"I don't even own a TV"

I've heard people say that my whole life. Friends and acquaintances that could proudly tout their televisionary independence. I've gone through peaks and valleys when it comes to TV watching. I've had crappy little TV sets that only carry 2 or 3 clear channels and I've had gigantic flat screens with complete cable packages. I've killed a whole day vegging out in utter laziness and I've had months where I've watched nothing but a rented movie or two.  But I have never been totally weened off of the boob tube. Until now.

So, what do you do to pass the time when you don't have a television? I mean, no screen-based entertainment at all (this includes internet people... no Hulu, no YouTube... I swear, I've had much more dramatic withdrawals from our lack of internet access than I have from not having a TV, but I digress...).  You go out, right? To the pubs! Or on a chilly evening stroll.

Right. But what about the evenings in? When its dark outside, you've finished dinner, and the chores are done... but its not quite time to get ready for bed? Then what do you do??

Well, you uke.

Or put together puzzles.

(this picture taken the morning after a crazy night of puzzling.)

Or knit.

(and unravel it all... and knit again... and unravel it all...)

You mess with the cats

You do a little finger pickin'

You bake apple/pear pie

(sans recipe... Tried to make it 'healthy' so I used minimal sugar. It was quite tart, but easily remedied by adding copies amounts of vanilla ice cream)

You stare at the ceiling

or out the window.

And, of course, you read.

At least, that's what we do! And for the most part, I don't really miss TV at all (although it would be nice to get the broadband hooked up so we could stream a show or two, I mean, I didn't move to the UK to stop watching Downton Abbey!) Most of all,  I'm getting used to the quiet. I had the habit of turning on the TV just as background noise, and I find I am happier without the constant bombardment of chatter and adverts. And Matthew and I are having some delightful fireside chats... OK, that took it a little too far, but we are a lot more present with one another, if that makes any sense!

I'd love to hear what any of you do when you're not plugged in- in case we run out of ideas here we can steal yours!

Expat tips: Letting in Edinburgh

OK. It's time. We've been in our permanent flat for nearly a month now, and I think I can finally share with you all the hellish experience that is flat hunting in Edinburgh.

We came to Edinburgh toward the end of August, when the city is literally bursting at its seams with tourists, fire-eaters, poets, tourists, comedians, musicians, students, tourists, unicyclists and tourists. August is the month of the festival here in Edinburgh, and it is a wonderful time- as far as I could tell (I look forward to next year when we are settled and can really get out there and see what the festival has to offer). It is also an incredibly crazy time to make Edinburgh your new home. 

But it wasn't really the festival that made flat hunting so gosh darn frustrating. It was really the influx of students. Foreign students for the most part (as many local students already had their flats sorted our well before August). There were so many of them! We couldn't really fuss about that though, considering... because of the whole we are foreign and Matt's a student, thing. 

So, we were just another couple scrambling to get the exact same thing that everyone else wanted: an affordable flat with Scottish charm that was close to the university and available immediately. Oh, and on top of that, ours had to accept cats. 

Pickings were slim. We ended up grabbing a great little flat, so it all has a happy ending, but the process- oh! the process!- what. a. nightmare.

But, live and learn. If I could do it over again (and I'm glad I don't have to for  a while, at least) I'd do things differently. Here's a few tips to help out anyone out there who may find themselves in the future flat hunting in Edinburgh:

1. You MUST have a local phone. First thing you do when you get here is get a cheapy "top up" mobile at any phone shop. They cost about 10 pounds and you can add money to your account as you use it up, and you will use it up, several times, because you will be making lots of calls.

2. Those letting agent signs on the outside of buildings...? The ones that hang off the exact building you so want to live in? Like the ones at the top of this post? FORGET about them. Those places have been rented out months ago. Or they are not available for months yet. Or the agents whose name and number is emblazoned across them have no record of any flat at that building. Or... on the off chance that there is a flat, the agent knows what you are talking about, and it is available, it likely has 5 bedrooms and costs a small fortune each month in rent. This was our biggest bummer of all, because they would beckon to us, and we'd fall for them every time.

3. Letting agents in general are a bit strange here, at least compared to my experiences renting in America. First off, they don't seem too interested in actually letting their flats. Our calls were often met with friendly but unhelpful desk agents that couldn't really tell us much about what was available or how/when we could arrange a viewing. In this market, I don't think much effort was needed to get flats rented out, and that was a bit apparent.

4. But, we did get a few viewing appointments from agents. And we missed a couple of them. So listen up... if you want to see a flat, and you get an appointment to see said flat, DONT BE EVEN ONE MINUTE LATE! If the appointment is at 11:45 and you show up at 11:46, it's over. You blew it. Seriously. The agent can be late, but you can't. They'll have booked another showing at another flat at 11:50 and they ain't staying around for a second to wait for you. This doesn't sound like that big of a deal- be on time. However, it's pretty easy to run late when you are new to a city, and you don't know exactly where to go, or what bus to take (even though you plotted it all out online before you left your temporary flat...) and all of the streets have 900 different names depending on what block you're on, or you've found Cluny Garden but you can't find Cluny Terrace, and you keep passing Cluny Crescent which is right off of Cluny Road... 

