A Taste of Home

Today Stacie and I jumped on the dependable Lothians Bus to head out of town and investigate a potential kennel for Deacon as we have some imminent travel plans. After viewing the kennel we stumbled upon a slice of home...Costco baby!

Our first glimpse of bulk purchase Mecca

Once we gave the membership card checker at the front door the slip Stacie and I were like kids in a candy shop. Six months ago the thought of Costco provoked frustrated images of over crowded parking lots and 10 gallon mayo jars but not today my friends. Stacie and I like to indulge in Costco's cheap pizza, hot dogs or ice cream while we shop and we were pleased to find the same offerings available here in Edinburgh...plus a couple local fav's. Can you spot the additions? Pizza, Hot Dogs, Cottage Pie w/Haggis, Jacket Potatoes, Chicken Bake, Ice Cream.

Something old...something new

Same layout, different country

After a long afternoon of parousing the vast Costco offering and stuffing ourselves on the bounty of 'sample day' we thought we would unwind with a movie at the flat, and another taste of home, ah Blockbuster.

We thought performing due diligence on a dog kennel would make for a lame afternoon but we were way off. Every now and again nothing satifies like an unexpected taste of home!

-Kyle

A weekend, a turkish bath and a beach...

This weekend Kyle & I went out for another adventure in Edinburgh. When we were in Japan (2002), we had the amazing experience of visiting a public bath house. It sounds a bit creepy, since there is really no such thing in the States, but it is actually quite an enjoyable experience. In Japan, the bath houses had multiple types of hot tubs: some had electric current, some were extremely hot, some were cold, one even had a massaging waterfall. So, when we heard that there was a Turkish Bath house here in Edinburgh we decided we had to go! The Turkish Bath we found is attached to a health club in Portobello, a suburb of Edinburgh right on the coast. The beach in Portobello is quite lovely and made me feel like I was back on the Oregon Coast (mostly because I associate the Oregon Coast with the frigid beach air).

Just like San Diego...okay, not really

The bath house

The Turkish bath was not of the same caliber as the Japanese bath, but it was an interesting experience. The bath was set up in a circuit. You started out in a wet sauna and then progressed through three rooms each one a bit hotter than the first all culminating in a jump in a cold pool at the end. My one observation is that everyone says Americans are so fat...correction, people are so fat! We saw our fair share of overweight individuals in bathing suits. I think America gets a bad rap on this one. We may be fat, but so is everyone else!

-Stacie

Te Amo Mexican

Kyle & I have been on the look out for some good Mexican food here in Edinburgh. Let's just say that Mexican is not a Scottish specialty. However, we managed to find some other people who were on the same quest. One of the guys in the program is from Mexico and asked around, which is how we found the place. There were no free chips & salsa, which who are we kidding is the only reason I go, but the food was pretty good.

Here we all are...

We haven't had a lot of luck with fine dining in Scotland. It doesn't appear that food is something the Scottish are known for. Alcohol, maybe. But food, no. Most of the food is what you would call 'Pub' food and usually involves some form of chips and fried meat. I do appreciate how they can put chips (aka fries) with pretty much anything though. Fish & Chips, Burger & Chips, Salad & Chips, Pizza & Chips, Lasagna & Chips (not kidding, we really saw this on a menu). You have to give them credit for appreciating a good thing!

-Stacie