Arthur

Monday, July 13

Unfortunately, whatever I am sick with just won't let go. In fact, I felt it start to get worse again, so I slept in Monday morning while Anya went to the National Museum of Scotland. I met up with her at Carrubbers Cafe because I wanted to see the new renovations. We weren't hungry so we didn't stay to eat, but just looking around brought back several wonderful  memories from my missions trip. 

From here, we walked down the Royal Mile, past the Hollyrood Palace, and up to Arthur's Seat. Considering my condition, I probably shouldn't have gone, but it was the one thing I had really wanted to do so I went ahead and did the climb. Naturally, as soon as we were nearing the top, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain lightly. Still, it was nice to be at the top and see what we could in the haze. 

Coming down, you'd think we could follow the same path, but we were distracted and also following a few girls in front of us. We suddenly realized that we were on a grassy slope going down a different way we had come up. But we went with it. The slope led us to a road that brought us around the back of Arthur's Seat. By looking at the map, we were able to find our way to the Meadows and thus to our home. We were a bit damp from the rain, so we warmed up inside. I took a nap and Anya read in the living room. 

We had plans to meet Sarah at her flat for dinner. We could've walked, but I had used more energy than I should've on the hike, so we took the bus. It was very easy to do. When we arrived, we saw that it was a five story building with one to two flats on each floor. We managed to get inside the building as someone (walking several big dogs) was coming out. We hadn't seen Sarah's name on the "buzzing-in panel" so we asked if he knew. He wasn't sure, but gave us his best guess. So we walked up a couple of flights and knocked. The owner answered. Nope. Not Sarah. We tried another two doors and listened in to a couple more but couldn't find it! Once we were outside again, double checking the address (yes, we were right), Anya noticed the flat number in her email. We knocked on that one, even though it had a different last name on the outside of the door, and there was Sarah!! :) The name was her landlady, which is why we were so confused. 

Dinner was delicious! She served us roasted chicken with avocado and pomegranate salad tossed in a homemade dressing. It was so nice to have a home-cooked, nutritious meal! Dessert was equally good. She made Cranachan (toasted oatmeal sprinkled on strawberries covered in cream, whipped with honey and a tiny bit of whiskey). Yum! We continued chatting while drinking tea and coffee in her living room, the Pride and Prejudice soundtrack playing softly in the background. :) It was a lovely evening. Sarah drove us home and said goodbye. Then Anya and I packed our belongings and went to bed.