We made it to Edinburgh on Friday night, three hours later than expected mainly due to traffic delays. Particularly memorable moments include the roundabout with traffic lights that took half an hour to navigate, a 4 pound toll charge, and getting stuck halfway up the Royal Mile because the bollards weren’t shown in the street directory. All the way up the M6 we got half-hourly traffic reports from the BBC, chirpy news reporters telling us that traffic was ‘pretty banked up’ and to ‘take another route’. It was a strange thought, that this country is so small that the one radio station can reach everyone caught in traffic, anywhere. Half the country was stuck in traffic on Friday afternoon it seemed. At least we were not alone.
Navigating the city traffic on a Friday night was as hellish as one would imagine; of course once we finally found the hire car place, there were no parks left. We left the car in a pay parking spot and hoped someone would be arriving at work early enough in the morning to move it before we got a fine. It could be one of many fines; there were no posted speed limits on the motorway, but plenty of signs warning of the presence of speed cameras. I guess we will wait and see.
Because I’m not very good at reading maps and we were both tired, we walked too far up the street from the car and got on the wrong side of the castle. It was going to be quite a walk to the hostel with our packs (not quite as heavy as the ones we brought over, but heavy enough, plus a supermarket bag full of snacks and a giant atlas map I’d let Margaret give me), and we’d quickly discovered that Edinburgh is essentially a collection of small hills. It was an easy decision to hail a cab once we’d realised this, and we found the hostel with no troubles. Our room is at the top of a renovated terrace house; it has a slanty ceiling (which I love), a wrought-iron bed with lumpy pillows (less love) and a rickety old wardrobe we haven’t used. The window looks out onto the back garden, which is set up nicely with tables and chairs and a collection of bicycles and motorbikes which the owners appear to be taking apart, playing with, and putting back together (I am not thinking about the possibility that the hostel is just a legitimate front for some illegal backyard stolen parts business) (I have been reading too much Inspector Rebus). We’re not sure but the hostel appears to be run by a group of unfriendly, unsociable French people. Just what we were expecting to find in Edinburgh.
Once we’d recovered from our driving and map mishaps we headed out to explore the neighbourhood and find some dinner. The Thai across the road had a pad thai for 10 pounds. No thankyou, not even for the best pad thai in the world which is unlikely. There was a pub on the corner where we probably could have gotten a bowl of chips, but not feeling particularly social we were more on the lookout for something to take back to the hostel. We eventually bought 8 pounds worth of groceries at a little supermarket, which I had to pay for with my credit card because the ATM didn’t like my bank card. At the hostel we boiled up some tortellini with tomato sauce and ate it in the little conservatory, watching odd BBC wildlife documentaries. The tortellini was surprisingly good, which is lucky since we bought 2 packets of it (there was a special on) and so will be having it again sometime.
Saturday morning we headed out armed with our Lonely Planet and a notebook to write down addresses of flats we liked. We saw lots of ‘to let’ signs on apartment buildings, with a different real estate agent on each one. There appears to be a massive number of companies doing rentals in Edinburgh; hopefully they are all much of a muchness when it comes to fees and service. I bought a copy of the Scotsman, hoping for a big Australia-style weekend edition complete with jobs and property guides. No; I went through the whole paper and finally found the bit that said the jobs were on Thursday and the houses were on Friday. Bugger.
