I survived my first day in Scotland. Maybe 'survived' is not the right word. I conquered my first day in Scotland.
Highlights include:
Eating lunch at the Elephant House where JK Rowling started writing Harry Potter. I think I am going to back again- good food and maybe I will be inspired.
Despite my vows of taking a break from theatre, the pull of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was way too much temptation. I saw two plays today. One was easy, it was right down the road. It was a production of Paula Vogel's "How I Learned to Drive". It was a great show. Very small venue, minimal sets.
The second show was the fearless Kimberly taking over. 'So what if it is on the other side of a city that I don't know and I am going on about 3 hours of sleep?' Yes, I bought tickets for Children of the Sea that took place in the Royal Botanical Gardens. Much of my afternoon consisted of first finding the bus station/information and then figuring out the bus system. With the help of a sweet old lady on the bus, I got there safe and sound about 2 1/2 hours early. Oops. I also learned how big the Royal Botanical Gardens were- QUITE big. I had to walk around it several times to find the gate and find food. I ate at a lovely Indian restaurant and then walked back to the gardens. The show was amazing. It won several awards at the Festival. It's a retelling of Shakespeare's "Pericles". It was done by Tsunami victims and they incorporated the Sri Lankian (sp?? word??) culture, theatrical practices, and dancing. It was a promenade performance which means the audience was led to different locations. As al the bright colors and dancing was going on, you could often see the Edinburgh castle in the background. That alone was quite amazing.
Another notable thing- it's freezing here. It's like November weather. I wore 2 shirts, a cardigan, fleece, jean jacket, hat, scarf, and gloves, still cold! Other that that, I do like Edinburgh.
For the most part I like traveling by myself, but I am a bit lonesome so expect more entries in the next few days. I am desperate to tell stories and talk.
And what is up with getting junk comments? I though junk email was bad enough...If anyone knows how to make it stop, let me know.