Welcome to Edinburgh

(By Chris)

I've safely arrived (36 hours ago)!
My first adventure started before I even boarded the plane, as I managed to lose my carry-on after leaving it in the waiting area for ten minutes or so. Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for the thief) there's really nothing but T-shirts and sweatshirts in there, so they managed to get little more than what amounts to a Goodwill Combo-Pak. Mom and Dad are helping send a box with some of my spare clothes, so that solves that!
With that little mishap in the past, though, I went through Amsterdam airport (which was unfortunately far from the city center, so I couldn't go explore) and found a fancy thing the European Starbucks have:
Adorable espresso-sized cups! And, if you order one "for here" you get a full ceramic saucer with a tiny little espresso cup, unlike at home where they just throw everything at you in the 3 typical paper cups.
Also, the Dutch vending machines look like iPods.
Anyway, as I arrived at about 4:30 in the afternoon, the sun was already pretty much down for the day, and I felt like a dragon blowing smoke everywhere out in the cold. The city is incredibly beautiful, though, with buildings centuries old hanging out right next to a modern H&M outlet:
I've been having a great time wandering around when I get the chance, so the various errands like setting up my phone (07954 987 736) and getting a hat have become total field trips.

It took a certain amount of calling around and visiting various offices to get my internet working and all that, but I'm settled for the most part. I look forward to writing more in the near future; I have to report on the Scottish Breakfast! Oh, and Pete Carroll, please please stay. If for no other reason than to leave on a high note, stick around for another year or two. *sigh*