessing over what I might not have packed (oh, like a belt, for instance) about 1am. And slept until 6:30am… and then was making sure the house was all shuttered down again. Not hard since I was only there one night since Christmas.
Made it to the airport with no difficulty. The flight to Newark was remarkably trouble free (my only other experience with that airport was not so good). I sadly had a 5 hour layover in NJ… tick.. tock… tick… tock…
Flight in was mercifully pleasant since I could not, no matter how little sleep I’d had the night before or how tired I was in the airport in NJ sleep. Landed here well before sun-up (which is like border-line 9am) and got a bus in to town. I really hadn’t experienced Edinburgh’s late sunrise last time. Between landing in London and the sleeping in every day, I’d never noticed. If I was working, I wouldn’t like it so much, but as is, I can sleep in and still see the sunrise! See, there are always perks.
And today was just beautiful. Bright sunlight, temp around 50, which is way above normal. The last time I was here, the highs never broke past the 30’s. So, on top of the New Years festivities, everyone is out and about. The shorts are a little scary, but I guess it’s warm to them…
Other than dropping my bags off and wandering by Edinburgh castle for sunrise, I have one acheivement for today thus far. I climbed Arthur’s Seat – this ginormous stone outcrop at the bottom of the Royal mile. Arthur’s seat and the outcrop that Edinburgh castle sits on are both the remains of ancient volanoes. I had read before hand that there were two ways up, the easy way and the hard way. For some reason, I must suffer on my vacations and I took the hard way up. In fact, about halfway up the FIRST hill, I cursed myself… Oh, who am I kidding, 15 feet up the hard way, I cursed myself. Little did I know.
I hit the top of that first crest. The view was fabulous, I wandered around the side a bit and saw the path descending. I thought that must be the other path… all this fuss over nothing??? A guy behind me must have also thought it ended as he turned around. I went ahead and climbed down thinking to complete the route… and I hit the bottom and saw the NEXT peak… gulp… and people were up there… I found the zig zag path and figuring in for a penny, in for a pound… up I went… about the top, the wind off the river really picked up… wow… this is insane! I’d yet to see one person ahead of me come down, so I figured I’d keep on as long as I didn’t have to re-trace that wind-blown path… When I go to the top…
I saw… yes… another… even higher… peak… This has to be a joke.. but… yes… people up there again… So, I found the path… and I hit a point that I thought you’d have to be a billy goat… Two guys who had caught up to me had the same looks… but they forged on… Once I saw them suvive, up I went… why yes, I guess if everyone was jumping off mountains, I would, too… And up I went gripping the sides of this crevice. I should state (before my Mother has a coronary) that I wouldn’t have, in fact, fallen off a mountain, but it would have been a terrific way to fall ten feet and get pretty banged up… soon, it all flattenned out, and I was at last at the peak… I crawled up to the little marker just so I can say I was there. And then I scooted, literally, my butt down the worst part of that hill. I finally found the easy path back. It definitely would have been better. The last piece was bad no matter what you did, but yes… if you go up Arthur’s Seat… when you see the path split… go left… unless you have hooves… then go right!
Afterward, just strolled around a bit, a very little bit as my feet have developed at least two blisters on day one. I’d say it was a new record, but I’m sure it’s not.
Tonight is the “Night Afore” celebration… a small street party, this year in a German theme I believe over in New Town. By now, I should be able to check into my hotel. If I lay down and wake up, I’ll do the Night Afore. Otherwise, I’ll make it without going somehow…
Since it’s Friday and a lot of you are getting this at work, here’s an early Happy New Year everyone from the capitol of the Scots!
14
Dec
2006
Ch-Ch-Changes
So, I’ve been nearly absentee lately. Terribly behind on responding to messages and comments, etc., but the end of the year has had my real world life hopping. Work, work, work and no time to even think about my trip at the end of the month! One more week of work and then off on vacation until January 11th – ahh, this is the way to do it!
Okay, first off, something I’ve been wanting to talk about but was: Read the rest of this entry »
