Thursday, March 27, 2025

Edinburgh - first days in Scotland

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I didn't know what to expect from Edinburgh and I loved it so much. It enchanted me. The architecture, the walkability, the many delicious vegan food options, the bookstores, the artsy vibe, the history, the Harry Potter Easter eggs - like Victoria Street (above), said to be the street Diagon Alley was based on. I just loved it. My only regret is not having longer there, and not getting a vegan afternoon tea.
 
The weather was gloriously clear and mild. (Our cab driver from the airport reported that until a few days before our arrival, it had been raining for about five months straight.) The sun was up until after nine o'clock.
 
So many fellow tourists. So, so many. I heard so much French, German, and American English.
 
Erin had told me, "King Arthur's Seat is worth the climb, even if (especially if?) it's foggy." That's the hill pictured above, peaking at 822 feet high. Funny story, but as an adult steep hillsides and cliff edges make me irrationally uncomfortable; they feel like they have a force to them that will yank me/my car over the edge if I get close enough. I ended up taking two long breaks on the hillside to wrestle with my urge to come back down. BUT I did manage to make it to the very top, and dashed off a postcard to Erin as I sat there.   
 
 May 2024.

Monday, January 27, 2025

Mundane, drab and glistening

Train car flooded with
daylight, it's almost
here, tomorrow
the day I fly away
(how do I know I've
packed the right things)

walk the streets of
Dublin and Edinburgh
(not too much but)
see a book as old
as books
(not too little)
stuff myself with
Atlantic views and
afternoon teas
How do I know
when I've arrived: easy,
it will be more
real than I expected,
populated with as many
mundane, drab and glistening
moments and details as
here
(suitcase or backpack?)
just like everywhere
I've dreamed of
(brown sweater or blue?)
and then arrived at
My eyes will sweep that
panorama of cliffs and
ocean, famous from desktop
wallpapers without number
and there will be curtains
of rain maybe, soft I
hope or
crowds of tourists possibly,
selfie sticks akimbo
and my mother and I will
take a selfie too
And it will all be
so real, real as my
nose running in that
magnificent clifftop wind

- NaPoWriMo #20, April 2024