My second trek up Arthur’s Seat was a success. Orie, a guy I met in a hostel a few year ago, decided to join me. Yesterday was somewhat of a struggle, I had to stop several times on the way up. Today was slightly more comfortable- possible because someone was there to distract me.
Orie
Fish & Chips
I’m trying not to make this blog about my sleeping habits, but this is something with which I have been dealing. After getting a fish & chips for lunch, I went back to the house and crashed pretty hard.
I had a profound dream where I was back in the New Horizons show choir. This is the choir that I performed during my years at Utah State University.
The dream: I was with all my old classmates, and we were on a choir tour somewhere in Wyoming. It was time to fly back to Utah, and I didn’t realize that we were supposed to fly in our uniform. I was stressed out because I was the only one not in my blue sequins. Also, I started to cry because the choir director forgot my plane ticket.
When I woke from this dream, I had actual tears going down my face. I started laughing because, as reality came back, I realized how are odd this was.
For my dinner, I went to Wetherspoon and had bangers and mash- another popular dish here in the United Kingdom.
Probably the best start to my experience in Scotland would be a traditional Scottish or English breakfast. That is, without the black pudding!
Before I landed in Edinburgh, I set a goal to climb up Arthur’s seat each day, weather permitting. When I woke this morning, it seemed like the perfect day! It was chilly, probably in the upper 30s, but not a rain cloud in sight. I walked up the mountain, hoping this would be one of many trips up this time around.
I walked down to the cinema to see Jojo Rabbit. This film was a fun, amazing, and quirky look at the life of a German boy, growing up in WWII Germany. I hadn’t even seen the trailer when a friend suggested that I see it. I’ll be adding it to my library, once the price drops!
Dinner was the most delicious lasagne. I got it at Gordon’s- an Italian restaurant near an Airbnb, where I’d stayed a few years back. It was as amazing as I’d remembered!
I’m happy to report that I got about an hour of sleep. You may think this is not a significant accomplishment, but it, in fact, is. This is coming from a guy who can’t sleep on planes. It is such an uncomfortable sleeping position, even if I’m able to get the seatback reclined. How cool would it be to fly on a flatbed?
Upon landing at Gatwick, I had about two and a half hours to get from the south terminal to the north. I notticed when I was going through customs and passport control that Gatwick is doing it all automatically. You line up and make your way to this machine that scans your passport, and a camera looks at your own face to make sure they match. I had to do it a couple times since my new glasses look nothing like the glasses in my passport picture.
Now I am waiting for my third plane- this one will take me to Scotland! A Swedish lady just asked me for help finding her gate. Thank goodness for Google Translator! I took the time to explain that she hasn’t yet received a gate assignment and that she needed to check the monitor in about 10 more minutes. She thanked me, pretended to understand, and then left me- only to go ask another man the exact same thing.
London Gatwick
When he explained it, precisely as I had, she wandered off, I’m guessing so that she could ask a third person. I walked over to the man and told him that I had just told her the exact same thing that he had, but I’m guessing that she didn’t trust me.
The guy had an American accent, and he told me that he was from Chicago. I told him that I had been to Chicago for work, and we talked about pizza. This is a subject that I am fond of, what can I say? He told me that his name is Billy Branch and that he is in London singing. I googled him, and sure enough!
I have added one of his albums to my Apple Music and will check him out the next time I feel like listening to the Blues. He was very kind and great to chat with. This is what travel is all about: The lives you touch or are touched by along the journey.
Edinburgh, Scotland | 17:55
After traveling for over 24 hours, I really didn’t have the desire to deal with public transportation. It cost me £25 to get an Uber from the airport to the flat. Had I chose public transit, it probably would have cost me under £6, if I remember correctly. I didn’t have the strength, however. By this point, I really wanted a bed.
The problem I was faced with: I didn’t know how to get into the apartment. When I’d booked with AirBnb in the past, I’d receive a message from the owner/manager about 24 hours before check-in explaining how I get into the place. Usually, it’s a lockbox with a key, or there is a code on the door or something. This is my first time using Vrbo.com, and I received no such message.
After about 15 minutes on the phone with the property management company, I’m inside the most awesome little flat! Location is everything, and I have the most fantastic view of Edinburgh Castle! This place is up on the 4th floor (the 3rd floor, if you’re from this side of the pond), and there is no elevator in the building, so I get to lug my bags up the stairs. When I walk in, it’s totally worth it!
I’m so tired, but I need to go grab something to eat. I went to Pret and grabbed some soup and a sandwich, swing by Boots to grab some shampoo and body wash and head back. I’ll head out in the morning. I need food and sleep.
I figured out why Edinburgh has been so rainy over the last few days. This is Scotland crying, knowing that it’s almost time for me to leave. It’s sad when you come to a place that you love so much, and you have to go back to “reality”. It’s ok though- I need to go home and start working again. If for no other reason, it means I can start planning for my next visit. Everyone needs an obsession, and I guess I should be thankful that my obsession is a place and a people, but not drugs or alcohol. Thank you for not judging me too harshly.
The fact is, this is my last full day in Scotland. Much of it was spent waiting around. I had some errands to run- shopping for a friend back in Utah, running a couple of times to the Mail Boxes Etc. store on South Bridge. I’m not a huge souvenir shopper, but I did get a few things. I wanted to ship them home so I don’t have to pay extra money to the airline.
Also, I had to check in to a new hostel. The one I was staying at has a not-for-extended-stay policy, which means that I can’t stay there for more than two weeks in a row. Since this round of Edinburgh is two weeks plus one day, I went to their other location just down the street. It was rather annoying, but it gave me a chance to go through all my stuff and decide what ships home and what I need to carry home. Greetings from the Budget Backpackers (soon to be rebranded as “Kick-Ass Cowgate”.
