A Ruth Hodge went to sea, sea, sea.
I have been away from home now for 49 days. And though that doesn't seem like much, so much has happened.
Being a beach bum, I have really missed the ease of wandering out the front door and straight into the ocean. I've missed the sea breeze, the sound of the waves climbing over the one before, having sand in all the wrong places and of course, that scorching sun that Australia delivers without fault (well, most of the time).
So when I arrived in Edinburgh and realised just how close I was to the ocean, after nearly 2 months of not seeing it I jumped at the chance to reunite my tippy toes with the salty sea. So that's what I did.
Edinburgh and the Lothians (the surrounding area) boasts a few beaches, being a rather coastal city. The closest being that beside the seaside town Portobello. It's name is just as lovely as the place is.
Though there isn't really much to see there anymore. In the 20th century, it was thriving with amusements, carnival type decoration and endless ice cream carts and little cafés, so a little Scottish lady originally from the area tells me, as we swap our stories and travel experiences over two cones of salted caramel and dark chocolate sorbets. She spoke of this wondrous seaside life, where it wasn't only the gulls that flocked (has anyone ever noticed the distinctly different sound that gulls here in the UK make to our annoying Finding Nemo-esque "mmmmmmmoyyyynnn" gulls make back in Australia?), but the people with their families and friends every weekend without fail in the warmer weather.
Portobello's main road itself is still quite busy, being the A1140, and a thoroughfare for other places like Berwick. But waddle your way down a side alley with the scent of salt streaming thundourously through your nostrils to guide your way, and you'll find yourself looking straight at it. That big, blue expanse of delight that reunites you with dreams of endless summers (mind you, it is still 9 degrees and in the middle of the day. There ain't no bikini sporters here....) and terrible sunburn.
I walked about 10km after running out of battery and not knowing where I was headed. This was after my trip to Arthur's Seat (another defeat on my legs' part) and by the time I reached Portobello beach I was nearly crying with joy to see the ocean again. My love and I were reunited.
Being a beach bum, I have really missed the ease of wandering out the front door and straight into the ocean. I've missed the sea breeze, the sound of the waves climbing over the one before, having sand in all the wrong places and of course, that scorching sun that Australia delivers without fault (well, most of the time).
So when I arrived in Edinburgh and realised just how close I was to the ocean, after nearly 2 months of not seeing it I jumped at the chance to reunite my tippy toes with the salty sea. So that's what I did.
Edinburgh and the Lothians (the surrounding area) boasts a few beaches, being a rather coastal city. The closest being that beside the seaside town Portobello. It's name is just as lovely as the place is.
Though there isn't really much to see there anymore. In the 20th century, it was thriving with amusements, carnival type decoration and endless ice cream carts and little cafés, so a little Scottish lady originally from the area tells me, as we swap our stories and travel experiences over two cones of salted caramel and dark chocolate sorbets. She spoke of this wondrous seaside life, where it wasn't only the gulls that flocked (has anyone ever noticed the distinctly different sound that gulls here in the UK make to our annoying Finding Nemo-esque "mmmmmmmoyyyynnn" gulls make back in Australia?), but the people with their families and friends every weekend without fail in the warmer weather.
Portobello's main road itself is still quite busy, being the A1140, and a thoroughfare for other places like Berwick. But waddle your way down a side alley with the scent of salt streaming thundourously through your nostrils to guide your way, and you'll find yourself looking straight at it. That big, blue expanse of delight that reunites you with dreams of endless summers (mind you, it is still 9 degrees and in the middle of the day. There ain't no bikini sporters here....) and terrible sunburn.
I walked about 10km after running out of battery and not knowing where I was headed. This was after my trip to Arthur's Seat (another defeat on my legs' part) and by the time I reached Portobello beach I was nearly crying with joy to see the ocean again. My love and I were reunited.
