Innocent Gun

Just a few observations/happenings in Edinburgh so far:

• The weather has been gorgeous! Mostly sunny and reaching into the mid 70's everyday.
• The Fringe Festival, an annual comedy festival in the city, is currently taking place, meaning there are very entertaining street performers all over the city and all kinds of comedy shows to attend during the day and night. Last night we went to a comedy act at 12:15 (am!) by a group called the Axis of Awesome. They did not disappoint
• I have been really impressed by the food so far. I've tried to keep it very native, partaking in such delicacies as fish and chips (yum!), haggis complete with mashed potatoes and turnips (another yum... if you just don't think about what it really is. google it), and baked potatoes where you can order all sorts or pre-made toppings - I chose cheese, onion and pineapple (a very big YUM!). Last night we had a more traditional Swedish meal with crawfish (where I discovered a deep-seated affinity for playing with food that has a face), crab quiche (my contribution which actually fit nicely since the traditional side dish is cheese quiche!), Swedish schnaps, and a delicious Swedish desert of strawberries in a whipped cream-ish mixture
• Scottish beers are weak!! They're really lacking in the flavor department. I know I got conditioned to like really bitter and hoppy beers with Terrapin, and I was prepared for a lack of bitterness. But man! I was really expecting more out of the beers. I even tried a Scottish IPA (a type of beer that is characterized by it's extra hoppy flavor) and that was a let down! The one beer I've liked is actually a local Edinburgh beer called Innis & Gunn. Even though I was sure every one was saying "Innocent Gun" for the longest time, I finally tried it last night and it does have plenty of flavor, it's just a little too sweet to drink a lot of. I guess I'll just have to hold out for the whiskeys.
• The busses are a little crazy here. It's not enough to be standing at the bus stop, you have to actually flag down your bus when you see it coming, otherwise it will just speed past you. I found this out the hard way! Then on the bus, you have to press the stop button like normal, only they don't announce or show the next stop in any way, so you basically have to know exactly where you're going to know where to get off! But it is pretty fun to ride on the top of a double decker bus!
• There are so many GINGERS! Normally I'm very territorial about being "the redhead" but here there is a sense of camaraderie among us gingers. I am at home among my people.

Simon's parents came in town last night, because tonight there is a big fancy party at one of their friends' places. We are all invited! I'm excited to get all dressed up! We didn't get back in till about 3:45 last night (and we walked a good mile or so home from the city center) so today is a pretty lazy day - just doing some quick shopping in the city then coming back to get all fancied up.