Trip to Glasgow

We had a pretty decent weekend. Friday night we had a babysitter. M had a fab time having pizza (Papa John's no less) and playing at the park. Eric and I went to Tuk Tuk, which is Indian street food. It was very similar to Chai Pani back home. But Chai Pani has better pakora. We went to the most wee movie theatre I have ever seen. It was almost like watching a movie on our giant TV at home. Sadly the movie was terrible, London Road. It was a weird and sad musical. Not my thing. Maybe we should have seen Jurassic World. 

Saturday we went with friends to Glasgow. The train ride was an hour, which is apparently longer than usual. There is a tunnel at some point between Edinburgh and Glasgow that they are making bigger, so we had to go a longer way since the tunnel was closed. I once drove from Edinburgh to Glasgow, 10 years ago. Train was way easier! 

First we went to the Glasgow Science Center. M loved this place. I admit it is one of the best Science Centers I have been to. I was there with two physicists and they approved, which speaks highly of the quality. 

We spent a fair amount of time with this swirly sand thing. If you hit that red button, the platform spins and you can make shapes in the sand. 

The real reason for our trip to Glasgow was that the friend we were with was giving a talk at the University. So while everyone else was off to the world of physics, M and I wandered around the University of Glasgow.  M mostly ran around on their nice grass and complained about being cold. We almost ended up buying more sweatshirts but we powered through. 

We had a lovely dinner in Glasgow and caught the very crowded train back.

Lion, near the Glasgow train station.

Yesterday we started with grand plans for a lazy Sunday. The weather was a wee bit dodgy in the morning. But by early afternoon the gray and the drizzle had blown over and the sun came back. We managed to make it out for lunch. An Edinburgh tip (much like NYC, if you go out before 1 it's much less crowded)

Girl making silly faces. 

I have no idea how they did it but these vegetarian sausages were delicious! 

Dessert!

We walked around town some more. Poked in and out of shops. Bought fancy cheese at the cheese shop and fancy tea at the tea shop. On the way Home, M talked us into going to her favorite store, again! 

She's killing me with her sweet cuteness. She has found a series of books that she loves and has bought and read almost all of them. Which means she has read at least five books, and we have only been here two weeks.

(Correction / addition: M says she's read 6 books and wants to tell you what they are about. They are about this 11 year old boy named Tom Gates and the funny things that happen to him. The current book is about Tom, his friends, the mean boy at school named Marcus, and Tom's older sister Delhi. The one she started reading today has over 400 pages and She says she LOVES Tome Gates!)

The Tom Gates books are pretty fun. Not sure if we have them at home but I have never seen them before. They are very sweet and funny.

Not sure why she is looking like such a grump. 

She got to go to her favorite place again, yes the playground.

I have gotten a bit more organized and will throw a project or a book in my bag when we got out, for when we inevitably get stuck at the playground for longer then anticipated. Now if I could manage some healthy snacks for myself we would be all set.

I am a terrible knitter, but maybe all this playground time will force me to practice.

Hopefully we will be off on more adventures today.

Happy Monday!

Lazy Days of Summer can happen anywhere

Thursday we lounged in the park all afternoon near the Pavilion Cafe. Which is vegetarian and lovely. M had 2 cones of mango sorbet and played in the "secret" playground. Said "secret" playground consisted of a tire swing (would be spelled tyre here), a weird swingy chair, a bunch of stumps and a rag tag band of kids. There were lots of people some would call "hippies" hanging out around the cafe. The children there seemed a little feral, but in a fun way. I guess that is who is attracted to a vegetarian cafe in the middle of a park on a sunny day in Scotland.

We laid in the grass. We read books. We said hi to babies who toddled over to us. M disappeared into the "secret" kid lair now and then. When the cafe closed we went home. But now I know it's there and I have a feeling we will be back.

Friday was M's yes day. We had grand plans to take the bus to a new destination. We packed up and were ready to go. On the way to the bus stop, "Mama. can we stop at the playground on the way out?"
I had to say, "YES".

We were there about 20 minutes and then suddenly every kid her age who lives in Edinburgh showed up.

She was in awe, and determined to make a friend.

