cobblestones and bunk beds
I woke up this morning at 6:47 and thought, Edinburgh! Or, more precisely, I thought of standing on the North Bridge in the early morning, and how wonderful that could be.
And maybe it was another four hours before I actually got outside, but I had a shower and a good breakfast and paid £3.50 to have my laundry washed, dried, folded, and returned to my bed. (Let it be noted that, while that is very convenient, it makes me the slightest bit uncomfortable to think of strangers washing and folding my undies. Oh well!) Oh and I also read the paper, because there were copies of the Scotsman and the Observer on the dining room tables.
I like this hostel so far, because it seems like they really know what they're doing when it comes to running a hostel. I've been to a couple of places on this trip so far that felt too crowded, and cramped, and even if there were aspects of each that I enjoyed, I probably won't return to them. My favorite hostels so far have been Dunloe View in Killarney, Rowan Tree in Ennis, and Captain Halpin's Bunkhouse in Wicklow (even if that one was a little shabby around the edges). And while I like each of them for different reasons, to me they all felt like places to stay and rest your bones, instead of places to crash while you're bustling around being a tourist.
(I have a feeling I would like the hostel on Cape Clear, but since I never actually entered the building I don't feel right commenting on the interior, you know?)
Bunk beds are becoming a thing I have preferences about, too. Dunloe View has these incredibly solid, wider-than-average beds with incredibly soft mattresses, and that was very nice. Rowan Tree (and so. many. others.) have these metal numbers that wiggle no matter if you're on the bottom or top bunk, and this hostel I'm currently staying at has what appears to be beds custom-made to fit the room. They're built into the walls: no wiggling here!
This hostel also retains the building's original entryway, two steps and a rounded door with a coat of arms, which I'll take a picture of tomorrow, dating from the mid-1500s. EDINBURGH. YOU KEEP SMACKING ME IN THE FACE WITH YOUR HISTORY. i love it.
It makes me curious in two main ways: One, what is all this history that keeps asserting itself in the midst of smartphone-clutching tourists and luxury cars? Tomorrow I'm going to take some tours and visit some museums to find out. But the second way I was curious is I am wondering what living in Edinburgh is like. Not as a tourist, or someone passing through, but as a resident. Better yet, as someone who's lived in the city all their lives. I want to hear their stories, too. Hopefully the museums I'll visit tomorrow (some free ones I found, wee ones that seem interesting) will give me answers. Or, at least, more pointed questions!
And maybe it was another four hours before I actually got outside, but I had a shower and a good breakfast and paid £3.50 to have my laundry washed, dried, folded, and returned to my bed. (Let it be noted that, while that is very convenient, it makes me the slightest bit uncomfortable to think of strangers washing and folding my undies. Oh well!) Oh and I also read the paper, because there were copies of the Scotsman and the Observer on the dining room tables.
I like this hostel so far, because it seems like they really know what they're doing when it comes to running a hostel. I've been to a couple of places on this trip so far that felt too crowded, and cramped, and even if there were aspects of each that I enjoyed, I probably won't return to them. My favorite hostels so far have been Dunloe View in Killarney, Rowan Tree in Ennis, and Captain Halpin's Bunkhouse in Wicklow (even if that one was a little shabby around the edges). And while I like each of them for different reasons, to me they all felt like places to stay and rest your bones, instead of places to crash while you're bustling around being a tourist.
(I have a feeling I would like the hostel on Cape Clear, but since I never actually entered the building I don't feel right commenting on the interior, you know?)
Bunk beds are becoming a thing I have preferences about, too. Dunloe View has these incredibly solid, wider-than-average beds with incredibly soft mattresses, and that was very nice. Rowan Tree (and so. many. others.) have these metal numbers that wiggle no matter if you're on the bottom or top bunk, and this hostel I'm currently staying at has what appears to be beds custom-made to fit the room. They're built into the walls: no wiggling here!
This hostel also retains the building's original entryway, two steps and a rounded door with a coat of arms, which I'll take a picture of tomorrow, dating from the mid-1500s. EDINBURGH. YOU KEEP SMACKING ME IN THE FACE WITH YOUR HISTORY. i love it.
It makes me curious in two main ways: One, what is all this history that keeps asserting itself in the midst of smartphone-clutching tourists and luxury cars? Tomorrow I'm going to take some tours and visit some museums to find out. But the second way I was curious is I am wondering what living in Edinburgh is like. Not as a tourist, or someone passing through, but as a resident. Better yet, as someone who's lived in the city all their lives. I want to hear their stories, too. Hopefully the museums I'll visit tomorrow (some free ones I found, wee ones that seem interesting) will give me answers. Or, at least, more pointed questions!