Edinburgh musings

Edinburgh - our new home.

Well we've been here for about 3 weeks in Edinburgh, so I thought i'd better write another blog entry about our adventures thus far. After our boxes all arrived (yay), we decided it would be nice to go away for a night. So we booked a car and then walked up to town to pick it up. We needed a couple of bits and pieces for around the house - some kitcheny stuff, a table for the computer, some bedside tables and lamps. So off we went to ...IKEA... of course. Where else do people go when setting up house!! We managed to get through the maze and find most stuff we wanted. We got a great cheap table for the computer that is subtle and easy to ignore (not like the massive monitor sitting on top of the desk! - perfect for looking at photos and playing games on!) and we got some little wooden step ladders for bedside tables - very cute! After we got out of Ikea (it was totally dark by the time we got out at 4:30pm) we drove away from Edinburgh, through Stirling (great castle on a hill there too) and towards Loch Lomond, to the town to Drymen, where we checked into a b&b. We went for an ok pub dinner (nothing to write home about, so it's not really getting a mention here, except for the cool wallace tartan carpet - maybe something we can add in our house...) and then had a cup of tea and shortbread in the kitchen of the b&b. The next morning we were up pretty early and went to look at the Loch. It was really beautiful, the sun seemed to be just rising over the loch and there were lots of lovely trees and mist and great rocks. I got the camera out (and monopod - there's a little less light here than in France!!) and we went for a short meander along the side of the loch. It's quite spectacular, with massive hills rising up with little covering on them - that is low scrub that makes them look really bare. It was lovely. We then went for a bit of a drive through the countryside, just enjoying the lovely views. We stopped in at a distillary but just had a tasting and didn't buy any whiskey. We stopped at a couple of small towns - Killearn, Fintry and Kippen. At one we stopped for a coffee and great cake in a very sweet little cafe with a great shop of antiques and cool fake flowers and great cards. We bought a card with a painting of the area on it, to be framed at a later date. We had lunch in a funky cafe with lots of great produce, and we bought some herbs and spices and wine also. Then in the afternoon we went to see the Wallace Monument. It was great! We walked up the big hill and then climbed up lots of (narrow and steep) stairs to the exhibitions. They show his sword there - it's massive! And the story is pretty interesting. We made it up to the top and the view over the area was nice, but it was raining a bit so we didn't stay up there. We drove back via the Forth Bridge to Edinburgh. It was great to see some of the very spectacular, stark, desolate countryside. The hills here are really amazing and we're looking forward to doing some hiking on them (in summer perhaps!)

Since then we've been getting into the swing of work. Last weekend on Saturday we went round to the local cafe for breakfast and read the paper. Then in the afternoon we walked up to the city and went to a 'french market'. Now it was nice to see a bit of french culture in Edinburgh, but these people obviously haven't been to a real french market. We are starting to realise how spoilt we have been whilst traveling in France (and even in Holland we saw fabulous markets just near Zoe's place). We managed to buy a stem of garlic (that is about 12 heads) so that should last us about two weeks maybe, given the rate we consume it at! But we had a nice time wandering around the very busy city centre and then headed home for a quiet one. Oh, also on Tuesday night we met up with Kris and Geordie (some guys we've met!) and had a drink and a pub meal and then went to a stand-up comedy show - it was a pretty good gig actually. And last sunday I went to the local church which is really nice - one of only two totally wooden churches in Scotland! It's pretty convenient - about a 10 or 15minute walk from our flat. In the afternoon we walked along the Waters of Leith (a creek running through the area) and then went to the Botanic Gardens - really lovely. Lots of big trees with great colours and unusual leaf shapes (for us anyway!) and a couple of squirrals. It was nice. We went to the cafe and had a coffee overlooking a lovely view of the gardens and then with Edinburgh Castle in the background. The Gardens are also about a 15min walk from our place. We're very lucky to live so close to all these great places!

This weekend we again went out to breakfast, or tried to at least. We had seen a 'continental' cafe, which we thought would be good to check out, but the breakfasts looked pretty dismal, so we didn't stay there. Another place we tried only served coffee. So we ended up doing our grocery shopping and going home for breakfast! A little frustrating. We then took a packed lunch and walked to the centre of town and to the library (just off the royal mile). It's great- like a good bookshop! They have a massive range of lonely planet guides, and also had a lot of maps of the area - good topographic hiking maps of the whole of scotland! We borrowed a couple of books and then walked out towards Princes St Gardens - this is the main sort of shopping drag, but there are gardens all down one side and you can look up and see the castle and lovely old buildings etc. So we sat in the sunshine and at our lunch. It was pretty cold, about 6deg, and while we were enjoying our sunshine unfortunately the sun 'set' behind the buildings. Doh! The sun is setting about 3:40pm at the moment, which is a little surreal! In the mornings when I walk to work it's light but not bright. During the days it does get sunny some times but it's always dark when I come home. We're quite enjoying it actually, but we're looking forward to the long days next summer. For anyone interested we are planning a cycle trip along the Hebrides islands in September 2008. We plan to take a little over a week to ride the length of the islands, probably camping or perhaps YHA'ing along the way. We'd love to have some fellow riders if anyone is interested! Check out the website: www.cyclehebrides.com for more information! It looks simply stunning, and is mostly flat roads with some off-road riding on hills for the adventours.

Today (Sunday) I had a lovely long chat to Michelle before going to Church. There is a new priest there - he's from Woolongong, so we had a bit of a chat after, and Angus came and we had a cup of tea and chatted to a few people which was really nice. Afterwards we went to the National Gallery of Modern Art (across the road from Church!) and looked at part of the gallery. It's really great how the museums and art gallerys are all free to get in over here (in the UK that is), it means you can look for an hour one weekend and then go back in a month and look at a different section, whatever you like! So we're going to try to go to them all regularly, especially as the weather gets darker and colder! After lunch we read the paper a bit and booked our ski trip in February. We're off to Chamonix, France - we loved France so much we decided to go back, but this time to do some _serious_ skiing. Although our flights wern't too expensive we think we chose the busiest week of the season because all the accommodation seems to be booked out! At least that's what we thought initally, luckily we've managed to find some cheap accommdoation - in a hostel with a kitchen which is great.

So regarding work, it's all going well. I'm enjoying the challenges of working for a small company, it's certainly very different to working at Santos. But the people seem friendly and interesting and keen to try new things that I might suggest. I can see that I can actually have an influence on the way things are done and really make a contribution to the company which is really exciting. Angus is doing lots of searching for jobs and has made contact with some people in the university and there area a couple of good leads he's following up, but we don't expect anything until mid-january as this is a tricky time of year for job-searching. But luckily he's got something else to keep him busy... He's bought a guitar. A solid-body electric, very nice... so he's been rocking the house pretty constantly for the last few days!!

All else is going well, we're loving our yoga classes, even though it's very painful the next day! And our little flat is really starting to feel like home. This friday night is work's unofficial Christmas party, so we're both going along to that. Then we're off for a weekend away for our 1st wedding anniversary. It's so hard to believe it's a year! And a busy one at that!

Till next time,
All the best for Michaela, Graham, Vanessa & Mark, all expecting family additions soon!
Love Selina & Angus
xox