Hello again

Hi there, it's C here.

I had thought I was over my jetlag, but I collapsed in a heap at 8.00 last night, and then of course woke up really early this morning. So far, it's 9pm and I'm doing okay. G seems to be over his pretty well by now, so that's good for him.

Over the past few days, we've been trying to find somewhere to live. This has involved taking buses back and forth across the city, and luckily the bus network is pretty comprehensive. The bus company that we use has a cheap all-day ticket which we are glad to take advantage of, and it's pretty exciting to sit on the top level of the bus (though not so fun trying to climb down the stairs while the bus is moving).

It's been a bit tricky to work out where to live, as we don't know the city at all. We caught the bus out to the west area on Saturday and liked the look of it. An estate agent we talked to said that, yes, the west is the good area of town. Our current landlord said that it would be pretty clear when we entered a dodgy part of the city, and that's proven correct too so far. On Saturday afternoon we went to look at a house in a not-so good area, and the agent was kind enough to drive us to look at another house, and then dropped us in town. He also gave tips about areas to look at, including the advice to avoid the suburb of "Niddrie", which sounds dodgy anyway.

This agent also explained the reasons for the high level of road works on at the moment. Apparently last year the city council wanted to introduce a congestion tax like the one in London. They put this to the popular vote, and it was soundly trounced at the polls because most people weren't keen on paying 6 pounds each time they drove into the city. The council was none too pleased about this defeat, so they gave blanket approval to every application for road works they had received. As a consequence, there are 392 different construction sites on Edinburgh's road network, so I hope the council is happy with their success.

Anyhow, back to our house hunting: we saw two nice properties today, but one had a tiny kitchen, while the other was too expensive. We have our fingers crossed for another one tomorrow, but we shall see. We have another week here at our self-catering flat, though the lack of connecting door between the bedroom and the kitchen is wearing a bit thin. I don't think we will feel properly settled in Edinburgh until we find a place to rent and call our own (and we have Maxi with us).

In other news, G had a job interview today, and then has a second for the same job tomorrow at 1pm. I waited at Starbucks with coffee as it was rather cold outside. The heating must be broken at Starbucks, as I had to put my coat on. Today has probably been the coldest day so far, with bone-chilling wind and a sharp rain in the afternoon. It's going to take a bit to get used to the early nights, because it is dark at 5pm yet feels much later.

We found a public swimming pool (and Turkish baths) about two minutes walk from our place, so we had a swim on Sunday. It was a novel experience being in the 'fast' lane, though to be honest no one else was in it for half the time. Saturday afternoon was spent exploring the Royal Mile, which seems to consist mainly of ghost tours, Loch Ness Monster tours, and shops selling traditional Scottish fare such as kilts, bagpipes and tartan cigarette lighters. We scoured these stores for the tartan of most interest to us (you know the one...), but only located a family crest in one shop. At the top of the Royal Mile near the castle was a tartan mill museum, so we popped inside expecting more luck. There was none to be had - we asked a shop assistant whether they had any of this tartan and she said that it "wasn't very popular." They clearly don't appreciate quality. She brought up a picture of the tartan on a computer with a small blurb about the family history, and offered to print it out for five pounds (we declined). We assume that they would make up a kilt in the tartan if we ordered it, but if they charge five quid for a piece of paper I shudder to think of the price of a whole outfit.

G has yet to get a proper coat, but considering today's brutal weather it won't be long until that situation is rectified. I shall also get a proper coat (that is a bit more stylish than my current 3 pound coat, though it is a pretty warm jacket), and some winter boots.

Not much else going on, as we spend a lot of our time poring over maps of Edinburgh and the bus route to find the next rental property to view. Hopefully we'll have some good news to report soon.

Much love