Ang's Journal

funkyplaid's beautiful photos inspired me to finally post a few of my own Edinburgh snapshots, which were taken about two months ago.

The first photo is taken from the window of the kitchen on my floor. That's right, if my room was on the other side of the hall, this is the view I would have. Instead, I look into the dumpy courtyard behind Farm Foods & a wall covered with pigeon crap. Alas. I took this photo at about 4:00 AM one morning whilst struggling with insomnia. Sometimes being up early is ... worth it. The only feature I dislike in this photo is the antenna that mars the silhouette of the mountain on the left. But I think the colours of the sky more than compensate for the small technological intrusion.

The photo on the left, below, was taken from along the Royal Mile. The building pictured used to be a church, but it is now called the Hub, & is one of the central organising points for Edinburgh's many summer festivals. Church recycling is quite common here; offhand, I can think of former churches that now serve as a hostel, pub, movie theatre, & an automotive garage. When I'm walking from home to the Institute of Geography, I see three steeples along the Royal Mile. In order, they belong to buildings that are now: a tourist information centre (the Tron), a cathedral/tourist destination (High Kirk of St. Giles), and the Hub.

Edinburgh is really an amazing city - almost everything I could want in a place to live is located within walking distance of my residence. There's stunning history, fine shopping, a plethora of pubs, quality academic institutions (not just the University but the National Library & numerous museums), & accessible natural areas just outside the door. There's so much variety packed tightly into the city centre - very few American cities can compare. And no American city can even come close to matching the architectural diversity! But there's diversity in more than just the buildings. The THINGS that go on here! I haven't even done one-tenth of the things I want to do - I haven't hiked in the Pentlands, I haven't gone to a Gaelic church service, I haven't been to the Royal Observatory, or gone to a football match, or toured a distillery, or been to ANY live music ... I better stop this train of thought before I convince myself to play hooky tomorrow ...

The final photo combines the first two, showing the Hub's steeple in the foreground & Arthur's Seat behind. You can also see the line of the Salisbury Crags running in front of Arthur's Seat. I took this from the Half Moon Battery in Edinburgh Castle on the finest, clearest day imaginable.