Academic flavour
We awoke at a surprisingly decent hour in the morning, enjoying a spot of toast and jam before heading out to D’s first meeting of the day. We stopped briefly at the Victor Hugo deli to grab some needed caffeination. D noted that their lattes (at least at this place) tasted different, almost cinnamony. It was then off to the University of Edinburgh, so we walked across a large park known as the Meadows to reach the campus. The sun was out in full force, although that did little to warm the crisp air. After some wandering, we eventually came across the very fancy Informatics building, all glass and wood and modern design. The handy thing about glass is it does enable you to see everything and everyone, so we found Greg as we came up the glass elevator. After a quick hello, D had his meeting with Frank Keller, and I wandered down to the chicly-designed lounge. Greg and I caught up while waiting for D to finish. Ultimately, D wandered down and excitedly regaled us of his meeting. Apparently, it was an encouraging conversation, as Keller urged him to apply and to not worry too much about funding.
We decided to grab some lunch with Greg, and he led us out to a tasty sandwich place just down the street. It was perhaps a little surreal to be walking through these streets, lined with imposing stone buildings, darkened with age, particularly with Greg. It hadn’t quite sunken in yet that we were abroad in Edinburgh, largely because we’d spent much of our time thus far with people we knew from Vancouver. We picked up our sandwiches and sat down in an open square near the Informatics building, basking in the warmth of the sunlight. After we’d had our fill, we said goodbye to Greg and let him get back to work, with the promise of meeting up for dinner later. D and I then visited the linguistics department and found Chung-hye’s office to fill her in on the results of D’s meeting. We chatted away about his thesis and conference ideas, before wandering over to the pscyhology building to meet with Patrick Sturt. I waited outside, dozing off in the main lounge, until D came out. It seemed to be another positive meeting. Spurred on by his successes for the day, D eagerly set off to see the city, with me somewhat groggily in tow (napping during the day really fills one’s head full of fluff).
D and I headed down towards Candlemaker’s Row, a winding narrow street with tall stone buildings. I particularly appreciate how all retail fronts must be integrated into the historic buildings, which really makes for a cleaner facade and doesn’t mar the atmosphere. We ran across Greyfriar’s Kirk, a historical cemetary with headstones from the 1700 and 1800s. From there, we wandered out to Grassmarket, a largely pedestrian drag with lots of pubs and restaurants. We rounded a corner and were met with a steep set of stairs and a view of Edinburgh castle. We mounted the steps, and reminding me of the shoddy shape I’m in, until we reached the entrance. We decided we’d save the castle for another day, as they looked like they were taking down bleachers out front from a concert. We strolled down the “Royal Mile”, an expansive street running from the castle through Old Town Edinburgh; although, quite touristy with its numerous whisky, cashmere and kilt shops. We wandered across the South Bridge, which afforded us a good view of the city and its surrounds. It was getting to be fairly chilly, so we retreated to the relative warmth of a mall for a little bit. Jet lag, for perhaps the first time in memory, was starting to hit, as I sat sleepily in the mall food court, attempting to not nod off. We finally made our way back to our meeting place (through a somewhat indirect route) and met up with Greg and his friend Hannah for dinner at the Whiski Restaurant. D was excited about trying haggis, though I opted for the more mundane choice of chicken and mashed potatoes. D described haggis as being a rich, black peppery ground sausage, but he noted that he could tell it was organs that he was eating. Final verdict: definitely would eat it again. We headed over to a pub called the Brass Monkey for a final round of drinks before walking back to the apartment.