In the midst of all this, of course, we were checking out Edinburgh itself. The vibe of it, I mean, as they’d say on The Castle. It would be a lie (a nice, romantic lie) to say it immediately grabbed us, shouted, ‘YOU BELONG HERE’, and bid us to make ourselves comfortable. But we didn’t dislike it either. I get the feeling it is the kind of place to sneak up on you; there is so much to see and explore and I think one day you’d see something and all of a sudden you’d know that you in the right place. It is certainly beautiful, and impressive. It’s also very crowded right now; we haven’t heard many Scottish accents, but plenty of English and lots of different languages including an Italian woman who was yelling at her kids over our heads today (I think she was pissed off that they didn’t want to sit with her in the park) (I wanted to tell her it was probably just a phase) (but maybe not if she kept yelling at them in public like that). The buildings are amazing, and so is the sense of history. If nothing else I love the idea of living somewhere so old; everywhere you turn there is something that has been there hundreds of years. I like it, I find it soothing for much the same reason as I feel comforted by the ocean. Which is so big it always reminds me that in actual fact I am very small, my place in the universe is very small, and in the grand scheme of things my life is rather inconsequential. I know some people don’t like that feeling, but to me it’s very therapeutic. History is the same. I also love Edinburgh’s literary past which I hope to learn more about; last night we walked past a terrace house where Arthur Conan Doyle lived; there is a Writer’s Museum, a Literary Pub Tour (which I intend on dragging my father along on, when he visits next year); and of course I am constantly on the lookout for Ian Rankin even though I don’t know what he looks like.
After lunch (2 pound sandwiches from the supermarket, eaten on a garden wall – we are on a budget) we walked up Calton Hill, which is sort of Edinburgh’s acropolis. There’s a scattering of monuments up there, and a great view to Arthur’s Seat (old volcano), to the castle (over 9 pounds to visit, which explains why we haven’t yet) and over the water. I like the idea of living near water too. We found a sheltered spot (very windy) and looked over the water and thought ‘is this our new (temporary) home?’
Edinburgh's shame
There were tears of course, mine I mean, because I’m a wuss and a worrier and it would be nice to say that house hunting in a strange city is just exciting and wonderful but it’s not just that; it’s scary and unknown and I have never been in such dire need of somewhere to live before. Although my father reminded me, I could just ring some Gibsons and McKinnons from the phone book and convince them I’m a long lost cousin. But the tears dried up of course because Toby is not a wuss or a worrier and always manages to convince me why I should pay no attention to those traits of mine, and instead focus on the positives. Which isn’t difficult with a wonderful man by my side and an intriguing city full of pubs and restaurants to explore.
We spent the afternoon in a pub called the Jolly Judge which had free wi-fi with any drinks purchase. It was down a little alley (they call them ‘wynds’ here, according to the Lonely Planet, although until I hear a real Scottish person pronounce that I’ll stick to alley) where we’d seen a ‘to let’ sign. It would be a great spot to live, just off the Royal Mile, and I do like the idea of saying to visitors, “Just look for the Jolly Judge”. Anyway we checked a lot of the real estate agent websites and sent emails and put asterisks next to the ones we really liked the look of. It felt like a perfectly natural thing to do in a pub. Well not really, but being in a pub down an alleyway in Edinburgh on a Saturday afternoon certainly felt natural.
After our usual late afternoon rest back at the hostel (complete with cup of tea of course) we headed out to find some dinner. Daylight saving means that it doesn’t get dark until after 10pm here, so heading out at 8:30 didn’t feel late at all. We found a little clutch of restaurants near the university, about 5 minutes walk from our hostel, and got a table at a North African/Mediterranean restaurant. Which seemed like an odd combination until I remembered that North Africa is on the Mediterranean. We had a good, filling meal for less than 30 pounds (except that with a tip it was exactly 30 pounds). Bargain. It was raining when we got out, and we were really quite full, so we just headed home after that.
Today we had a lazy morning eating our breakfast in the courtyard and tackling our first Sudoku together. Well it was my first Sudoku, but our first one as a team. After that we headed out again, this time in the opposite direction to the city to seek out some of the apartments we’d seen online. We found a really great stretch of road full of old buildings, shops and restaurants, but unfortunately it appears to be out of our price range. The ones we found in our price range nearby were not as nice-looking but are still possibilities. We gradually made our way into the city, taking note of ‘to let’ signs and what handy things were nearby, like shops or restaurants. Also how safe/dingy the street felt. Edinburgh is not the cleanest city I’ve ever seen; the bins are out on the streets and there is a lot of litter. From my reading of the newspaper it appears there is a current campaign to clean it up a bit. Personally I don’t know why you’d let your street get to that state; don’t people want to feel good walking to their house? We decided we’d be prepared to spend a little more on rent if it meant living in a nicer street where people cared. The weather is going to be depressing enough; we don’t need to be wading through rubbish to get to our front door.
