Getting Acquainted with Edinburgh!

Princes Street Gardens

Since we've been in Scotland for well over a month now and I haven't sent home any pictures yet, I'll use this first post just to do just that!  Edinburgh is a beautiful city and there is so much to explore.  Although we make it a point to get out and investigate a different area each weekend, we've barely scratched the surface.  I'll make sure to keep posting lots of pictures along our journeys.

The heart of the city is divided into Old Town and New Town, separated by the Princes Street Gardens.  This is where the spectacular (or so we're told!) Christmas Market is held annually.  By the end of the month it should be filled with white tents, colored lights, a ferris wheel, and maybe a dusting of festive snow!

View of Edinburgh Castle from Princes St Gardens

Within Old Town you find the Royal Mile.  This is also where you find the majority of tourists, but for good reason.  On the Royal Mile you find loads of whiskey shops, Scottish pubs and woolen mills.  The roads ends at the Edinburgh Castle, which can be viewed from almost any point in the city.  We've yet to tour the castle grounds, but it's on our Edinburgh Bucket List!

View of New Town
New Town lies just north of the gardens and is filled with shopping and chic cafes.  Although it's the "new" part of the city, it was planned prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence!  The east end of New Town gives rise to Calton Hill, filled with monuments and another fabulous vantage point!  Last weekend, Brian and I took a stroll to the top.

                                                              

                                                                  Brian on Calton Hill

Traditional British tenements

Don't let anyone tell you it's never sunny in Scotland!

And, that brings us to our new home.  We're living in a little one-bedroom flat just outside the downtown area of Edinburgh.  Although it was more than a bit stressful moving over here and not having an apartment already set up (many thanks for my gracious host of 4 weeks, Sophie!!) I think we have found ourselves the perfect set-up.  We're in a classic tenement-style flat, and since we're on the third-floor (US 4th floor, since they consider the floor you walk in on "ground") we'll get lots of exercise going up and down the stairs with Bao!  We're directly  across the street from a wonderful park for Bao to run and canal for Brian to row!

Our park

I swear I am spending a majority of my time consumed with my studies, but that then allows Brian and me the time to make the most of our new locale on the weekends!  While picking up and moving my family across the Atlantic may not have been how I initially envisioned my path to becoming a veterinarian going, this is already proving to be a much more exciting and fulfilling route!

Stay tuned...next time I'll fill you in on what it's like to be 10-yrs older than 90% of your classmates!