..Mac and Steve Jobs don’t interrupt my holiday!
I had a feeling yesterday something was going around the Parliament building as it had also been off limits to the public last week. Well I rocked up nice and early this morning and was told by the guys on security that all I could really see was the foyer due to an event. I got chatting with the ladies in the building and it is because there is a conference on a the moment for the rest of the week. Not just any conference… the Microsoft conference. Eeekk! The Windowsness of the whole place sent me into a panic. I needed to ALT CTRL DELETE out of there. Now I can only judge by the amount of security surrounding the place that he-wishes-he-was-a-royal Mr Gates was going to be there. Pfft. So long and farewell Scottish Parliament – I just needed to hear the start up sound of my Mac and get as much Appleness as I could into my system!
I did manage to go into the gift shop and purchase some little keepsakes (with the justification of – it is from a Parliament, so it is work related) I think it is the only place that I have ever bought a souvenir from but I haven’t really actually ever visited!
So today I will just wander around Edinburgh as I have gone to the station and checked out the whole deal for going to Glasgow and I’ll head there tomorrow and come back late afternoon and pack up my gear as I have to leave the Hostel at 6.30am on Wednesday to get back to Heathrow and then onto JFK. 🙂
Now also, thanks to my delightful Mum – my phone is now roaming and so my Flickr is getting populated with some pics.
Other than that I have become addicted to bbc radio 4 – I specifically bought my little Sony walkman as I knew I would have no tv here and it has been awesome. I am making sure I am back in my room tonight by 7pm so I can listen to the next episode of ‘The Archers’ and I just love the bells of big ben chiming for the start of the 6pm news. And their announcers pronounce everythig so perfectly. I-do-wish-I-could-speak-prop-er-English-like-tha-t.
One other thing that has impressed me about Edinburgh is their transport. Ok so they don’t have so many people to move around but their buses and their bus system are so organised, clean and easy to transit on, it is a credit to them – and makes me raise my hand to Connex once more and so SO LONG! Normally, travelling you learn to appreciate home more, but when it comes to transport – this NEVER happens to me. Whether it is the T in boston, the Subway in NYC, the buses here in Edinburgh or even the buses in LA – they all operate better and transport people a whole lot better than our system. It is the only thing that really makes me cringe.
All in all, great time here and I think this also has to do with the fact I have been enjoying these 10-12 hour sleep marathons – amazing how much sleep one can get without Foxtel!