She tried a few different tactics. I am not sure how she finally did it but she found a friend. We will call her IB. The two of them followed each other around for hours. In the end I finally met her mum b/c IB was stuck in a tree and M had gone and summoned her.

Sadly IB and her Mum had to leave. We gave them our names and my email. Will they get in touch? Maybe? I hope they do. M & IB have grand plans to play and to be pen pals. We travel a fair bit and sometimes we make connections with people. Sometimes they last and sometimes they just become fond memories of fun afternoons spent with the people of the place where we happen to be.

We never made it to our original destination. We let the day take us where it wanted us to go. Maybe M & IB were meant to meet. Maybe not? But we are enjoying our chance encounters with the people of Edinburgh. 

Need a day to chill-ax!

Princes Street Gardens in the sun! 

We have been having tons of fun here in bonnie Scotland. But M & I were both dragging a wee bit yesterday.

Therefore we decided we need a day to chill-lax. Which is really a day to recover, re-group and do stuff like laundry.

If we were home I would think nothing of this and do it. But for some reason being here puts a little pressure on me (self imposed I suppose) to do EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME.

I need to just let that go. Being away from home for an extended period of time is weird. It is somewhere better a long vacation and just living life somewhere else. If we do everything all the time we will be exhausted and broke.

Throw in that kid is on summer vacation and I am taking a sabbatical from my own work and well the number of options we have is so great it is sometimes disorienting. I am going to shoot for somewhat rested and only close to broke.

Yesterday was my YES! day, and it went ok-ish, there was only moderate complaining from the peanut gallery.

We walked up to the Gardens (think Central Park) via different route than usual. On the way we discovered a fantastic little cafe in the middle of The Meadows (think Piedmont Park). I had a coffee there while M played. Then we walked on to the Gardens, which is about a mile and a half from our apartment. But yesterday I forgot to wear my fit bit so it's like the day never even happened!

Edinbugh Castle, June 10, 2015

M thought this was  a cute place to take a picture. She is standing in front of a small tower. But I could not get far away from it without standing in a very busy street. 

Why yes, that is the castle overlooking the playground. 

They have a hammock in the playground!

And a really old church the other direction. 

We bought an over priced lunch in the Garden and sat in the sun for a while.

We did some shopping. I figured the only day I could get M to co-operate and look for things for me was on my YES! Day and that was pretty much true. She was a wee bit whiney, but she pushed through. She was a pretty good helper and fashion consultant, but our tastes are different. She sees me differently than I see myself and I suppose I do the same to her. Fortunately we are learning to meet in the middle. I ended up buying three things we both loved.

We rode the bus home. 

We took the bus home b/c we were both feeling just a bit draggy and tired. All this running around can take more out of you than you realize. M wanted to go home and do "regular" stuff. Which apparently means playing dress up in my clothes.

I just want to be like Mama.

We do not have a TV here. But we do have internet. So M has been watching her favorite show "American Ninja Warrior" on You Tube and a few other things on Netflix. We have all been reading a lot. I am on my third book, which for me is pretty fast.

The weather is beautiful again today so I am hoping we at least get out to the park and do not spend our whole day in the apartment. But we need to do laundry and catch up on bills. That's the thing, just because we are away does not mean everything gets put on pause back at home. And laundry here is hard work, well compared to at home. More on this another day.

We feel like we are missing out on some summer-y things back home. But most of M's friends were busy or at camp all summer last summer, because most parents work. I feel lucky that I can spend summers with the kiddo but it is not like when I was a kid and all the neighborhood kids ran around in a pack all day during the summer.

So we hope you are remembering to rest and relax along with having tons of fun this summer.  

Zoo & Beach

M and I have gotten bus passes and  expended our area of where we can go. No longer confined to how far we can walk we have been out and about the past two days. 

Monday we went out to the Edinburgh Zoo. It was lovely and fun, but expensive so we will not be going back this trip. Incase you need it we took the 31 bus. M is fascinated by the bus map and how to get everywhere.

M's favorite was penguin rock, which was pretty fun.

The little umbrellas were nesting areas, there were lots of baby penguins. 

Any playgrounds we find must be investigated.

This is the Wallaby Walkabout. They must not be too dangerous b/c we were able to walk in their enclosure. M took these pictures of them. 

