As a result of this completely obvious revelation, I've made an epic To-Do list and I've been checking things off over the last couple weeks (sorry for the silence, by the way). Now, one of the areas that I've been fascinated with since my arrival is the Princes Street Gardens. Located drop-dead in the center of the city, they are a sunken wonderland. Bordered by Princes Street to the north and the Royal Mile, set high on the hill to the south. You have to walk down stairs to get to the gardens and there are actually two gardens down there - the east and west gardens. A few of my flatmates and I went to the West gardens on the Saturday before last because they were having Oktoberfest and we wanted to check it out. Before we even walked through the equally enchanting and creepy cemetery, we could already hear the music. But, instead of German music (as we were expecting), we heard some American classics - including a surprisingly fantastic dance mix of "Take Me Home, Country Road" by John Denver. Unfortunately, "Oktoberfest" ended up being one tent filled with people getting drunk at 4 in the afternoon and wearing lederhosen. Yeah, not exactly the culturally rich experience we were looking for - though an experience of a different kind, I'm sure. Fortunately for us, this led to a beautiful and scenic walk through the gardens in fall, which was really relaxing and fun. My favorite part from the west gardens was the picturesque little cottage set in the shadow of the national gallery high above.
The other local place I visited this past weekend was Dean's Village! One of the Edinburgh World Heritage locations, Dean's Village was the center of water mills in the city and it lies along the river Leith. The most recognizable building in the village is Wells Court which was built in the 1880's as model housing for local workers and was recently restored.
After leaving the village, we were able to walk for about a mile along the Leith Walk, which runs right through the middle of the city and on through the Pentlands (which is another place I'll be checking out soon, too, because it's a nearby national park). The river is 22 miles long and because Edinburgh is really built on upper and lower levels, in most areas of the city you won't see it unless you look for it! Despite getting rained on multiple times, the walk along Leith River was one my favorite things I've done since coming here. It's just so wonderful to see the design of the city and how important incorporating wild life and natural areas are to the local people.
Another thing I'll add is that the weather in Edinburgh is finally starting to live up to its reputation! On Saturday alone it was sunny, rainy, windy, and many things in between. But, on the up side, I've seen a rainbow every day for the last 3 days because it's often raining while sunny around here. It's a little disorienting and I've basically giving up on trying to predict the weather and instead I keep a small umbrella with me at all times! Otherwise...you get the picture below. :)
Wet rats hiding from the rain under a tree
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