haggis & bagpipes

My husband and I arrived in London by plane on July 29th. We took the tube to the train station and waited there with our luggage for 4 hours. We were exhausted and took turns taking uncomfortable naps in a corner of the station. Around 1:00 in the afternoon, we boarded our train. It took around 4 hours to get to Edinburgh, Scotland.

About a month ago, we were contacted by a Canadian girl, through couchsurfing.com, who was living in Edinburgh getting her masters. She was moving in with her boyfriend and offered to rent us her room in a student flat for the month of August so that we'd have a place to go to when we arrived. Her name is Mel and she met us at the train station. She's been amazing - so helpful and friendly. Thank you couchsurfing.com for bringing her into our lives.

We took a cab to our new home, which only cost about £4 since it was so close. It was my first time riding in a vehicle on the left side of the road and if felt strange. The cab itself was pretty neat compared to north American ones. They don't have boots (trunks). Instead, the backseat has tons of leg room and your luggage goes back there with you.

It was really nice to have a home to go to when we first arrived as we were so tired. We slept for about 14 hours that first night. It took about 4-5 days, but we got over the jet lag and are on UK time now.

Our current home is a 3 bedroom flat which we share with 2 other masters students (both very nice). It's in the old part of town which means that the flat has loads of character - tall ceilings, crown moldings, tall windows with shutters... It's a beautiful place. But it's also quite chilly so we drink lots of tea. We have a mouse as well; I saw it the other night.

The weather here is fall-like. Although we've had a couple of pretty hot days too. It's humid, but not nearly as humid as Montreal was. The city itself is beautiful. Lots of old brick and stone, lots of big chimneys, lots of green space and parks.

We ate haggis for the first time the other night. We both really liked it. It tastes kind of like peppery shepard's pie. Good and filling.

And, yesterday we found a wood folding table and chairs in excellent condition in a parking garage for FREE.

We've been here just over a week and things are going quite well. We managed to set up a bank account without a problem - something we were warned would be difficult to do. We're on our way to getting national insurance numbers. We have a place to live for the next 6 months and are looking for work. We've been meeting nice people and making some friends. I love the way people talk here. And, the other day I heard Celine Dion's 'My Hearth Will Go On' being played on bagpipes. Awesome. I think we're really going to like living here.