Here in Edinburgh...

“This is a city of shifting light, of changing skies, of sudden vistas. A city so beautiful it breaks the heart again and again.”

Alexander McCall Smith

They're from Glasgow, but still. This is a good song to listen to by a Scottish band while reading. 

Edinburgh is a place on this planet that seems to exist outside the normal flow of time. Though it has it's share of Kentucky Fried Chickens, Starbucks and even once held a Microsoft Corporate Office, it blends these reminders of the modern era seamlessly into it's beautiful foundation of weathered and moss-covered structures. Some of which have stood for nearly one thousand years. At the top of the Royal Mile sits Edinburgh Castle with it's many turrets and out-of-use moats. This structure seemingly has no place in a metropolitan area of today, and yet, there it stands both set apart in historical magnificence and blending in with the overall timbre of the city.

Parthenon? No. Unfinished awesomeness.

You may have noticed that I am a bit of a fan of architecture. It's shouldn't be surprising to you then, that every place we stop on this adventure, I am in awe of. Growing up in Chicago (home of some of the best cityscape architecture, covering a plethora of styles and eras), I was raised on the importance of being proud of the structures that raised well above my head as if in defiance of the skies. To see some of the monuments and testaments to human ingenuity in person solidifies my opinion of the best humanity has to offer. We can get shit done.

The Royal Mile from atop Nelson's Monument.

Edinburgh's Royal Mile at night.

We arrived in Edinburgh early on Monday after getting up at 3:30 a.m. and taking an hour long taxi ride to the smaller London-area airport (Gatwick). Though the plane ride was only an hour and a half, it was an exhausting trip and by the time we got to our hostel around 9:30, all we wanted to do was sleep. Again.

Thankfully, the check in time wasn't until 2 p.m., so we were forced to find something to do until that time. With so much beauty and not much energy to enjoy it, we found a nearby park and settled into a park bench. Princes Street Gardens is a former pond, drained and turned into parkland. Edinburgh is one of the most serene and peaceful major cities you will ever encounter. Perhaps it's the constant rain or the unending reminders of ancestry, but there seems to be an overall respect for the serenity of nature and the joys that come with it. As all my worries and pains began to be swept away with the gentle Forth breeze, my consciousness also began to be wicked away, rolling down the gentle, evergreen grass hill in front of me. Sun is rare in Edinburgh (so I'm told), so for us to fall asleep on a sun-drenched park bench as the most corpulent, white clouds you've ever seen raced across, low in the sky, felt like a tiny slice of heaven.

Vicky sketches one of her mind's many hilarious images in Princes Street Gardens.

Being the most walkable urban area I've ever witnessed is another striking feature of Edinburgh. In the four days we've been here so far, we have walked countless miles and have been astonished that we continue to run into something incredible. Whether it be a new pub, narrow, winding staircase/alleyway (they call them 'closes' here) between buildings, delectable eatery or simply a free walking tour of the city to join, Edinburgh never ceases to entertain, educate or amaze. This is, simply put, the most inspiring city I've ever had the pleasure of setting foot in.

Looking down the original inspiration for Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series.

Edinburgh is not just a grand, inviting cityscape, either. Oh sure, it's got a great vibe during the day and a wonderful nightlife, but if you can get yourself to one of the many high roads here, you'll see that it is surrounded (closely, might I add) by natural beauty. Arthur's Seat. The Firth of Forth. Calton's Hill. Between the otherworldly cloud cover, the jovial stories of the locals and the rhythmic breathing of the city, being here is being witness to a constant glorious dance between tangible history and future inspiration.

Vicky basks in the magnificence that is Greyfriat's Kirkyard (cemetary).

Doing Some Good...

An easy misconception about taking a big trip such as ours' is that it can often be mistaken for one long vacation or holiday. While it may seem that way, especially at the beginning, the purpose of this trip is to live life in another country. We want to experience what another culture has to offer and that can be difficult when limiting yourself to the tourist traps as they are catered to making things easy for foreigners. This, of course, doesn't mean to avoid the tourist spots all together because, let's face it, places like the London Tower are sights for that exact reason. They are meant to be seen and marveled. Avoiding Trafalgar Square is to avoid experiencing a major part of London's history. Just don't rely on tours of said places for your reaction to all that you can see while abroad.

Trafalgar Square. This place is SPECIAL.

The human mind is an incredible tool. It can process information and stimuli in a way that can be reinterpreted in endless other forms. A monolith of stone and mortar like the London Tower can be seen as a link to raw historical data or even as an abstract representation of an emotion such as pride. Crossing the modernistic twists of metal that is the Millennium Bridge can cause you to think of a specific human that engineered it or possibly conjure memories of crossing it on a previous trip with family. The fact of the matter is that we have sharpened this tool of ours to a point where it allows us to do amazing things. One of many reasons I like to experience things for myself before getting another take on it.

On the Millennium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Tate Modern.

Vicky and I experienced a lot in these past couple of days. From gobbling down a traditional English breakfast to walking across the Thames on the Millennium Bridge. After which, we went on a crosstown trek between two British museums. The Tate Modern in the morning and the National Gallery in the evening. In between, we stopped at Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square and witnessed the fever pitch that is a living, breathing city in full bloom of a Friday night. From pints of ale in Leicester Square to pints of lager in East End, we made full use of the Tube and the double-decker night buses. We drank and danced with some locals and some not-so-locals. Saturday night, however, we cemented the fact that this is not just a vacation to us. We agreed to volunteer with the Catholic Worker.

My brother and his wife are frequent volunteers with this movement that, in a nutshell, provides meals and shelters to immigrants in search of political asylum. Some of these poor souls have been waiting to be made legal citizens for over four years. Taking a break from our whirlwind travel plans to help cook and serve meals to refugees is not something you take into account when planning a trip like this. However, for Vicky and I, when the opportunity arose, we couldn't refuse. Neither one of us are religious in any way, but one thing we do agree on is the concept of being selfless, even if it something as seemingly insignificant as introducing Mexican cuisine to a man from Burundi and seeing the wonder in his eyes at our use of such 'exotic combinations of food.'

Cookin' veggie fajitas with Spanish rice.

Complete thug cookery.

This is another great thing about opening yourself to all that surrounds you when traveling. Sure, we could have sampled another bitter or stout at another one of London's countless historical pubs on a Saturday night, but what better way to make this trip part of life instead of part of a vacation? By helping to enrich a few people's lives, we are enriching our own. We are living life. We just happen to be doing it in a place I've never been. To me, that is truly doing some good...

The view from the bottom of the Emirates Airline on the Greenwich Peninsula.