Friday, June 20, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Edinburgh: Week One
Well...Its been a long week, let me tell you It feels like ive been here forever instead of only 7 days So much has happened and so much is driving me up the wall.
After Jess picked me up at the station we walked up the road of death aka Cockburn street to the hostel..and then to my room up the stairs of deaht aka 4 flights.
My room was decent there was another Canadian from Ontario Brad...who reminded me of Brad from work which is weird. But anyway then i met sarah who Jess had met through her program SWAP. WE went to get bank accounts which i cant do until i have an address....and then we went to get cell phones....Europe rocks...i bought a phone a simcard and 15pounds worth of minutes for 24 pounds...and to call Canada it only costs 4p a min now that is the most amazing plan..considereing to call locally here is costs 20p go figure!!!
So then we went to the Malt Shovel for dinner which is this cool pub down the street from our hostel...turns out when you live in a hostel you just end up in about a 100m bubble so this pub would become our office for the next week as it had WIFI free if you buy something. Jess had met a few other employees of the hostel and they worked at the restaurant as well so chips and bad food are always free when we go in there woooty!!
The next day Jess and I began our hunt for an apartment, we must have called every single person in the Edinburgh area and got O calls back which was frustratiing. I also did my first shift as cleaning person at the hostel in return for freeeee lodging!! So from 10am to 1 im physically punished by cleaning toilets and bathrooms, changing endless beds and generally doing the most menial work i have ever done in my life....it blows...
So Wed we all went out the Canadian troops to the local pub where Jess has got a job we had a blast and we represented Canada!!! Tonight i got moved to room 8 which has the more longterm guests....and let me tell you i wish i had stayed in the other room...a diagram will follow but lets just say i think i got 2 hours a night....
I was of course on the top bunk each time annnd there are no ladders so its generally you stand on the edge of the opposite bed yank yourself up until you can grab something....hopefully not the mattress though cause that just throws you back down onto the other person....and you launch yourself up on to the top in what i imagine would be similar to mounting a horse....
So im in a room with random old guys who live in hostels...a musician from Australia who we went to hear play on Sunday night at the pub annnd another Angry pole(for those keeping score thats 2 in three weeks)
Anyway Thursday was our first viewing day, we looked at a few houses and managed to depress ourselves so thoroughly that we just had a crappy night and decided to go to a movie...so off we went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall at some random theatre!
Friday was a great day Jess and i were cleaning and then at our office lining up all sorts of houses for us to see! We managed to fit in 6 viewings! We ended up loving a place in Bruntsfield which is the posh part of town where JK Rowling lives!!! So we decided that we would accept and ended up taking a big double room in a flat with an Irish and Scottish guy! We have to share a bed but we're going tomorrow to get an air mattress!!!
We love it its a cute little street a 30 min walk from the extreme down town core!!! And Sarah managed to get an apartment 15 min away !!
So i think it was Friday that Jess worked..or maybe Saturday and Sarah and I found Back to the Future playing for free just beside Scott's Monument right in the heart of Edinburgh. So we piled on all the clothes we owned and spent a night outside at the opening event of the Edinburgh International Film Festival!!! So exciting!!!
Sunday was tourist day!!! We decided none of us had done enough site seeing becasuse we are so worried about jobs etc! So we bought ourselves a ticket to take a bus ride around the town and managed to get out to the Botanical gardens and Leith including the Royal Yacht but we are poor so no museums for us....but it was a hysterical tour with amazingly stupid commentary and we were equally acting stupid it was good times! And that evening was Mace playing at the Globe pub so we all trekked out to see him play! He looks like Ewan McGregor from Trainspotting but less...cocaine addicted!
Monday we walked out to our Bruntsfield and dropped off about 100 resumes to anyone who would listen and tried to get jobs....it did not go well we were sad....ALSO my stupid computer has decided it doesn't want to charge and so my charger now only spits out 2amps out of 18 and the IT guys around the corner told me today that they would like to do a 60 pound diagnostic...uh huh...so im in search of alternative solutions.....
Monday night was Quiz Night...the same pub lets teams compete in random quiz questions and who ever wins gets a 50 pound bar tab.....So last week our hostel won...so out we went...All the staff of the EB hostel and we went head to head with the other backpackers hostel and 6 other teams.....Can you guess who won...wait let me tell you....There was a Guess that Disney song category....yes thats right....48 Carlsburg was our 50 dollar tab and it was glorious....between about 8 of us that was just perfect!! We had an awesome time!!!
So today Tuesday exactly one week from arrival Jess and I moved our things out of the hostel and into our new shared flat we unpacked everything and had a little show and tell me mostly remember that i did pack that and "THATS WHERE THAT IS!!" Today i also walked to the local pool (literally 10 min walk) and so im going to start swimming up here its almost the same price as home to swim....and the pool is in this crazy old Victorian building....(if you've seen the Mr Bean episode its like that but about half the size) I also tried to get a library card but the catch is always i need id that i live here and i just dont have that yet...BUT i successfully managed to get a Blockbuster Card...so im pretty proud..i even asked if they needed workers...they did not...
