03.02.19 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 12:15

Before I left the airport this morning, I stopped in the airport Starbucks and ate a chocolate muffin. Since I didn’t get any sleep on the plane, I needed to put something into my body that would give me some energy. It was after 08:00 (01:00 to my body) and I just needed something.

I walked outside and requested an Uber. It’s a nice, partly cloudy day in Edinburgh. It’s not raining but it must have yesterday, because the streets are all still wet.

I requested an Uber and I had my driver drop me off at the Omni Centre in New Town. This place has plenty of restaurants, a gym, and even a Vue cinema. I just don’t have the energy to do very much exploring right now. I needed a place to keep out of the wind and just relax for the time being. I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse– mostly because it was the first show playing at that moment.

I really enjoyed the animation, but there was just too much going on. I may have had a poor experience because I was fighting to stay awake for most of the film. If I could have, I would’ve spread out across the seats and just took a nap. Instead, I fought off sleep by trying to pay attention to the plot line. Occasionally I had to slap myself on the cheek to keep from dozing off.

19:49

I ended getting a late lunch at Slug and Lettuce, a popular restaurant at the Omni Centre. I’ve eaten here a number of times over the years- I ordered a vegetarian pasta. It was really good- I sometimes forget that I don’t have to eat a dead animal at every single meal.

When I checked into my Airbnb, the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. I was frustrated because I couldn’t find the lock box which had the key to get inside. I stood on the front porch of the building for about 15 minutes. Finally, the manager returned my message on Airbnb. She explained where it was and I walked up the stairs until I came to the top of the stairs, door ‘G’. 

This is a cute little one-bedroom flat. At this point, all I really wanted to do is use the toilet and then take a nap.  I set an alarm, just in case, but ended up getting a deep, three-hour nap. This was enough to catch up on some sleep, but I don’t feel like that was too much, especially after being up for about 24 hours. Hopefully, I can fall back to sleep tonight.

When I woke from my nap, I was feeling hungry again, so I walked down the street and found a little grocery store. I got some salad fixings, and small Belgium chocolate cake, some digestive biscuits (when in Rome) and some herbal teas. The plan for Scotland 7 is to not gain any weight. Therefore, I will eat more veggies, less junk food (yeah, right!), and be more active. If I can just come out even, I’ll consider my mission accomplished.

04.07.18 | Edinburgh Flat | 11:05

As per usual, today was a very rainy day. My hopes of headed back up Arthur’s Seat were soon washed away. I decided to declare today a laundry day. I spent most of the morning and afternoon reading or watching movies because the laundromat that I used to use, that was located close by, is now out of business. The next closest one I could find was a good 20-minute walk.

17:09

My legs were killing me, thanks to my hike up Arthur’s Seat yesterday. I was hurting so bad, but I managed to get a massage today, and I’m surprised they were able to get me in at the last moment, especially on the weekend.

21:06

Tonight I went to dinner at The Doric, which is the oldest Gastro-pub in Edinburgh, built in the 1700’s, according to the back of the menu. So- today I made history by simply eating there.

04.06.18 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 12:20

This morning, I was finally able to hike up to Arthur’s Seat again. I wanted to do it at the beginning of the trip, but we were in that big snowstorm, if. you recall. Even today, there was a lot of mud because of the snow storm we had two days ago. Still, it was a great climb and the views are always so breathtaking! I imagine I’ll climb it at least once more before I leave Edinburgh.

For years now, I have come across Oink, which is a restaurant that has a large, dead hog in the window. In fact, that’s really the only thing the restaurant services, they carve off this hog all day. you can get it as a sandwich if you wish. I finally got an early lunch at the place! It was quite delicious, even though I’m pretty sure that P.E.T.A. wouldn’t approve of the meal- nor the window “decor”.

04.05.18 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 09:10

I was a little worried that I wouldn’t get much sleep last night. I’m right on High Street, and Scottish people like to drink and be out all night. They were very loud when I was trying to fall asleep, but I put in earplugs and all is well! I slept like a baby!

I woke up to completely clear skies… it feels like springtime (again)! Maybe I still needed a light jacket, but that’s really all. Speaking of jackets, I had an incident where my zipper broke on the one I brought, and so I ended up going to H&M this morning to get a new one. When I get back to the states, I’ll ask my mom if it’s worth fixing, or if I should put it in the D.I. box.

I managed to get a Periscope video while I was outside, and seeing a street performer. He was a pretty funny guy. In the background, you may be able to hear a bagpiper, and then later in the day there was a preacher on a loudspeaker who kept singing the Christmas song, Go Tell It On The Mountain, over and over again. Good times!

03.04.18 | Edinburgh, Scotland | 16:27

It is a gloriously Sunday morning in Scotland! I was, once again, up later because of various parties in the vicinity. At least I had a quiet roommate- I can’t complain about that. I also may have lost sleep because the pillows here aren’t very comfortable. I woke up at about 09:30 and got a quick shower before I was off to church. It was a longer distance than I wanted to walk in the snow, so I got an Uber- I arrived right on time.

Google maps told me that the walk back to Old Town would take me about 40 minutes, but I did it in only about 25. Even though it had snowed some more, and I trudged through so much slush, it felt good to be outside. 

I got lunch at a barbecue restaurant called Bubba-Q. This is the ultimate name for a restaurant! I’m just disappointed that they thought of it before I could. The restaurant was an American-West theme, including license plates from all or most of the states.

I ordered some kind of sampler platter, and I had no right doing that. I didn’t realize that this meant there would be about seven dead animals on the plate in front of me. The meat was really delicious, but their sauce wasn’t really smoky at all. It was a lot closer to ketchup than a good barbecue sauce.

I wasn’t able to finish all this meat! Sadly I didn’t have the stomach to enjoy any of the side dishes. Some students were eating at a table nearby, and when they saw the amount of food on my plate, I saw eyes wide and jaws drop. Then when I spoke, and they realized I was from America, one of them said, “Oh, you’re an American”- as if that’s all the explanation they needed. I’m so thankful that I have been chosen to represent an entire nation!

This afternoon is my laundry time. It amazes me that this hostel can house 100+ people, and they only have two washers and two dryers for us to use. I’d gone to a local pay-laundromat in the past, but it’s no longer in existence. So, on this Sabbath afternoon, I will practice my God-given patience and wait for my turn to wash my clothes.