Princes Street

Cheers Bloggees

I have to report that Coca-Cola does have something to fear from IRN-BRU. It smells like bubble-gum flavouring, and it tastes like.....well, I can't describe how it tastes. It just tastes very good.

I have no pictures for you guys today. I have had a very great day though. Today was the day that I really got a great deal of exposure to the city of Edinburgh. This is the most beautiful city that I have ever seen. It is so beautiful from so many different angles. The architecture here is amazing.

I went to a new church members meeting at Starbucks today and met the pastor of the church that I will be working with named Tom and the associate pastor named Perry. I really enjoyed meeting all the new people and even bought something at Starbucks. It was a mushroom and cheese and spinach panini.
After the meeting, I took a walk with Perry as he got me a bus pass for the month that cost $80 and he showed me around the city a little. The first picture is Princes Street which is the main street in Edinburgh and from that street you can see Edinburgh Castle. It is an amazing sight to see a centuries old castle overlooking such a modern city. it was brilliant.

After Perry showed me the ropes, I hiked up to Calton Hill which is one of the highest points in the city where you can see almost every part of the city. It was great up there, but the rain came in while I was on top of the hill and I had to hid from it behind a rock for a while. It was a great feeling though. The city was really alive today. below is a picture of Calton Hill (or a view from it). I'm getting very excited about being in this city and for the first time I thought that I might want to stay, but I've only been here for 3 days so it could just be an adventure thing. I walked over to the castle, up the Royal Mile, and came down the other side where I caught a bus on the way home. It was neat to fit right in with the locals, although I'm sure I must have stuck out.
I hopped off the bus and made a great discovery. I dropped into a shop to pick up some crisps (potato chips) and some KitKat (dark choclate, but the regular is better). And the price on the tag was the price I paid. No guessing the sales tax. I knew exactly how much I would be spending. It was a great experience.

When I arrived home some of Juli's (my hostess) friends from europe were here. Natasha and Agnieska are from Belarus and Poland respectively. They are here visiting for a few days. They invited me down to a "nightclub" tonight, but i had to decline because I don't dance so there is no point in the standing around in an environment that you can't even hear yourself in.

At the moment I am lying in the bed waiting for sleep to come because I have to be up at 7 in the morning to catch the 8:25 out to Leith Walk.

As for a reflection on this, I had much more fun today, but I still kind of miss home. I watched King of Queens tonight and realized that I am a stranger here. I will say that David got me on this show called "The Bill" and it's brilliant. Hopefully, this gave you a picture of my day and time here. I miss all of you guys are home.

Love

Ian