Woke up to everything covered in snow this morning. There wasn’t too much of it but enough for it to temporarily look like the universe went right click, properties, monochrome, apply, OK. Poof. Bye bye colours.
With a windchill of -15C a cafe con leche was on the menu on the way to work. How do the homeless survive in this weather? HOW? It was a 6 block walk from the station to the office and I felt like Bambi for about 2 blocks of it. The bridges over the river are the worst because it’s just sheets of ice and your legs have a mind of their own.
Winter is not my favourite season here. The irony is I preferred the cooler weather when I lived in England but then I moved to the Midwest and discovered what cold actually means. Now I prefer the scorching heat with 200% humidity. My hair is huge 3 months a year.
People have asked how I plan to cope with the weather in Scotland. It’s a valid question. I’d like to think with the continent being so close and flights being as cheap as they are, it would be simple enough to get away for a long weekend every now and then in winter to find some sunshine.
Having a narrower temperature margin also makes a difference. Here the extremes vary from -25F (-31C) in winter to 100F+ (37C) in summer. It’s too drastic. The range between hot and cold in Edinburgh is a lot narrower. 3C in January to 15C in June/July. *damn that’s not really a summer, is it?*
So while summer will be a lot less of a sure thing and I’ll probably have big hair about 98% of the time because it rains, I’ll also have views to die for.
Lakes, mountains and architecture galore. Throw in a bit of history, great pubs, good scotch and Scottish breakfasts and we have the makings of a very contented ME.
As much as snow grinds my gears here because of the bitter cold and constantly digging my car out in the mornings, it somehow fits there. It makes sense in the Highlands. It adds to what makes Scotland magic.
There’s something about the Highlands that makes me feel like I’ve finally found the place I’ve searched for my whole life. This was taken a little after I passed the Welcome to the Highlands sign on November 13, 2015 on the road to Culloden to see the Clan stones.
Tell me this isn’t magic!
Oh, and because it’s Tuesday, here’s the next part of the story down Rose Street in Edinburgh:
Happy birthday Dad!