Following soon is a detailed diagram of my insane room and roommates!! Enjoy!
After Jess picked me up at the station we walked up the road of death aka Cockburn street to the hostel..and then to my room up the stairs of deaht aka 4 flights.
My room was decent there was another Canadian from Ontario Brad...who reminded me of Brad from work which is weird. But anyway then i met sarah who Jess had met through her program SWAP. WE went to get bank accounts which i cant do until i have an address....and then we went to get cell phones....Europe rocks...i bought a phone a simcard and 15pounds worth of minutes for 24 pounds...and to call Canada it only costs 4p a min now that is the most amazing plan..considereing to call locally here is costs 20p go figure!!!
So then we went to the Malt Shovel for dinner which is this cool pub down the street from our hostel...turns out when you live in a hostel you just end up in about a 100m bubble so this pub would become our office for the next week as it had WIFI free if you buy something. Jess had met a few other employees of the hostel and they worked at the restaurant as well so chips and bad food are always free when we go in there woooty!!
The next day Jess and I began our hunt for an apartment, we must have called every single person in the Edinburgh area and got O calls back which was frustratiing. I also did my first shift as cleaning person at the hostel in return for freeeee lodging!! So from 10am to 1 im physically punished by cleaning toilets and bathrooms, changing endless beds and generally doing the most menial work i have ever done in my life....it blows...
So Wed we all went out the Canadian troops to the local pub where Jess has got a job we had a blast and we represented Canada!!! Tonight i got moved to room 8 which has the more longterm guests....and let me tell you i wish i had stayed in the other room...a diagram will follow but lets just say i think i got 2 hours a night....
I was of course on the top bunk each time annnd there are no ladders so its generally you stand on the edge of the opposite bed yank yourself up until you can grab something....hopefully not the mattress though cause that just throws you back down onto the other person....and you launch yourself up on to the top in what i imagine would be similar to mounting a horse....
So im in a room with random old guys who live in hostels...a musician from Australia who we went to hear play on Sunday night at the pub annnd another Angry pole(for those keeping score thats 2 in three weeks)
Anyway Thursday was our first viewing day, we looked at a few houses and managed to depress ourselves so thoroughly that we just had a crappy night and decided to go to a movie...so off we went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall at some random theatre!
Friday was a great day Jess and i were cleaning and then at our office lining up all sorts of houses for us to see! We managed to fit in 6 viewings! We ended up loving a place in Bruntsfield which is the posh part of town where JK Rowling lives!!! So we decided that we would accept and ended up taking a big double room in a flat with an Irish and Scottish guy! We have to share a bed but we're going tomorrow to get an air mattress!!!
We love it its a cute little street a 30 min walk from the extreme down town core!!! And Sarah managed to get an apartment 15 min away !!
So i think it was Friday that Jess worked..or maybe Saturday and Sarah and I found Back to the Future playing for free just beside Scott's Monument right in the heart of Edinburgh. So we piled on all the clothes we owned and spent a night outside at the opening event of the Edinburgh International Film Festival!!! So exciting!!!
Sunday was tourist day!!! We decided none of us had done enough site seeing becasuse we are so worried about jobs etc! So we bought ourselves a ticket to take a bus ride around the town and managed to get out to the Botanical gardens and Leith including the Royal Yacht but we are poor so no museums for us....but it was a hysterical tour with amazingly stupid commentary and we were equally acting stupid it was good times! And that evening was Mace playing at the Globe pub so we all trekked out to see him play! He looks like Ewan McGregor from Trainspotting but less...cocaine addicted!
Monday we walked out to our Bruntsfield and dropped off about 100 resumes to anyone who would listen and tried to get jobs....it did not go well we were sad....ALSO my stupid computer has decided it doesn't want to charge and so my charger now only spits out 2amps out of 18 and the IT guys around the corner told me today that they would like to do a 60 pound diagnostic...uh huh...so im in search of alternative solutions.....
Monday night was Quiz Night...the same pub lets teams compete in random quiz questions and who ever wins gets a 50 pound bar tab.....So last week our hostel won...so out we went...All the staff of the EB hostel and we went head to head with the other backpackers hostel and 6 other teams.....Can you guess who won...wait let me tell you....There was a Guess that Disney song category....yes thats right....48 Carlsburg was our 50 dollar tab and it was glorious....between about 8 of us that was just perfect!! We had an awesome time!!!
So today Tuesday exactly one week from arrival Jess and I moved our things out of the hostel and into our new shared flat we unpacked everything and had a little show and tell me mostly remember that i did pack that and "THATS WHERE THAT IS!!" Today i also walked to the local pool (literally 10 min walk) and so im going to start swimming up here its almost the same price as home to swim....and the pool is in this crazy old Victorian building....(if you've seen the Mr Bean episode its like that but about half the size) I also tried to get a library card but the catch is always i need id that i live here and i just dont have that yet...BUT i successfully managed to get a Blockbuster Card...so im pretty proud..i even asked if they needed workers...they did not...
Following soon is a detailed diagram of my insane room and roommates!! Enjoy!
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