a blog with relatively few words, particularly for a girl who speaks many...

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Edinburgh - Required Stops

Today we decided to basically be tourists. We visited Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile and then had dinner with a friend of mine down by the Shore. To be honest - well, the castle was...a castle. While grand and big and certainly a stand-out among the landscape here, it wasn't terribly riveting. Perhaps the best part was the actual Crown Jewels, though they didn't really give a lot of information and did not at all touch on the controversy surrounding the Stone of Destiny, which is housed with the crown and other jewels.

To wake up after what was a bit of a snooze-site, we headed down the Royal Mile which is mostly tourists however, Jill popped into a small hole-in-the-wall doorway that led to a what was a very authentic pub. The whole bar - including the bartender - cleared out when it was time to smoke, and the youngest patron was likely 65...in a nod to the locals, Jill started her tour of whiskey and scotch. The bartender asked Jill if she'd had any "nookie-nookie" yet and then, when she said "no," he retorted with, "well, come'on back then..." Oy! It was a fun, very salt-of-the-earth experience.

After, we decided it was nap time - and nap we did! Later, we met up for dinner with friend, and then despite lofty goals, did not go out to the big 'women-only' dance party that happens monthly, rather, we furthered worked toward our goal of "no jet lag!" which, despite how much we were telling ourselves "we have no jetlag" well, we did...

Btw - Jill has an odometer...today, the number of steps walked: 14,500






Some shots from Old Town (Castle & Royal Mile), including the Braille version of the crown; strange cukes, signs...there are *a lot* of fish, chicken & pizza all-in-one places here!

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Edinburgh - Out and About

We got in at 7 p.m. or so, and the innkeeper Tracy gave us some recommendations "close to home." While Edinburgh does not exactly have a burgeoning gay community, it has an area and a few bars. We hit a local low-key pub-style restaurant in the 'hood and encountered kind, helpful folks. I had Bangers & Mash, while Jill had some sort of fish cake & fries (here on out, called chips - to which she is addicted).

After, since it was Saturday, we went to Planet Out, a cool lesbian-mostly bar where we had a drink and just people-watched. The DJ was phenomenal - I thought, "wow, we'll start hearing this music in clubs in Seattle in about 9 months..." We briefly popped into another one of Tracy's recommended bars before heading home to start working ourselves onto GMT.










Bangers & Mash + the local beverage; Our neighborhood; Clubs; Jenn & Jill out and about - jetlagged!

Friday, May 25, 2007

Seattle To Edinburgh, Scotland!




Honestly, I could rattle on (I do have that gift), but there's really not much to say about our journey. Fortunately, it was uneventful, zippy (8.5 hours from Seattle to London, a quick layover, and then a more-or-less on-time flight to Edinburgh). We left Seattle Friday evening and arrived the following evening in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's a first-time visit to Scotland for us both! We're staying at a gay-owned B&B in Pilrig, off of Leith Walk. It's about a 20-minute walk to the city center.

Oh, and let the camera wars begin! This is my first time traveling with someone who shoots as many - or more - photos than me! So, the photos posted will be a mix of both of our cameras.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Friday, February 23, 2007

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Shins



Saturday, February 17, 2007

Friday, February 16, 2007

Neighbor Dinner February, w/recipes

Here's what I made - it was my turn to cook!

Snackies:
Tiny Roquefort Popovers

Warm Olives in Orange Oil

Salad:
Asparagus, Beet & Goat Cheese Salad

Fish Course: ***HALF IT***
Pan-Seared Scallops with Apple-Onion Marmalade and Bacon

Palate Cleanser: Grapefruit Granité

Meat/Pasta Course:
Risotto Rustica with Prosciutto and Arugula

Pork Scallopini with Mushrooms and Marsala Sauce

Bacon/bluecheese/nut stuffed dates/hard cheese

Chocolate-Coated Orange Cookies

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Rover's



Monday, February 05, 2007

Friday, January 19, 2007

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

smiley girlz



Monday, January 15, 2007

blurred



Saturday, January 13, 2007

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

City Snow!