On the Fringe of Edinburgh

So it turns out we landed in Edinburgh during the first week of the Fringe Festival.

We got in in the evening and just needed to settle down... what was perfect for that? Indian food. Nothing like an intentional carb load to help one shut the hell up and calm down. Right across the street from our airbnb was this little Bangladeshi & Indian restaurant named Verandah. It had mixed reviews online, but not from the Schlossini's. A+. The owner doesn't know his booze, but he knows his food and this was fantastic; we all left satisfied.

That night and the next morning we decided that instead of seeing Edinburgh's sights, we'd focus on the shows at the Fringe festival and take in what we could of Edinburgh "in flight." This turned out to be a fantastic decision. Honestly I think the girls were just about exhausted from "seeing old shit." What we did see was an absolutely beautiful, intricately-woven tapestry of a city. It seems well laid out, well designed, made from largely the same material (architecture and building materials) and complex. In many places of the city you feel like there are two entire levels of the city in the same place at the same time: think Maurits Corneille Escher. Hands down, this has been the most pleasing city to walk thus far on our trip; it rivals (but doesn't quite match) Budapest for me.

We were accosted on the street by two lovely and kid-friendly young ladies advertising their show: Flossy and Boo's Curiosity Cart. We navigated over to the Bedlam Theater where they were playing and procured ticket. Tori so cutely delivered the secret password: "bearded lady" to the box office that they gave us all six tickets for free. This was a show designed for people of all ages, but they certainly connected with our girls. They even managed to get Zoe up on stage and she became comfortable in the limelight faster than I could pull out my camera.

After the show, we meandered back to City Centre and got what Gianna named as "the best burger since leaving home." The lady likes burgers, so better listen up. the joint was called "Just Burgers and Beer" and Gianna and I both got "The Marsellus Wallace" which included bacon, cheddar, peanut butter and buffalo sauce; it was fantastic. I also ordered a side of deep-fried haggis fritters. These were delicious as well, but they were so rich I could only each one, everyone else that partook shared one more leaving two whole fritters to waste. Big burger, late lunch; I skipped dinner. A quick run to the local convenience store had me back with some sundries and a bottle of wine and the whole family sat down to many's first viewing of the Matrix. Better than Braveheart, but I suppose I could have spun that as the "Martyrix."

The next day went went right back into the breach again and saw two shows. The first was a solo theatre piece called "To She or Not To She" on the seism in the theatre industry. I found it a tad slow at times, but all in all well done and definitely well acted. We then went on to see the Sonics in Toren which was a four person dance and acrobatics show. It held us all in rapture for an hour and was exactly what the kids needed; they had stars in their eyes and the raptured clapping of the starstruck. I managed to snap a photo of the wee trio with three of the four Sorens.

The night ended in a rather spiritual away. It might surprise many readers to learn that I am an ordained priest. You read that right. The religion isn't a cult as there are no less than 300,000 of us world-wide. I am a Dudeist Priest of the Church of the Latter-Day Dude. So, if anyone wants me to say "Yeah, well, that’s just, like, you’re opinion, man" at your wedding while legally marrying you -- I might be the dude for you.

Here in Edinburgh, there is Lebowski's. An enormous delicious burger and many White Russians were had: the dude, the woo, the creedence and the cab driver.

My wife took me to church for date night. Fuck yeah.

My Heart Is In Dublin

It has been several days since I last posted... I've been soaking in Dublin. Dublin has a truly magical quality. The city layout is fantastic, there is sufficient public space, there aren't too many people, but most are quite friendly. Add to that the moderate amount of tourism and you get a wonderful mix that says in a constant state of buzz without descending into a state of drudgery.

I believe the weather here (the gloom and frequent and unpredictable rains) are a bit to much for some of the other members of the family. I am at ease here; the attitude is right. I have only a little bit of Irish in me, but it seems to course strong in my veins... these are my people.

Zoe said she'd be living here at some point and has been orating here future life decisions here as we step through the city streets. Perhaps she'll attend Trinity College (a far way from here initial (8yo) intent of Stanford University.

Lisa and I had our second date night on the trip. We went to a cute little restaurant called Stone at Rustic where the menu wasn't quite my style, but my food was delicious and we enjoyed ourselves. From there we did the only thing a visitor to Dublin could respectfully do: we pub crawled back to the apartment. Three pubs and 10 pints was an excellent start for the lady's first pub crawl. We have the rest of the year to up our game, but we'll be unlikely to have quite the same opportunity as that which is presented by the wonderful city of Dublin.

At the recommendation of Robert Treat, I went to the Hairy Lemon and had the "Famous DUblin Coddle." It was good, but not at all what I expected. I'm so used to local Irish grub being heavy; sticking to the bottom of your stomach. The Coddle was delicious (though I think Lisa's overall opinion was: "meh"), but it was surprisingly light and provided the overall feel of eating Mom's chicken soup when you have a cold. How it accomplished this while filled with sausage and bacon is simply confusing.

I realize this post is a bit random, but the last thing on my mind for the last several days has been blogging about Dublin. I'm sure it helps that I can't piss without accidentally hitting a pub.

Humbled by Time

You can go into a field and look at a mound and think, "Gee, a mound." Then you see a really big mound and say, "Wow, someone had too much time on their hands." Then you realize no modern equipment was used, only simple machines, maybe some rafts or boats and human effort. Then you realize that it was 200 tonnes of rock from as much as 70km away. You take into account that it took up to three generations to build and you are left confused.

I can reflect on my confusion with simple awe. I recently reported that Donore is nowhere. This is true now, but was not always the case. This particular area of Ireland was the only real "where" for the dwellers here 5000 years ago. Without mortar or concrete they built these monumental passage tombs. They are remarkably well-preserved given the history of Ireland and the various conquests that touched this land. My awe comes from the sheer architectural feats performed with such rudimentary tools and how their deep understanding of solar movements was poured into highly precise plans and construction.

These structures predate the pyramids of Giza and most of the far east. Clear, robust evidence of culture and superstition that predates any of the current three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity). These people made up their own beliefs about how and why the world works the way it does before (or in parallel to) so many others around the world. These people all passed, for one reason another leaving a gaping hole in time before future civilizations took up residence.

I'm left thinking that these people passed, but had they not they could be here threatening to kill other people for not believing that the retreating sunlight of the new year takes the souls of the dead to a new life. Even worse, they could be more successfully lobbying to restrict other people's rights to questions and criticize their beliefs; religion is religion after all.

Everywhere we go in the world we will see religion. I expect I will stand in awe of the things it has inspired humans to build and the utter destruction it has inspired (and will inspire) humans to do. The very thing that was a safety net for our ancestors may very well be our undoing: a belief in the supernatural.