We ate supermarket sandwiches in the park again and had another go at the Sudoku. We’ve been very lucky with the weather; so lucky in fact we are both sunburnt, me more than Toby because he brought a hat. (Me: ‘It’s Scotland, my skin’s been waiting for this my entire life, what do I need a hat for?’) He was very nice today and shared it – now we’re both pink. So it was a lovely day to sit in the park and struggle over numbers in little squares. And to walk the Royal Mile, again, which in the build up to festival time is overrun with tourists and also sporting a lot of artists; we’ve seen musicians, those statue guys, some circus acts, a “illusion artist” in chains, and hippies running stalls that appear to be the same worldwide, selling Celtic art and doing henna tattoos and braiding hair and reading Tarot cards. If it’s like this now I just can’t imagine what it will be like in a week’s time when the fringe festival begins (although apparently it’s now bigger than the actual festival, leading to the question what is it the fringe of?).
After a bit more of a walk we’ve come back to the hostel for more internet research (and a rest), via a bakery which had everything half-price after 3pm. Which is lucky because it wasn’t very nice, certainly no Dobinson’s. But it was sweet and went well with a cup of tea while we watched Scrubs. The wi-fi in the hostel isn’t working very well so we haven’t managed a lot of research unfortunately; Toby is having some more fun with the Sudoku. I am typing this on Word and hoping when we get the net working again I can post it (complete with photos) without too many hassles.
After so much walking and a bit of sunburn we’re not feeling particularly energetic or fabulous and so will be heading out soon to the supermarket to buy something for dinner that we can cook in the kitchen here. Tomorrow we will be calling real estate agents and I will call some job agencies, although we’ve agreed a house is really the priority. It’s not much point being given a job unless I have somewhere to live (I doubt the story would end as well as Will Smith’s did in The Pursuit of Happiness). Not sure what we’ll do if a house isn’t available for a couple of weeks, which many aren’t; we always assumed we’d go back to Oxford and stay with Margaret, but Toby is violently allergic to her house (i.e. her cats) and so it’s not really an option for more than a few nights. We had a look at Ryanair flights out of Glasgow and last night I did some research on Poland, but at such short notice in a peak period the prices especially for flights are not great. We might just have to get a hotel in Glasgow. But it all depends on when we can find a place; please keep your fingers crossed as we are hoping to do it sooner rather than later.
I will sign off now and make sure Toby does the next entry; I think this blog needs a good dose of testosterone.
We spent the afternoon in a pub called the Jolly Judge which had free wi-fi with any drinks purchase. It was down a little alley (they call them ‘wynds’ here, according to the Lonely Planet, although until I hear a real Scottish person pronounce that I’ll stick to alley) where we’d seen a ‘to let’ sign. It would be a great spot to live, just off the Royal Mile, and I do like the idea of saying to visitors, “Just look for the Jolly Judge”. Anyway we checked a lot of the real estate agent websites and sent emails and put asterisks next to the ones we really liked the look of. It felt like a perfectly natural thing to do in a pub. Well not really, but being in a pub down an alleyway in Edinburgh on a Saturday afternoon certainly felt natural.
After our usual late afternoon rest back at the hostel (complete with cup of tea of course) we headed out to find some dinner. Daylight saving means that it doesn’t get dark until after 10pm here, so heading out at 8:30 didn’t feel late at all. We found a little clutch of restaurants near the university, about 5 minutes walk from our hostel, and got a table at a North African/Mediterranean restaurant. Which seemed like an odd combination until I remembered that North Africa is on the Mediterranean. We had a good, filling meal for less than 30 pounds (except that with a tip it was exactly 30 pounds). Bargain. It was raining when we got out, and we were really quite full, so we just headed home after that.
