Day 2 in Edinburgh didn’t go as planned. I woke up not feeling great. My chest felt heavy with faster heart beats than usual. I was able to do meditation but couldn’t do yoga as exertion made my chest painful. I googled to make sure I was ok. Lol. I did realize that the air quality in the room felt very damp and it was a very old house so it could be mold as well. Since I was not coughing or had any chest congestion, I decided to just rest and let my body get acclimated to this damp cooler weather. Also it was pouring outside, so good excuse to stay indoors. I gave my body all the rest it needed to get acclimated with the climate. Being on the road for so long does put a toll on your body. Mine was reminding me to take it easy and give it a break to be stronger again.
Well, around 5pm, when it stopped raining, I decided to go for a walk and breathe in some fresh air over a cup of hot tea at a place my roommate has recommended. When I got to the location, it was sad to see that the cafe was out of business and in its place was a fancy restaurant.
I walked around the neighborhood and stumbled upon the “Artisan Roast Coffee Roasters.” It was a charming quirky cafe and decided to have their lavender hot chocolate.
What caught my eye was their intelligent twist of words – “J K Rowling didn’t write here.” It made me laugh at Scottish humor. There are lot of tours that cater to Harry Potter fans because the Scots believe that J K Rowling must have had lot of inspiration from here. She had finished three chapters of her first novel in London but it was here that she finished the first and all the subsequent books.
After a nice relaxing time at the cafe, I started to feel better, walked back to my apartment to call it an early night.
Next day (Day 3), I woke up all relaxed and the pain had vanished. After my morning routine, I headed to “Leiths Walk” to have breakfast and checkout some boutiques and art galleries.
I ended up in the Leiths Dock area. I enjoyed my time here just sitting and admiring the neighborhood overlooking the waterfront. I saw a poster that mentioned about the “Artist Studio Open House” at a nearby building, so I decided to check it out.
I’ve to say that the artwork of most of the artists were pretty cool as well as the studio spaces. I enjoyed meeting a lot of artists and hearing about their personal stories and what inspires them. One of the artist gave me tips about how to get back into the artist mindset and I’m sure her advice will come in handy when I’m back home.
She said, “Don’t be a perfectionist. Just do something everyday and get it out. Have a dedicated place in your home like an “artist shrine” and have everything from canvas, paints, pens, pencils all laid out on that table. Since everything is there in front of you there is no way to come up with excuses. Find a time that works for you. May be it’s after work when you get home, then just sit in your shrine and create something. You can decide whether you want to spend 30 minutes or few hours. Figure out what works and stick with it. Just keep on creating and don’t compare yourself with others.”
I’m so glad that I decided to detour and went to this open house. That’s the beauty about not having a plan and following your heart.
It was getting a bit cooler so I grabbed a cup of hot chocolate at a cafe overlooking the waterfront.
After enough chill time at the cafe, I hopped on the bus and headed to the Queen’s Park. The lush green park with the mountains on one side and the remnants of St. Mary’s Abbey on the other side was a view not to be missed.
I decided to hike up the mountain trail to get up to Arthur’s Seat. But the cloud and fog started rolling in, so I only got to the St. Anthony’s Chapel. Nevertheless, What a cool experience!!!
Headed to the Old town center to have a lite meal. On the way to my apartment, stopped at CC Blooms to have an Old Fashion and check out the local scene.
Finally on Day 4, I made it to the Acropolis.
Did you know that Edinburgh is also known as the Athens of the North, because of the Acropolis on top of the Calton Hill. The city ran out of funds so the Acropolis aka the National Monument to honor the fallen soldiers during the world war was never completed but still it’s very beautiful. The views of the city from here are breathtaking as well. I ended up spending few hours admiring the view and sketching the various architectural structures around the hill while listening to the Bagpipes in the background and, of course, banter from a group of school kids visiting from China.
City views from the Calton Hill.
As the dark clouds started rolling in, I headed to the New Town. It started pouring and I took refuge in “Romanes and Paterson,” where you can shop for your tartans, kilts, fabrics and souvenirs. It also has a restaurant on the top floor so I decided to go there and relax. The view from the restaurant was simply beautiful. Had a cup of Whiskey flavored tea with the fruit scone.
As the clouds started clearing up, I headed to “Planet Bar” to meet my friend Laura for drinks. I had met Laura in Vienna during our German study course. We stayed in touch and, coincidentally, she was visiting Edinburgh today. After some deep conversations about our life and future plans, we went across the street at an Indian restaurant for dinner. Had a nice meal and completely lost track of time, until we realized that the place was waiting for us to leave.
I walked Laura back to her hotel and then headed to my apartment. I love these connections I’m having with people from all around the world. There is so much synergy, love and I’m learning a lot about myself.
My last night in Edinburgh was perfect. Filled with love and happiness.