The zoo was very hilly and you could see the Scottish countryside in the background.

Has M found her tribe? 

Where should we go next, Mama?

A wild mama! 

Photographed by M. Weeks

Photographed by M. Weeks

Bus ride home!

Some how I got sucked into buying us matching t-shirts from the zoo. 

Yesterday, Tuesday was another amazing weather day. So we hopped on the 42 bus and headed to Portobello Beach. Which was only about a 30 minute bus ride away. 

Saw this Barber Shop on the way to the beach. M agreed it was funny, but I am pretty sure she did not fully get why it is funny. 

The Scottish Seaside.

Digging holes with hands only.

Making a volcano.

Sunbathing.

Buried!

Lunch Al Fresco - was a wee too cold in the shade. 

Later in the day we met a sweet 2 year old girl named Nula who was at the beach with her Nana Gene. We played with them. Nana bought M an ice cream. At the end of the day, Nana was loaded down with bags and chasing a feisty 2 year old so, I help her carry her  things to her car. And she was kind enough to give us a ride home.

So far today has brought delivered groceries and sunshine! So it has been a great start, but it is also MY YES day! We will see how well M cooperates and if I can follow my own rules.

Happy Wednesday to you! 

Week One Done!

We have officially been on our Scotland adventure for one week. We have been through every season of weather and eaten all sort of things great and not so great all in one week.

Yesterday we were mostly lazy. We were going to an afternoon "garden" party at 4. So finally around 2 we made it out to get some stuff to bring to the party. It was cold and rainy. We made it a few blocks towards our destination, the fancy cheese shop. And then decided to go back. It was just to miserable. I think the whole city agreed, there was not a lot of people out. 

We went to the deli a block away, which is surprisingly lovely. We got cheeses and breads. Later we took a cab to the party. Which was weird, the party not the cab. It was at the house of one of Eric's colleges. He was very generous to host the party. But it was a lot of people in a tiny house with a tiny back garden. And we only knew a few of the people there. I did have a rather extensive conversation with a fellow about how Americans call their back garden a "yard" and how that's weird. So we stayed for a couple of hours and took a cab home. 

This morning the weather was glorious! And it stayed that way all day. The sun was shining, there was only a light breeze and the high 60! We had an amazing day today. Again a slow start. But we were out for several hours. 

10:44 am - The Coffee Angel. 

M had an apple

And E had some Tea.

Add an I and this goes from a "For Rent" sign to a Toilet. Apparently E & M found that amusing.

We did some shopping along the way. 

Would you buy eggs for £1, not refrigerated? Right by the front door where the heat is on the warmest? At POUNDLAND (the British version of the Dollar Store)? Well a dozen eggs for £1 is a pretty good deal. And none of the stores refrigerate the eggs. So.....??? 

Then M wanted to show Daddy some stuff at the Museum. Digital fish, are surprisingly fun to create. 

We had lunch at a lovely old pub, Gray Friars Bobby. It was delicious and the staff was sweet to M. Though she was the only kid in there. 

Eric thought this Meatball truck was funny. We were trying to take pictures of "weird" Scottish stuff. 

We did some more shopping. Bought towels and some more warm clothes for M. She got a fleece, a long sleeve T, a sweater and a scarf. Hopefully she will stop whining about being cold. We were shopping up at the High Streets so we had to pop into the Princes Street Gardens. 

We are a two headed monster!

We saw a very eerie and "Edinburgh-y" street performer. 

We went up a bunch of stairs. 

We checked out some bridges.

From the bridge, the view of the street below.

The first cup with ice I have had in a week.

5:00 pm, not quite hungry enough for dinner we had some "snacks".  The berry mouse was the best one in my opinion.

On the way I hit the grocery store for some fresh veggies and such, while M & E headed to the playground.

Daddy being a good sport and wearing M's new scarf. 

We pretty much start and end every day at the playground. There are worse things in life.

It is now 9:30 and M is all tucked into bed. we have all been going to be late. Because of the crazy Scottish summer sun. We figured out that it is daylight out for about 19 hours. Which sounds really fun, but it is weird. It makes you feel a little invincible, like you never have to go to sleep. When in fact you eventually do. 

We shall see what tomorrow brings.