3 years + 7 hills

Today we've lived in Edinburgh for exactly years. If the first year was about adventure/adjustment, and the second was actively settling in, then year three was actually being settled. 

For me this was the year I stopped being homesick for DC. Not that I don't still love it there, but I rarely think about or compare the two anymore. The streets here are starting to have so many memories of their own. Each one reminds me of moments from different seasons I've had here and the different people I've been here. Craig says for him its the year he realized he wanted to stay. Not that we know if we can find a way to stay, but still. Its been a significant academic year for him too, and this next year will be more so. 

Unfortunately we were not in the most celebratory mood this morning. I don't know about you, but five months of relative isolation is where I hit a wall. I'm very much wired for the aloneness, but the lack of activity, adventure, and direction is wearing on me. And I'm not alone actually--I'm with exactly one other person, which let's be honest, is not always great. Craig has his own reasons for moodiness right now, and the gray weather is not helping. Its the kind where the sky looks the same all day and you can't judge time by it at all. Time is just frozen in place.

But the plan was to walk Craiglockhart Hill, so we did. There are apparently 7 hills in Edinburgh and this was our 7th to walk. Some of them barely count in my opinion, like Castle Hill, which is really just walking half a mile up our street until you hit the castle. Others are classics like Arthur's Seat--a short steep climb with rewarding views. Others a bit further out, like Corstorphine Hill, have been surprises with gorgeous wooded areas and many paths. Craiglockhart's deal is that its a little nature reserve an hours walk from the city centre with two summits--Easter and Wester. The views from the Wester Summit are 100. It is such as unique perspective of the city and if you spin around you can see most of the other seven hills plus a wall of the Pentland hills to one side too. Also I swear its one of those places that looks better in gray so that worked to our advantage. 

From left to right, you can see Holyrood (where Arthur's Seat is), Blackford Hill, Braid Hills. 

And if you squint, the little white dot in the middle of this picture is Craig.

Look how big Holyrood/Arthur's Seat looks in the background! (Far left). 

Out of frame to the left of that would be Castle Hill, Calton Hill (which we couldn't see from this viewpoint anyway) and Corstorphine Hill. Out of frame to the right of this picture are the Pentlands. 

Here's me trying to hide the greasy side of my hair and simultaneously take a picture with my useless left arm.

35,000 steps later (on a count of we walked out to it and back and also I ran five miles in the morning) we sat down for our first in-person restaurant experience of the pandemic. Sort of. Siting alone outside in the cold and wind (our waiter called us brave souls) we ordered our favorite fries from a favorite pizza place (pizza places do fries here, idk) and the most mediocre beers and toasted to ourselves. Then we went home and watched a fun NBA game and life felt almost normal.