2019 UK Trip – Day 4 (Edinburgh)
Goodbye, Cambridge. We are on a train that will take us into Edinburgh, which is the capital of Scotland. I am trying to get settled for a long ride. We will be on the train for about five hours. Eric plans to read. He still has a lot of school work to keep up while we’re on our trip; summer semester at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary began on the day we flew out of Orlando. I am sure I will watch the hills roll by and nap off and on along the way. To be honest, I am still a little jet lagged. I am also still a little foggy from having to take my anxiety medicine two nights ago. Traveling and sleeping away from home is a fun adventure but it is still hard. So I may take these five hours to rest. Eric is like a superhuman. He amazes me. When he is not working on figuring out our next turn, he is working on school, or trying to keep me comfortable. He is doing way better at this traveling thing than me.
We have made it to our second flat of the trip. We had a short walk from the train station to where we will be staying for the next two days. The walk was not long but not the most pleasant. Because Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, it is way busier than Cambridge. It is raining as we walked out of the train station, but we were ready for it. We got our umbrellas out. But I am learning something about myself: I am not a skilled umbrella user. Navigating an umbrella while pulling a suitcase up a cobblestone street filled will lots of other people and their umbrellas is really becoming problematic for me. Also… it is a challenge to keep up with my wonderful navigator while not running my suitcase into the people walking in the opposite direction. But people, we made it!!! The very best news is that Eric knew my neck had been bothering me; while I was sleeping on the train, he booked me a massage in Edinburgh! So we are dropping our stuff at the flat to head to lunch and let me get a massage! I am so thankful!!!
I had a very neat experience at my massage. The therapist only had 30 minutes to give, which I was happy to have. He was actually a Canadian who relocated to Edinburgh to finish his studies. He met a girl… and you know how that story ends. His massage process was different than mine but he did make my neck feel better. I really enjoyed getting to talk for an extended time to a person from the town. When Eric goes to his meetings, he gets to talk with people who live, work, and study locally. But I’m not going with him to his meetings, so my communication with locals is limited to what I want to eat or drink. It was nice to get a local person’s perspective on Edinburgh. Now that my neck is feeling better we are off to explore.
The weather has been messy and so has our attitudes. I think the long day of travel is getting to us. Also, this town feels gray… and I am not just talking about the skies. The streets are gray stone and gray concrete, lined with huge gray stone buildings. Gray below us, on every side of us, and above us.
However, Eric has researched this town ahead of time looking for places he thinks I’ll enjoy. He leads me to a colorful little neighborhood called Dean Village. It’s cute and it makes me happy; the houses are yellow and red and brick, there are plants and flowers on every doorstep, and a pretty little river runs through it. We walk around even though it’s raining because that is what people do here. There are a few runners out running the steep hills in the rain. So we just keep going.
We are back in the flat for the night. We had a neat dinner at a vegetarian restaurant. The restaurant was really, really small. We once again ate dinner super close to other people. We enjoyed a pizza together. I was excited to try vegetarian pepperonis. I quickly realized they were too spicy and not for me.
Eric and I are still tired and our emotions are a little messy. We may be a little homesick also. It sure is a beautiful thing that just getting close to Eric and praying aloud to my heavenly Father can comfort my soul. I am so thankful to have this special relationship with this human. I can be thousands of miles from home yet I am at home as long as I am connected to him.
Tomorrow will be a busy day. Eric will meet with two professors from the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. We will also have lunch with one of his old friends from undergrad who actually lives here. There are also more sites we will like to see tomorrow. We need some good rest and better attitudes. Praying for sunshine!