My blog is about my experiences living in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, Spain. It primarily focuses on my discoveries exploring the island
as well as Home Exchanges around Europe. I like architecture, landscapes, beautiful beaches, riding my motorcycle, and taking notice of cultural differences over what I experienced growing up in the USA. I show a lot of photos along with comments, but not the nitty gritty bloody boring detail either! Nor do I write about what I had for lunch today!!
This is all about my transition from an American lifestyle and culture to my newest adventure, life in Spain, in the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca in the middle of the Mediterranean sea!!
I moved from the USA to Cuenca, Ecuador, South America and lived there for 7 years before moving here to Spain in early 2018.
I'll be recapping some of my day-to-day experiences (and mishaps) to highlight what it's like to live here....across the pond...as well as Home Exchange trips to exciting places all over Europe!
First thing I needed to do was get cash in British Pounds. I went to a Bank and tried one of the ATM machines outside. Two of them didn't work. So, I went inside to find out why. He suggested I try one of the indoor ATM's. It worked. Don't know why the others didn't. Go figure.
I headed for the Giles
Cathedral on the Royal Mile. It was built
in the 14th century, extending into the 16th
century. The stylish organ was installed in 1992.
I Walked
back to Grassmarket square to catch the Hop On/Hop Off (HoHo) bus. The plaza is well known for the public executions which took place there in the 1600’s and
1700’s. Well over 100 were executed by hanging because of their
religious faith, being a witch, sheep-stealing, smuggling, and whatnot.
The HoHo
bus tour cost about 15 pounds. I rode the whole loop to the end stop, then sat there for 20 minutes wondering when the bus would start up again. I had booked an appointment to see the Edinburgh Castle and knew the HoHo went there...but I missed the stop. It wasn't apparant to me I was supposed to get off earlier and walk 3-4 blocks to the Castle site. I was late by an hour, but they graciously let me enter since it wasn't crowded. Entry cost 12 pounds.
Here's the video (15 minutes, including still photos) of the Edinburgh Castle:
Since the Castle is built atop a hill, I had to take several sets of stairs and narrow passages to get back down to Grassmarket. On the way down, I stopped off at 'OINK', a tiny restaurant serving roasted pig sandwiches (mine with apple filling).
Along the way, I noticed numerous stores selling Scotch....all KINDS of scotch....too many for my brain to handle!!! And, tons of stores specializing in lambswool and cashmere clothing.
Restaurants were closing...by 5pm on a Friday night!!! HUH? Apparently, to stay open later, they must have a 'late license'.
Everywhere you look in old Edinburgh the rooflines are full of chimneys. Back in 'the day' heating in these buildings came from coal burning fireplaces in several rooms of the home. Thus the multitude of chimneys and the reason why the exterior facades of so many Edinburgh buildings were/are blackened.
So, that's it for now. Stay tuned.......
Next up in Part III
The Palace of Holyrood
Dano
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
It was time for another Home Exchange adventure...this time to Edinburgh, Scotland!!
At the Palma airport, the flight reader boards directed me to Concourse A. I could SWEAR I've been on 'A' before, but it was very foreign to me. It led me to Immigration to check passports. I've NEVER had that done at this airport before and I've flown out of PMI many times. I finally figured out it was because of Brexit. Now that the UK is no longer a part of the EU, you can no longer freely travel there without joining the snaking line to passport control. I noticed everyone in the concourse was speaking English and it appeared all the flights departing from that concourse were headed to a destination in the UK.
After an uneventful 3-hour flight, we landed in Edinburgh and disembarked via the aircrafts built-in stairs onto the tarmac. No long concourses...I was out of the terminal in quick time. Just outside waited the Airlink bus and the light rail tram. I chose the bus.
First thing that threw me off was driving on the left side of the road. Weird sensation! The whole 'left' thing is much more than just the side of the road you drive. Vehicles are outfitted with the drivers seated on the right. You get on the left side of the bus. Normally, you determine which side of the street you need to stand for your bus based on the direction you want to go. But, in this 'left' world, it will be on the opposite side than you think. I kept swerving on sidewalks because I naturally wanted to walk on the right but constantly found myself having to correct my course and walk on the left side.
