Edinburgh: Days 1 & 2

I finally made it to Edinburgh! I was promptly greeted with a head cold, but I’m trying to not let that stop me from enjoying my time in one of my favorite places in the world.

In reality, my entire Sunday was spent traveling. I left Bath about an hour and a half earlier than I had originally planned, but I still had to wait for the same train out to Edinburgh. Once I got into Edinburgh, I still had about a 25 minute bus ride to the seaside town of Portobello. While it was a pretty long day, it was worth it. It felt so nice taking those first few steps out of Waverley station and into the streets of Edinburgh. It felt like I had never left.

Unfortunately, I woke up Sunday with the beginnings of a cold, and I knew a day of traveling was going to make it worse come Monday. I guess it’s a good thing I have three weeks here and if I need to take a day to rest, I can. And that’s exactly what I did.

Monday I slept in–emphasis on slept. While I don’t mind hostels, let me tell you, there is nothing quite like a warm (non-twin) bed all to yourself. It doesn’t hurt that the flat I’m staying in is beautiful. It’s exactly the type of place I could see myself living in. My AirBnB host is amazing, and she has the sweetest family. They’ve made me feel so welcome, but I wouldn’t expect anything else for Edinburgh.

After a pretty lazy morning, I decided to head down to the local co-op and pick up a few groceries. I brought the groceries back and made some lunch and decided it was time to head out. I walked down to the beach, which is maybe a 5 minute walk, at most. I hadn’t realized how much I missed the beach until yesterday. It’s funny because the beach actually reminds me of California–it’s nice to be in the sand, but way too cold to go in the water. I stuck my toes in a brand new body of water to say I’ve done it, but that was enough for me.

I walked the entire length of the promenade, and decided to stop and get a quick snack. I ate and watched all the dogs play; there are so many dogs! It’s quite a dog-friendly town, which I definitely can appreciate.

After about a couple of hours at the beach, I decided to head back in. I was starting to feel kind of tired and I think I might have had the smallest of fevers, so when I got back I just put on my pajamas and went to bed.

For the rest of the week, I’ll be going into town for the Fringe Festival. I’ll be writing more about that later, but for now I’m enjoying my seaside retreat.