I AM IN EDINBURGH. YAAAAAAY!!!
My flights over were okay, except for the part where we sat on the tarmac for an hour in Newark while maintenance tried to fix the left engine generator, before the pilot finally said "Screw it, we have a backup generator, let's go!" I am not making this up. I finally saw Avatar on the plane. My assessment was probably the same as everyone else's: stunning visuals and breathtaking music, but unoriginal storyline.
We landed at about 9am local time yesterday, and I took a cab to my hostel, rather than the airport bus. The reason: I brought an embarrassing amount of luggage with me. Two checked bags and two carry-ons. One of my checked bags is carry-on sized, but the other is a ginormous wheeled duffel bag that was barely within the weight limits when packed. I wish I had started packing sooner than the day before I left, because maybe if I'd had more time I could have contrived to not bring it...but what's done is done. At least the people at my hostel are letting me keep it on the storage room for the duration of my stay there.
After dropping stuff off at the hostel (Art Roch, on West Port), I went across the street to the Fiddler's Arms for breakfast. I had a full Scottish breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, sausage, blood pudding, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, and bread. The only difference I could detect between the full Scottish and a full English was that the Scottish cook their bacon more thoroughly. I finally got up the courage to try the blood pudding, and it's actually quite tasty. It reminded me of haggis, but with a smoother texture.
After that, I walked down the Royal Mile, making a detour to the Vodafone store on Princes Street to buy a SIM card for my phone. The Royal Mile was crammed full of performers, what with the Fringe Festival going on. Musicians, singers, actors, balloon artists, and everything in between. I must say, in spite of how expensive it makes everything, I'm SO glad I arrived in Edinburgh during the festival. It's such a fun atmosphere. Also, the weather's nice so far. It was overcast when I arrived yesterday, but the sun came out in the early afternoon, just as I completed my walk down the Royal Mile and arrived at Holyrood Park.
Holyrood Park is my favorite place in Edinburgh. I suppose it's because I, like most people, associate Scotland as a whole with gorgeous wilderness and mountains. Holyrood Park brings a little of that to the city. I had forgotten until yesterday how high those crags are, and they were all covered in green. I sat in the sun and read a book and watched people play with their dogs.
Then I went to an internet cafe on Blackfriars Street (the same one I'm in now, actually), checked email, and wrote down phone numbers of flats I want to call. By then it was about 2:30, so I went back to my hostel and checked in at 3:00. By this point I was desperate for a nap, but when I got to the room, I discovered that the ladder to the top bunk I had been assigned was broken. Joy of joys. I got them to assign me to a different bed, and then I napped a bit, to the sound of a jazz band playing outside in the Grassmarket.
After about an hour and a half of napping, I got up, showered, and read a bit down in the hostel lounge. Then I walked back down the Royal Mile to Canongate to see my Australian friend Morven perform stand-up comedy at a bar called Kilderken, as part of the Free Fringe. Morven and I met on a Wild in Scotland tour in April 2010 and kept in touch, and it was great to see her again. I also met her friends Julia, who was also performing, and David, who is an English guy from London who she went to University with. By the end of Julia and Morven's act, I was about to fall over from sleepiness again, so David walked with me back up the Mile as far as Cockburn Street (he was catching a train to Paisley), and I returned to my hostel. I ate a sandwich in the lounge and talked to my Brazilian roommate Felipe for a bit, and then went to bed. Besides, Felipe, I shared the room with two Swiss (I think) guys, and two girls of indeterminate nationality. I'll be in a different room tonight.
SO. Today's primary mission is apartment-hunting. I've already called one agency, who said they will call me back later. Morven directed me to a different website than the one I had been searching on, so I'm about to try that. Hopefully it works better, because I would really, REALLY like to be moved in somewhere before the 30th. Wish me luck!
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