First Christmas in Edinburgh

Spent a really nice Christmas dinner with a few of the MSPME course people - we had a pot luck on the eve with all of us cooking something from our native lands. There was salad, baked potatoes with cheese, a really delicious eggplant thing from Prasad's wife (called "vankaya"), beriyani rice, 'kheer', lentil soup, a biscuit cake, pickled rice, omelette, 'aloo ghobi' . The 8 of us really stuffed ourselves but it was really nice with the candle light and all.

On Christmas day itself, there was another feast prepared by American Phd student Robert Lamar and some friends at the chaplaincy. About 20 students left behind in campus for Christmas showed up. We played pictionary and I borrowed some books from the chaplaincy to fill in the long weeks before term reopens in January.

England Road Trip

For the hols, 7 of us packed it in a Vauxhall Zafira on a road trip to the south in a land called England. After leaving wee bonnie Scotland on December 17th, we got lost along the way, argued a lot, ate too much Pizza hut, saw a lot of cathedrals and old buildings, played cards, ran a lot, had a flat tyre 22 miles from Edinburgh and did some ASDA shopping at the end. Total time taken: 6 days, money spent: 270 pounds, miles travelled: 1200, memories made: priceless.

Dublin!

Went to Dublin with Amy and her friend KC last week.

I've always been curious about the Irish and now I've the chance to satisfy that curiousity. Do they really drink as much as they say they do? Do they speak with the brogue? Will I turn green?

Dublin was a real surprise - unlike what I expected. It's a mix of the old and the new - The night life is livelier than Edinburgh's with friendlier approachable people. KC mostly led the excursion with his tastebuds as the main navigator. We had indian food at 1am in the morning (arrived there at 1pm), kebab for lunch, irish coffee, bailey's coffee, irish stew and lots of Guiness!

Ireland's sons and daughters are big - Oscar Wilde, U2, George Bernard Shaw, Yeats, Frank McCourt, The Corrs , etc...they were all from Dublin.

The Guiness Factory and Trinity College are the best attractions. I'm addicted to Guiness now - Isaac and Vanessa think I've gone alcoholic.

And so to answer my questions; yes, the Irish drink as much as they say they do - our taxi driver from the airport has the brogue, everyone else was understandable and I turned green with all the guiness in me.

Long live the paddy's!