5. If you can, have a gadget that allows you to go online. We had to refer to our iPad several times for directions, for phone numbers, for up to the minute listings...

6. Make lists. Frustratingly useless lists, of all the places you find online, or in letting agent windows, (or from the letting signs that hang off of the buildings as mentioned above, if you want to add to the heartache) because every flat begins to be the exact same in your head. And if you happen to get a call back from one of the hundreds of messages you left with various agents, you got to be able to know what flat they are talking about. Our list included the flat street, agent, phone number, price per month, # of bedrooms, and date of availability. Even then, we were not always sure which was which!

7. Cross things off the list as soon as you know that the flat is gone, because otherwise, you just might keep hoping...

8. Be prepared to pull the trigger quickly if you find a place you like even a little bit. We let a couple slip through our fingers by mulling it over for an afternoon. The flats go that fast. Also, some agents require you put down money to apply- a sizable chunk. One agent wanted us to give 200 pounds per person (over 600 USD) that we would lose if our application was accepted and we decided to go with another flat. They return it if you are not accepted though, but it does make it easy for them to consider multiple tenants while you have to commit to applying to only one flat.

9. You might want to forget the letting agents all together and go with a private landlord. We did, and it was the only time we felt sane during the whole letting process. Private landlords can run the gamut and our is pretty relaxed. And most private landlords are registered with the government (some sort of registry or license I believe to protect letters) so there is an added level of comfort there. We found our flat on Gumtree (kind of like Craigslist).

10. Lastly, remember that this is all part of the adventure. There is a certain cultural distinction between Americans and folks on this side of the pond that I find both endearing and infuriating. The people we dealt with during our flat search were all so polite, but so reluctant to supply any information that isn't explicitly asked for. And instead of getting right down to the point of the matter, there is a lot of side stepping and dead-ended conversations. I couldn't help but think of this sketch from Monty Python during our entire flat hunting experience:

Our Days

We don't have internet in our new place, yet. And that has caused me to fall behind in all sorts of things, least of all, this blog. (Its a little sad how much I depend on the interwebs!) But, I've brought my trusty laptop to my local branch of the library and I'm all set and ready to post.

That said, I don't have any time or patience for a particularly thoughtful post. I do have a few in the works, I promise. Posts that are more than "this is what we've been up to" and "look at the pictures". But for now, that's exactly the kind of post I've got to share. I'm going to blame the following lazy post on my sore throat and achy body. It's barely autumn and I already have a cold. (It might be a loooong winter!)

But don't let my general grumpiness fool you, we've been having a great time. Really! Each day we discover something new- some days is a medieval chapel, other days its a good place to buy cheap towels- events which, sadly, caused me to feel nearly equal amounts of excitement.

So, feast your eyes on the following pictures showing what we've been doing with our days, and know that I'll be adding a little more substance to my posts in the very near future!

One day, we went to Roslyn, and disregard my previous comment comparing the experience to buying towels, because this place is all together otherworldly. Photos are not permitted inside the chapel, so you'll just have to come visit it yourself to see what I mean. It is intricately carved- almost every inch of it- with flowers and stars and figures of angels and musicians (there is even a piper!). Most of these carvings have some mysterious connection to the Masons, or the Knights Templar, or the Holy Grail, or... well, the list goes on and on.

The area surrounding Roslyn is beautiful, and mysterious in its own way. We spent some time following the advice of Sir Walter Scott... hiking in the woods, exploring the old castle and delighting in it all.

 Another day, we headed to the Scottish Parliament  building. It has a strange yet inviting design, and it is neighbor to both Holyrood Palace and Arthur's Seat. We did not take the tour, but we will one day. I picked up a pamphlet that outlines the powers of the Scottish Parliament and its relationship to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster. Which answered a lot of questions Matt had been asking me (as if I somehow know about these things!)

Inside the lobby area, placed in lighted display cases, are gifts that foreign governments have given to Scotland. It is usually something significant to the giver's culture. There were beautiful pieces of art and pottery, things made from jade, or glass beads, and ancient-looking carvings. From the US, there was, what looked like, a white candy dish. I couldn't help but feel a bit underwhelmed. C'mon, America!

But our visit was more than just checking out the local government and seeing foreign bric-a-brac, we wanted to see the William Wallace Letters exhibit, before it headed out of town. The exhibit was small, but beautiful. And if your only understanding of William Wallace comes from the movie Braveheart, as mine did, you'd probably find it very informative.

(Photo credit and more about the letter)

On a different day, we strolled down a particularly lovely footpath, where people walked their dogs and pushed their baby buggies without the worry of traffic. Along this path, we found several hills of allotment gardens. What wonderful, wonderful sites! They looked like their own little towns, where all the citizens are veggies and fruits and flowers. Only my strong will (and the 6 foot stone wall) kept me from running through the plots trying to claim one as my own!