I got the cheapest room available since it’s only for one night. I think there are twenty beds in this room, it’s mixed gender and it smells like a locker room, right after practice. I just think this is a stinky group of people. Definitely not as nice as the other Kick-Ass hostel that I just came from.
Tonight I went to see one more movie called The Keeper. This was a very touching story that takes place just at the end of World War II. A German P.O.W. is asked to play football while he’s in captivity, but then when he’s released he now loves the situation he is in… fell in love with an English girl- blah blah blah. The acting is the best, but it’s based on a true story, so there’s that.
I’m off to bed. I’m up early tomorrow to catch a plane down to Gatwick.
Today started out, just like yesterday: A misty sprinkle with thick fog. I made the mistake of going to find breakfast without taking my umbrella. By the time I got back to the hostel, I was soaking wet. Because of this, I spent most of the morning inside- I got some more reading done, and managed to get some of my things together so that I’m not running around tomorrow morning before I have to check out.
I stayed inside as long as I could, then I was starting to feel what I would call Cabin Fever. I just needed to get out, rain or shine. This time, with umbrella in hand, I made my way over to New Town and saw a matinee of The Hole in the Ground. The film was good, but I wanted it to be longer, and I wished they would have gone into more detail. I was so engrossed in the storyline- then suddenly it had ended.
On my way back to the hostel, the rain had stopped just long enough so I could take a few pictures of Cockburn Street (pronounced Co-Burn). Like Victoria Street, Cockburn winds it’s way up to the Royal Mile, but does so on the north side (Victoria on the south side), and is longer than Victoria Street.
As I walked to get my breakfast, I could tell it would be a rainy day. This isn’t just rain. It’s that misty rain so that no umbrella is going to help at all. It just blows in your face- not so good for those of us who wear glasses. I decided that I would declare this my last laundry day of the trip. Yes, it is true- My time in Scotland is drawing to a close. It is a sad thing, but unfortunately, life must go on.
What started as this……quickly became this!
Other than laundry, I spent the bulk of the day reading and listening to podcasts. In the evening, I did brave the misty fog and went to the cinema to see Shazam!. I thought the movie was a lot better than the previews looked- I’ll definitely add it to my wishlist as soon as the price drops, of course.
Dicky said he wanted to go see Camera Obscura, an Edinburgh tourist attraction that has been around since the 1800s. He invited me to go with him, and I went half-heartedly thinking I’d be bored. I felt like this was going to be a waste of the £14 entry fee. This was, however, Dicky’s last full day in Edinburgh, so I decided to go with him. I have always wondered what it was like inside. I have to admit that it was a pretty awesome exhibit.
Even though it was five stories high, with plenty to look at, I think it £14 is a bit steep of a price to charge. If you have kids, however, they would definitely love the place! It’s more or less a building full of optical tricks and illusions.
It is always great when someone can join you on your adventures. This morning I met a guy called Dicky. He is from the lovely country of Canada, so I guess that makes us next door neighbors. He is on a temporary, paid leave of absence from his job at Walmart. It is a sorted tale of him being an arguably bad employee, mixed with a store full of managers who don’t know how to manage- this got Dicky a paid leave while his bosses get things sorted. Sadly, he may be out of a job, but has already spoken to his lawyer and tells me he’s planning to sue if things don’t work out for the better.
He used this free time to come over to Scotland for the very first time. When he asked me for suggestions on what to see and do, I put my tour guide hat on my head and we hung out for the rest of the day.
We ended up at The Royal Museum of Scotland. I had never been there, and he said he really wanted to check it out, so we did. It was very cool- other than the fact that Dicky kept reminding me that the museum in Toronto was so much better. I guess Edinburgh needs to up their game.
Rat Fighting, Rat Loving“Dolly” The Famous Cloned Sheep
Later this afternoon, Dicky got back from his Harry Potter tour (there is a bunch of them if you happen to be a Potter fan) and he was asking what we should do. I asked him if he had any desire to climb up to Arthur’s Seat. This is something that I told myself I would do every day while I was in Edinburgh. Due to bad weather, and just plain laziness, I have only been up once on this trip. He said he was very interested in going and since the sun was out, and Dicky is only going to be here for three days, we went for the hike.
Today I changed it up- just a bit. When I was walking to Leith the other day, I noticed that the musical Matilda was playing. I decided to check online if there were any tickets left. As luck would have it, the Edinburgh Playhouse had exactly two tickets left for the matinee, so I decided to get one of them. It was a really great seat, too! I was about six rows from the front.
It was a fun show! I miss seeing live performances so much! My only criticism is that a lot of the main character’s words were hard to understand. She was trying to enunciate, but the little girl had such a thick English accent, that it made it difficult. Luckily, the storyline was pretty easy to follow along with.
Tonight was such a cool night! I went on a City of the Dead tour. This tour, which I also went on a few years ago, is all about Edinburgh’s haunted past. Paranormal stuff has always fascinated me. To be honest, I don’t believe in so much of it, but it still fascinates me.
Before the tour, I got myself in a spooky mood by listening to the Sweeney Todd soundtrack, while taking some pictures. I used them. “Noir” filter on my phone to give the pics a scary feel.
There were a few moments on the tour where I was legitimately frightened, but that was only when the tour guide would shout or try to scare us. So I guess ‘frightened’ is the wrong word. It’s more like I was startled.
The tour actually takes you into some underground places in Edinburgh that had actually been sealed up for centuries. One if the places are supposedly haunted by a young boy called Jack. Freaky stuff!
There were a few moments on the tour where I was legitimately frightened, but that was only when the tour guide would shout or try to scare us. So I guess ‘frightened’ is the wrong word. It’s more like I was startled.
DavTravels 