impulsereader | Mama, thinks I'm on a tour of Europe with a couple of my school chums and a lady chaperone.

Edinburgh trip report – early April 2012

Trivia from the journey

My first plane left ORD almost an hour late due to strong – gusting up to 30mph – winds in the area of EWR. We still landed on time. I just don’t even want to know, really. I’m just glad I didn’t run into a time issue.

I ended up giving up my seat – I seem to be doing a lot of this lately – so that an older couple could sit together.

Night-time skyline taking off from EWR

And a touch of sunrise as we approach EDI

So, I have to digress for a moment and talk about the weather for a sec because both Chicago and Edinburgh have been experiencing some very strange weather this March. Both cities have experienced record high temperatures. This began making me extremely nervous since the one time I’d tried out my boots at home the temp was definitely too warm for them. So I decided to take my regular walking shoes – trainers/sneakers as you like – as backup. Then, taking into account that I was going to have to remove my footwear in the airport I swiftly decided to pack my lace-up wellies and wear the sneakers for traveling. Because the weather was stellar in Chicago I paired them with a bright orange sun dress – nice and soft and comfy.

We land at EDI and there is sheeting rain. Before I even get off the plane the woman I gave up my seat for apologizes to me for the weather. I very definitely look like – aside from the sensible shoes – I’m about to waltz in and order a margarita at some Tahitian beach bar. So while everyone else on my flight waited around for their checked bags I pulled out my all-weather gear and changed into Hill Walking Barbie. Extra bonus? My bag is now much lighter.

Very pleased with myself, I then got lost a couple of times before successfully making it to my little apartment. My journey was complicated by the fact that it is now hailing. Record highs to hailing in something like three days. A shop girl told me today that she saw it coming because it had been snowing in the Highlands, so I'm hoping it wasn't actually me...

Insert all sorts of jet lag here which is why this post took so long. I did end up actually getting out again on this first day, but I just sort of wandered around getting my bearings. I bought a couple of things, mostly because it became clear pretty quickly that I needed a scarf - badly - so I was shopping around for that and being incredibly picky given how drafty my hood was.

I figured out pretty quickly that the as-far-as-I-can-tell-so-far-universal rule of ‘if the locals are crossing, go with them no matter what the signal says’ applies. This is especially helpful because Edinburgh’s little painted notifications of ‘look right’ and ‘look left’ could use some touching up.

Things I have come to understand I do not enjoy about Edinburgh:
modern-looking light posts
buses
traffic lights!
All of these things seriously infringe upon my pretty-picture-taking - see?

People I can wait out. Permanent fixtures and endless buses - that’s a little harder.

One of the things I like very much about Edinburgh:
things like this are lurking around every corner

You know, just your average Cathedral. I walked into this intersection and I’m pretty sure I said out loud, ‘Oh man - look at that!’ Yes, I’m very smooth like that. Of course, at least I’m not the woman who thought that this was Edinburgh Castle. She really did, i swear, she said it multiple times in a shop I was in. No lady, this is the castle.

and that isn't even a good picture of it - nowhere near as impressive as it should look.

I did manage to buy my first book. I can’t honestly say in honor of; but coincidentally, I stumbled upon some Kurt Vonnegut,

djarum99. I started it today over breakfast and it is stellar so far, a collection of some of his non-fiction pieces entitled 'Wampeters Foma & Granfalloons'.