And maybe later that day, or another day altogether, I had my first ginger beer. It's alcoholic, but mildly so, and it has the same bite to it as a quality (nonalcoholic) ginger ale. Since this first one, I've had a few others. I think my favorite is the one with Gimli on the label.

On one of our many nights out to dinner, we got burritos. Our first Scottish burritos. They weren't fantastic, but they weren't bad (I had heard not to expect much when it came to Mexican cuisine in the UK). And, they came with instructions- which, as burrito-eating experts, we did not need. Obviously.

What else...? Oh, one day, we took the train to South Queensferry and we followed this awesome trail to get from the train station to the town. It was covered in blackberry brambles and long wooden steps... I was a bit behind Matthew when I got out the camera and yelled, "hey, Matt!" and instead of turning around to pose (he knows what that kind of "hey, Matt!" means) he just gave me the "whoo-hoo" arms and continued running down the stairs. 

Other than that, we've spent our days and our nights just hanging around Edinburgh, getting used to sites like this one:

and this one:

Oh, and I almost forgot, one day, we moved! We are tenants, with a real home address and house keys and all!

The move itself might warrant its own post, but here you can see the guys taking in their new place...

Where we moved to is called Leith. And, (We)

Because it is pretty, and a bit gritty and has a little more flavor than the neighborhood we were in before (which we do miss already, but was, undoubtedly, vanilla).

And just last night, I saw the moon rise outside of our new bedroom window and there was the strangest look to it. I don't know if it was just a reflection from the clouds, or from my rainy window, but it looked like there were two moons! You can't really tell in this picture...

But this one shows what I saw a little bit better. What is that all about?

Fun in the Firth of Forth

Yesterday, we ventured out on to the Firth of Forth, to see, among other things, the engineering marvel that is the Forth Rail Bridge. Built in the 1880, this bridge is one of the longest and oldest of its kind, and is the first major use of steel in the UK. It is also bright red, and coming from Northern California, I have an affinity for red bridges!

This proves that we were, indeed there...

And this shows, that we did not just admire it from the shore, but we sailed under it...

This bridge is for trains only...

So, in the 1960s they built the Forth Road Bridge. It is not bright red...

The two bridges are quite near one another.

But we didn't just sail around to see bridges, we were heading to an island...

At first, I thought it was this one, but we sailed right on by it.

And instead we sailed to this one. The island of Inchcolm, which, in this photo doesn't look like much, but is brimming with historical significance- from the ancient times, to the middle ages, to the Renaissance, to World War II...

Mostly due to this structure:

In case you don't want to follow the link, but you still want to know about the Abbey:

"Inchcolm Abbey was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld. Later tradition placed it back in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland (1107–24), who probably had some involvement in the island. He was apparently washed ashore there after a shipwreck in 1123, and took shelter in a hermit's hovel. The Abbey was first used as a priory by Augustinian canons regular, becoming a full abbey in 1235. The island was attacked by the English from 1296 onwards, and the Abbey was abandoned after the Scottish Reformation in 1560. 

Inchcolm Abbey has the most complete surviving remains of any Scottish monastic house. The cloisters, chapter house, warming house, and refectory are all complete, and most of the remaining claustral buildings survive in a largely complete state. The least well-preserved part of the complex is the monastic church. The ruins are cared for by Historic Scotland."

We explored the Abbey thoroughly. Crouching to pass under arches and doorways,

Peaking through windows-

Or down into holes.

Posing for pictures together,

and alone.

We watched this handsome guy play in the waves-

And we peaked through nooks and crannies.

We climbed spiral stairs,

And took in the views-

 We thought about all that went on within these walls so many years ago-

And read the messages those people left behind. In the Warming House there are three legible sentences on the wall, written in Latin. They state:
It is foolish to fear what cannot be avoided.
The safest thing to fear is nothing but God.
Conscience overcomes whatever evil the tongue has composed.

We saw where the monks took their meals in silence.

We admired parts the parts of the Abbey that did not stay intact.

And dreamed about taking it on as a little fixer upper...

We walked over Holy ground,

And then decided to get high-

By climbing to the top of the tower.

 Where there were lovely views,

But it was quite windy...

The stairs were s-t-e-e-p.

and narrow.

We got back down to ground level.

And maybe went underground for a bit-

We explored the rest of the island, gathering feathers and looking for machine guns.

Matt wanted to go down there. Where it was steep, muddy and full of brambles. He did,

I didn't. I took pictures of autumnal island plants instead.

Matt found a bunker. Or some other war-related structure. Behind him is the city of Edinburgh. Our city.

We walked on the beach,

looking for shells and washed-ashore treasures (which we did not find, however, there are an alarming number of sunken sea vessels surrounding this island, one of which is the Cunard cruise liner,  RMS Campania so perhaps it is worth another look!)

It was a lovely day. A day of fun and exploration, climbing and tunneling, and history of long ago...and not so long ago.