I arrived in Edinburgh yesterday morning. A long trip yet wonderfully uneventful. Transportation from home to Adria House included car, bus, airplane, bus, train, and feet. I spent the afternoon walking around the city with my niece, Kristen, who was visiting from the UK where she works. Early to bed for me.
My plan today was to set out, with no itinerary in mind, to see where I ended up going and what I ended up doing. The first stop, however, was a planned visit to Barclays Bank on Princes Street to sort out why my credit wasn’t working in the ATM machines. I don’t feel like explaining it, nor do I want to bore you with the details, but the mission was accomplished, freeing me to continue my plan to live in the moment.
I found myself wandering through the Princes Street Garden, the castle always in view, always grounding me. Here I was, in my second favorite city, the castle reminding me of the Duomo in my very favorite city. Both structures are formidable, both here to stay, both man made, both God inspired, both with very different histories.
There is always the surface experience of things, but there is also the deeper meaning there for the taking as long as you look for it and expect it. On an empty bench I saw a package. Rule One: be curious, and so I was. To my surprise and delight it was a Bookcrossing package. I write more about it another day.
Rule Two: wander, slow down, take your time, and so I did. I must have spent a couple of hours wandering about the burial groups of St. Cuthbert Parish, the castle keeping watch over the souls, gone but remembered.
It is now Tuesday morning and I must post this before I take a bus to Pebbles, an hour south of Edinburgh, to visit a high school friend. Internet was not working. Now I'm back from Peebles, but that's for another day's post.
My plan today was to set out, with no itinerary in mind, to see where I ended up going and what I ended up doing. The first stop, however, was a planned visit to Barclays Bank on Princes Street to sort out why my credit wasn’t working in the ATM machines. I don’t feel like explaining it, nor do I want to bore you with the details, but the mission was accomplished, freeing me to continue my plan to live in the moment.
I found myself wandering through the Princes Street Garden, the castle always in view, always grounding me. Here I was, in my second favorite city, the castle reminding me of the Duomo in my very favorite city. Both structures are formidable, both here to stay, both man made, both God inspired, both with very different histories.
There is always the surface experience of things, but there is also the deeper meaning there for the taking as long as you look for it and expect it. On an empty bench I saw a package. Rule One: be curious, and so I was. To my surprise and delight it was a Bookcrossing package. I write more about it another day.
Rule Two: wander, slow down, take your time, and so I did. I must have spent a couple of hours wandering about the burial groups of St. Cuthbert Parish, the castle keeping watch over the souls, gone but remembered.
It is now Tuesday morning and I must post this before I take a bus to Pebbles, an hour south of Edinburgh, to visit a high school friend. Internet was not working. Now I'm back from Peebles, but that's for another day's post.