Coffee vs. Ballet

Today I bought myself a coffee maker for 9 pounds.

Then I bought a ticket to the Scottish ballet for 7 pounds.

The coffee I made before the show was quite good, but the ballet was incredible.
There were 3 acts: the first was a piece set to 5 different Radiohead songs, the second was supposedly inspired by film and the way characters move in and out of frame (for some reason, I was thinking of Blade Runner during this one), and the third act was set in the 1930s with lots of period love songs and pretty costumes.
Radiohead was my favourite...they started, surprisingly, with 'Fitter, Happier' and then moved on to 'Creep', which was completely entrancing. 'Idioteque' was also very impressive, with 12 dancers onstage, just y'know, doing amazing contemporary ballet stuff.

My first foray into a theatre in Scotland was also a bit of a cultural experience, because:

• At intermission, they serve ice cream in the theatre. (I'm told this happens in theatres all over the U.K.)

• Between each act, at intermission, a "Safety Curtain" is dropped down in front of the red velvet curtain. This seemed extremely odd to me, but after some googling, I have discovered the reason behind the curtain. In 1911, a disastrous fire occurred onstage while an illusionist named Lafayette was taking a bow. A stage lamp fell, igniting a drape and killing 8 people, including the illusionist. So yes, safety first at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre.

Here, have some photos...

this is my street:
Near where I live:



The first good cup of coffee I had in Edinburgh, last saturday:

my new city

When the bus driver drove me into Edinburgh on Monday, he told me this:
"There are three things Edinburgh has lots of; that's churches, pubs and golf courses."
And I thought, "oh, am I ever in for a treat."

I asked him about bicycling in the city, since there were a few bike symbols painted on the roads. He laughed at me, saying that biking here is pretty much a death wish. That killed my dreams of finding a beautiful Scottish bike. Walking around, I realize he is sort of right...I can barely even figure out what way the traffic is coming when I'm walking and I also don't know how keen I am on biking up hills of cobblestones.

I live in this hostel, which houses alongside backpackers and numerous stag/"hen" parties, 40 students from the University of Edinburgh. It's a pretty sweet deal, as I have a corner room with my own bathroom and a cleaning service once a week. What?!

The Scots are a very friendly bunch. They have little hesitations towards making new friends, so I've met lots of interesting people. On Wednesday I managed to get a ticket for the sold-out Bon Iver concert and while I was standing up at the front of the concert hall, I was tapped on the shoulder by a couple who were doing a review for some british entertainment website. They asked if I would be interested in taking photos for them to post with the review, since I had my camera with me. The results are here. Pretty cool, right?

Today I think I am finally over my jet-lag. It's a sunny day, so I'm going exploring.