Colleen is here!

A bit dazed and jet lagged, but nonetheless intact Colleen arrived in rainy Edinburgh today! Can’t tell you how great it is to have her here. She also brought my bike along with her, and after managing to somehow get it on the plane for free (and I always got overcharged!), helped me carry it down main street Edinburgh in the pouring rain. We gave up half way home though, and took a taxi—best £3.52 I ever spent. She quickly got to work in the flat, impressing the flatmates with violin and dancing skills. Tomorrow looks like a day of sightseeing, shopping, and chillin’, terminating with a paella dinner, courtesy of Carmela… We’re also going to book flights for Ireland tomorrow, I can’t wait. Sounds like we’ll have an insider “in” as well, guess we have family there that I never knew existed. They are all (supposedly) really excited about our trip over, and have offered ancestor’s violins to play, pub sessions, and places to stay! Should be good times, I’ll keep y’all posted…

Settling Down and Looking Forward

Well it’s been a long time again, and I think it’s about time I give you an up date on what I’ve been up to for the past month and a half…

I’ve been finally settling here in Edinburgh, have a small but really good group of friends, and have gotten used to my job. I’m starting to feel like I can really call this place home, and at times it’s easy to forget that I am thousands of miles from home. I’m plugging away at my job, while faithfully counting the days until I can quit! Can’t say I don’t appreciate having full time work though—every time I get down about my job I think about how great the beaches will be and how much fun I’ll have this summer. Yes, I’m coming into my last month here, and as sad as I will be to leave here, I have been looking forward to the future.

My Spanish flatmates have cunningly persuaded me to visit Spain this summer. Feed me enough good food, show me enough beautiful pictures and I’ll go anywhere to get more! I’ve hatched this plan to ride my bike along the east coast of Spain riding backroads and vias verdes (greenways), and maybe even singletrack where possible. I plan to work in organic farms along the way, something I’m hoping to set up through an organization called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WOOF). As the name implies, the organization operates all over the world, setting up volunteers with organic farms for the purpose of providing education about agriculture, local culture, and just general sustainable living. After living in the city for 6 months, I’m ready to get my country fix, and I’m really excited to see Spain from the “backdoor”. I think I will also take a week at the end of the trip to ride el Camino de Santiago, a famous pilgrimage that looks absolutely gorgeous.

Also coming up is my sister’s visit! She’ll be here in less than a week, and I’m really (really) looking forward to it. It’s going to be great to catch up with her, and we’re also going to go on a couple trips together, one to Ireland—which I have disgracefully not visited yet—and one up north to the highlands, with a stop at my friend Charlotte’s in St. Andrews on the way home. I’ll keep you updated when I’m traveling, and hopefully post some more pictures as well! Maybe I can even persuade Colleen to make a couple guest postings…

Well that’s the latest from Scotland…hopefully I’ll be able to keep this updated more regularly now that there is internet in the house again!!