Day One in Ed

My first meal in Edinburgh was in a little soup & coffee place called "The Grape and the Bean" on the Royal Mile. I ordered a Potato and Leek soup (comes with bread and butter) for £2.80. The bread was good and the soup had a made-at-home quality to it. I took out my computer and started to recount my first day in Edinburgh...

After I unpacked and settled into my room, I spent my first afternoon in Edinburgh exploring. It is a spectacular city unlike any I had ever seen. The guide books I had read about the city failed to emphasize the fact that the entire city is an attraction in and of itself. At every step is a majestic building and around every corner a panoramic view of the city. At first I frequently took out my camera but after a while I accepted the fact that the whole city actually looks like that and tried to put my camera away. The great thing about the city is that it is fully accessible on foot. Everything is so close together and only a walk away. My residence, Mylnes Court, is on the Royal Mile, a one minute walk from Edinburgh Castle and so when I come down from my room I can see visitors walking up to the Castle. The Royal Mile is a mile-long street of cobble stone, stretching from the grand Edinburgh Castle atop the Mound hill all the way to Holyrood Palace on the other end. On the mile of narrow road between these two landmarks are a myriad of churches, museums, restaurants and stores. The sound of bagpipes can be heard and street musicians and performers are scattered along the mile. There are no high-rises or department stores to be seen; only heritage-looking buildings and independent businesses. The street is bustling and full of visitors from every country; sounds of cameras clicking and pieces of conversations in different tongues fill the air. The Royal Mile is filled with a number of "Closes", a narrow strip of cobblestone alley that winds its way into the adjacent streets. Many spots, such as the tour of the castle and the open top bus tour of the city, attracted me but I had resolved to walk through the entire Mile and get an idea of the whole area before I got caught up in the little things. When I had reached the end of the mile, I was surprised to find a big hill that people can hike up. The majestic mountain, green and lush, and juxtaposed with the historic buildings and grand Holyrood Palace is truly a sight to behold. The view from atop that hill must be amazing but again I pressed on. At the end of the mile I turned around and returned along another famous street of Edinburgh, Princes Street. Princes Street, marvelous in its own right, is starkly different from the Royal Mile.... On this street one can find the fancy stores and restaurants but they are only on one side of the street. On the other side is a park overlooking Old Town, with flowers, terraces, and statues. There is a train station called Waverly station and looks just like a train station should.

At night I met up with the people in my residence for an organized "Pubcrawl". I had heard so much about the night life and pub scene in Europe and besides it was a good way to get to know some people here. I live in a residence reserved for postgraduate students and it appears a good many of them are also from overseas. My roommate, Chris, a Canadian from Victoria, is one of the student deans and as a result has a much larger room that boasts a view of the city. I also met two other Canadians from Toronto. Tim is a Tall Englishman from Reading and is studying Environmental Conservation. William is from Detroit, studied at Mody Bible Institute, and is also in Biblical Studies. Berian is from Australia and studying Cosmology (a concentration within Astronomy). Hillary is from California studying International and European Politics. Jordan, from NY, creative writing. Sarah, DC, Nationalism. Zape, India, Law. Yunus, Turkey, ?. It was neat to go around to the different pubs of Edinburgh. The streets that the bars are on were teeming with people and the atmosphere is festive. The bars here have a different feel to the ones in North America... It is more obvious that the people are out for a good time and the scene lacks a certain creepiness that a lot of clubs in NA have. Tenants beer is the staple drink but I also tried a Scottish beer called Douchard's IPA (?). Tim the Englishman displayed his disapproval after I ordered a Stella bemoaning the high cost and sh*tty taste of the Belgian lager. I did my share of drinking but the best part was just soaking up the moment of being in Scotland. After the third pub I really started feeling the effects of the long flight and opted to go back to my room. After all, there is ANOTHER pubcrawl planned for the next night. I think I will attend one of the services in one of the fancy cathedrals on the Royal Mile tomorrow...

From the moment I arrived I fell in love with the city and am thrilled at the prospect of living here for the year... My only desire is to be able to share this with my family and friends back home... It really is an amazing city. I took a lot of pictures but they don't really do the city justice... The buildings are so... 3 dimensional and made of different materials... and the views are so panoramic that it is difficult to capture on film (or memory card, as it were). My school is closed on the weekends but it also looks spectacular from the outside. It is a castle and right next door!! It really doesn't get any better, except I wish my family and friends were also here to experience it. Please come and visit!!! End of Day One. Please stop the tape and turn it to Side 2. I have to many pictures to post... Check them out @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonwlo

Bye bye for now!