8 hours of sleep. Over 11.000 steps. Very limited amount of chocolate-y treats (so far) today. Go me!
The first day in Edinburgh was quite lovely and started with a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast (+ coffee and orange juice) at a cafe in Fountainbridge. After that my first stop when I got into the city was a bookstore. Of course. I had planned to buy two specific books (instead of having them ordered back home in Germany which would have taken a bit longer) and I just hope I won’t be tempted to buy any more while I’m here. My suitcase is heavy and bulky already.
I had organised an early Afternoon Tea for some of us Peakers and we could only get the 12 o’clock slot for a larger group, which was a bit of a weird time to have “Afternoon Tea”. But the whole experience was as lovely as can be expected when like minded (My Peak Challenge, Outlander) folks from various countries get together. The food was very good too. We went our separate ways after, but we’ll run into each other again over the weekend for sure. Next stop for me: the Sheila Fleet counter at Jenners to buy yet another ring. I can’t help it, I like her jewellery and one of the rings I had bought two year ago feels a bit too small sometimes. Or my fingers are getting more swollen? Either way I needed a “replacement” for when I can’t wear that one. For another finger obviously. I was tempted to even buy two rings, but the other one I liked wasn’t available in the size I would have needed it in. Probably better for my bank account.
The weather hadn’t made up it’s mind in the afternoon so I decided to head for the National Museum to do some indoorsy things, but when I got there it was quite sunny so I went up on the roof terrace first and later I realized I wasn’t in the mood for too many people so I didn’t stay in the museum but went back up to the Royal Mile. Big mistake, because of course… so many tourists. I took refuge in St. Giles Cathedral for a bit, which was lovely. I had been inside once before on my first trip 10 years ago. Nothing had changed inside of course, but I have a much better camera :-). I don’t think they asked you to pay for a photo pass back then. They did now and it was £2 which was fine by me, because it’s not much and it’s for the upkeep of the building.
When I left the cathedral I still wasn’t in the mood of dealing with too many people, so I went for a quick (early) dinner and braved the rain and sleet which had descended over Edinburgh in the mean time to get to the next bus stop to get back to my AirBnB. I bought some bread, milk and yes, some chocolate snacks, on the way. Once I got “home” I definitely had no desire to get back out again.
I’m staying in an AirBnB flat here in Edinburgh and the day before I came the host informed me that she’ll be out for dinner when I get in and also away the whole weekend. Which is always a bit weird, because I’m on my own in a stranger’s flat for days. I met my host this morning – well, I heard her take a shower etc and retreat to her bedroom, so before I headed out, I knocked on her door to at least say “Hello” once. She was lovely and very acommodating and all, so it’s all good. Otherwise I wouldn’t have picked her as a host to begin with :-) And the flat is amazing, at least the rooms available to me. Large windows in the living room with a great view (2nd floor) and I did spend quite some time just staring outside and watching the clouds pass by. Did I ever mention that I love how different the sky in Scotland is to the sky on the continent? At least that what it always feels like to me when I’m here. We don’t have these kind of clouds in Germany! At least not where I live.
So the evening consisted of sky gazing, sorting through the photos I took today to pick one – from St. Giles Cathedral – as header image for this post. Re-watching some more of Lucifer. And off to bed early as in… soon, because 11.000 steps in a city like Edinburgh are exhausting!