When I got off the Airlink bus to switch to my next bus, I had to wait in a somewhat chilly, brisk breeze. I thought 'no shorts here', but just as I was thinking those words, two guys came along in shorts and carrying surfboards! Huh? There's surf in Edinburgh? A few minutes later, skateboarders whizzed by wearing shorts. Darn, I didn't pack mine. I usually LIVE in shorts.
While riding the bus, I noticed what is typical in the older parts of most cities in Europe. That being, the buildings were old, with lots of character, apartments on the upper level but at the street level were endless Mom/Pop-sized shops, cafes, and bars.
The 2nd bus dropped me off almost directly in front of the apartment building where I'd be staying for the next 7 days.
Like many of the old buildings in Europe, there was no elevator. The apartment was a 55 step climb via a tight, circular stairwell. I imagined what it would be like to move in and out of these kinds of premises. I bet once they purchased furniture, that furniture was there to STAY!
My hosts left me a bevvy of 'welcome' gifts including wine, shortbread cookies, cheese, Scottish ham, and whiskey. I was doomed to gain weight as I have NO willpower. Zip.
I stayed in, logged onto the interwebs, and booked my next day activity which almost always includes a tour on the HoHo bus (Hop On Hop Off) to get a feel for the layout of the city and note places I wanted to go back to. The cost? 15 pounds...approximately $20. The UK continued to use the Pound Sterling as their currency even when they were part of the EU.
Hello Scotland!!
A large percentage of the city transit busses are double-decker
The stairwell leading to my Edinburgh apartment.
Interior of my Home Exchange apartment
View from the living room windows
I stayed in a neighborhood called
GrassMarket with the GM square right outside my door. Lonnnnng time ago, they used to sell cows,
pigs, and sheep here. BUT, it also has a sordid history in that most executions by hanging were done here. Well over a hundred of them up until the late
1700’s. There’s a marker showing the
place where they were conducted. A few
of the cafes that line the square take advantage of the history. One place is called ‘The Last Drop’. It either meant it was where the person being
executed had his last drink, or the act of the hanging and dropping from the
gallows was his/her ‘last drop’.
Also on the square is the
oldest pub in Edinburgh, the White Hart Inn.
'X' marks the spot where hangings took place
Notice the light fixtures
inside the café!!
Friday, October 22, 2021
I went for a walk and headed up to the 'Royal Mile', a popular shopping street that stretches from the Edinburgh Castle down to the Holyrood Palace.
Greyfriars Bobby Bar....there's a story behind it
Every Saturday, there's an outdoor market on Grassmarket square. Notice the Edinburgh Castle in the background.
Interesting combinations!!
I'm a peanut butter freak. I couldn't help myself.
Typical items you find on menus here
In case you’re wondering what
Haggis, Neeps, & Tatties is….here’s a 'splanation from the world wide interwebs:
Haggis is a tradtional Scottish dish containing sheep's offal
(heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt,
mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for
approximately three hours (although nowadays haggis tends to be simmered in a
casing rather than the stomach). It is often considered to be the national dish
of Scotland, and is memorialised in Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis.
Originally a modest dish ensuring no part of the sheep goes to
waste, haggis can now be found on the menu in most pubs and many restaurants
where one can encounter it in anything from Filo pastry, to Drambuie sauce, to
the haggis, neeps and tatties roulade on sale at the Scottish Parliament’s
Holyrood cafe. Furthermore, some supermarkets have been known to sell products
which are not sheep based. This is very wrong! A vegetarian version is now also
available and while still ‘wrong’, is quite tasty! Haggis is traditionally
served with mashed neeps (turnips) and mashed tatties (potatoes).
The first place on my list to check out was the medieval church St Giles Cathedral. Though it was founded in the 12th century, the current building stems from the 14th century and enlarged over time. In 1970 it was designated as a World Heritage site.
Here's a 5 minute video of arriving in Edinburgh, then touring the St Giles Cathedral.
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