Today we had a lazy morning eating our breakfast in the courtyard and tackling our first Sudoku together. Well it was my first Sudoku, but our first one as a team. After that we headed out again, this time in the opposite direction to the city to seek out some of the apartments we’d seen online. We found a really great stretch of road full of old buildings, shops and restaurants, but unfortunately it appears to be out of our price range. The ones we found in our price range nearby were not as nice-looking but are still possibilities. We gradually made our way into the city, taking note of ‘to let’ signs and what handy things were nearby, like shops or restaurants. Also how safe/dingy the street felt. Edinburgh is not the cleanest city I’ve ever seen; the bins are out on the streets and there is a lot of litter. From my reading of the newspaper it appears there is a current campaign to clean it up a bit. Personally I don’t know why you’d let your street get to that state; don’t people want to feel good walking to their house? We decided we’d be prepared to spend a little more on rent if it meant living in a nicer street where people cared. The weather is going to be depressing enough; we don’t need to be wading through rubbish to get to our front door.
We ate supermarket sandwiches in the park again and had another go at the Sudoku. We’ve been very lucky with the weather; so lucky in fact we are both sunburnt, me more than Toby because he brought a hat. (Me: ‘It’s Scotland, my skin’s been waiting for this my entire life, what do I need a hat for?’) He was very nice today and shared it – now we’re both pink. So it was a lovely day to sit in the park and struggle over numbers in little squares. And to walk the Royal Mile, again, which in the build up to festival time is overrun with tourists and also sporting a lot of artists; we’ve seen musicians, those statue guys, some circus acts, a “illusion artist” in chains, and hippies running stalls that appear to be the same worldwide, selling Celtic art and doing henna tattoos and braiding hair and reading Tarot cards. If it’s like this now I just can’t imagine what it will be like in a week’s time when the fringe festival begins (although apparently it’s now bigger than the actual festival, leading to the question what is it the fringe of?).
After a bit more of a walk we’ve come back to the hostel for more internet research (and a rest), via a bakery which had everything half-price after 3pm. Which is lucky because it wasn’t very nice, certainly no Dobinson’s. But it was sweet and went well with a cup of tea while we watched Scrubs. The wi-fi in the hostel isn’t working very well so we haven’t managed a lot of research unfortunately; Toby is having some more fun with the Sudoku. I am typing this on Word and hoping when we get the net working again I can post it (complete with photos) without too many hassles.
After so much walking and a bit of sunburn we’re not feeling particularly energetic or fabulous and so will be heading out soon to the supermarket to buy something for dinner that we can cook in the kitchen here. Tomorrow we will be calling real estate agents and I will call some job agencies, although we’ve agreed a house is really the priority. It’s not much point being given a job unless I have somewhere to live (I doubt the story would end as well as Will Smith’s did in The Pursuit of Happiness). Not sure what we’ll do if a house isn’t available for a couple of weeks, which many aren’t; we always assumed we’d go back to Oxford and stay with Margaret, but Toby is violently allergic to her house (i.e. her cats) and so it’s not really an option for more than a few nights. We had a look at Ryanair flights out of Glasgow and last night I did some research on Poland, but at such short notice in a peak period the prices especially for flights are not great. We might just have to get a hotel in Glasgow. But it all depends on when we can find a place; please keep your fingers crossed as we are hoping to do it sooner rather than later.
I will sign off now and make sure Toby does the next entry; I think this blog needs a good dose of testosterone.
A cute little wynd
4 comments:
Hello Dot & Toby. So glad to hear you have made it to Edinburgh. You will be disgusted to hear that we came LAST at trivia last night! Yes 14th of 14 teams!! There was loud hooligans there and they put us off and we were all tired. We had the bar tab from your last week so were not too worried we got the wooden spoon. I am now listeining to 106.3 waiting for Mark to report a Gnarly Old Goat Dude on Athllon drive..... Megs
Hi D&T, as you're in serious budget mode I thought I'd share something my friend Heather told me about Edinburgh. Apparently you can buy fabulous and CHEAP (i.e. less than 1 pound) Thai Green Curry in the supermarkets that has real meat in it! Maybe it was canned or something, which I know sounds totally gross, but she seemed to think it was the best thing ever! I don't actually know the name of the brand but I thought you could keep an eye out for it :)
Oh, it's Jude by the way...not sure why it came up as anonymous there!
who cares about boring farts like you.you could sell your egos on dragons den.
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