Day 50. Monday, 14th March. Edinburgh; The Wet!

Remember this is a blog & it updates backwards! Go to the bottom and find the first post if you want to get the gist of this in sequence...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Monday, 5C & Snow showers the forecast says for Edinburgh.

Great day to be indoors, catching up with things. I'm trying to be frugal these last days here & use up my English pounds as I'm told they use Euro in Ireland, where I'll be on Wednesday, so I don't want to have all these bits of funny money to bring back home on Sat 26th March. 

Gosh, it's speeding by so fast now, I can hardly believe it.

I bought some vegies & meat yesterday & made a nice stir fry last night for tea & had a black cherry yogurt with nuts & seeds for breakfast today & a real plunger coffee so am almost back to regular food habits now.

Edinburgh is cheap to live in as far as food goes.

There is a store called Iceland in Inverness & everything is 1 or 2 pounds! Great idea. Other supermarkets sell things in groups too...eg. Buy 4 mix & match items for 5 Pounds. It could be a packet of meat to roast, a bag of brussel sprouts, a bag of potatoes & a bag of carrots etc.

Everything is packaged & it's very hard to buy single items like one carrot or onion. There is no deli section in the shops in UK that I've seen thus far, it's all pre packaged. Bacon is so cheap & lean. Their cheeses are cheap as chips but very American orientated more so than European influenced as far as species goes. They call Parmesan cheese...Hard cheese!

Lots of cheap fish too. Had some kippers the other day. Absolutely delicious & tender. It looked & tasted like that yellow fish we have at Easter, but much more delicate & delicious flavour.

Even the chicken breast meat is cooked, sliced & packaged & looks just like you have cooked it yourself. Who needs a mum when the supermarket does it all for you?

Anyway, here are the latest shots.

St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. It's massive!

A side shot...

Chimney Pot Alley...

A nice monument to the past thinkers & heroes...

Modern Edinburgh on a Sunday afternoon on Princes Street, Edinburgh. 3C & everyone is out & about!

People everywhere...

A rather decorative spire...

Love Blackie, the begging dog!

The Caledonian Hotel...Originally owned by Scotts Rail.

Not bad. Most pubs have these prices. A pound is about Ausd $1.60 or so.

Found this back street called Rose St & it's full of pubs! It has these nice things in the footpaths every so often. Rose & Thistle.

The pubs are quite small, compared to the clubs in Australia, but each has it's own character. I have only been into one pub for a meal & another for a coffee & a couple to have a look at. They all look warm & cozy & inviting if that's what you want!

Rose Street, hidden away at the back & parallel to the main street, Princes. It's long & skinny & pedestrian only. So much character.

The ceiling in the common room at the Hostel in a Church in West End, Edinburgh...

Part of tea time cooking in the kitchen here. I think the St Paddy's banner, above everyone's heads, is a few years old!

Breakfast time! The bar is licensed & opens after tea at night & serves as a breakfast bar in the mornings.

Looking from the kitchen into the Pool area.

From the pool table...

The TV room. I actually watched a show in English to-day...Top Gear!

Plenty of room to chill out & watch TV ...

If you come here you must take a walk down a fabulous long street called Rose Street. Full of Pubs. I don't know how they all survive. 742 pubs in Edinburgh!