Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Unwelcome

Moving from Bruxelles to Edinburgh was fascinating. Subway to the train station to catch the airport shuttle bus, the few signs were very small, the directions given by passers-by nondescript. Finally arriving in E'burgh, the signs large, clear, ample. Busride on the double-decker bus into town lovely. 

Transferring to the city bus wasn't so bad either. We guessed (correctly) at the correct stop and that's where it all falls apart. We had to ask 5 different people for directions, though we knew we were on the correct street of our guest house. 

It turns out—on Minto Street—that the numbers don't run odds on one side, evens on the other...but sequentially down one side of the street, then up the other.

Once we figured that out, it was easy.  The guest house was lovely, but I was a little annoyed at the mostly-charming owners: the wife took delight in watching guests and delivery people struggle to figure out the numbering system of Minto Street. Yes, even odder, this numbering system exists for Minto Street ONLY. I think the guest house should extremely clear instructions, given this oddity. Euan, the lawyer we later met and spent Thanksgiving dinner with, lived the next block down from Minto and had no idea Minto numbering runs such. 

Baffling.

2 comments:

SCARCEXL said...

OK, I do remember that you proposed that we should go up the street quite early and I dismissed this with a pissed-off "what's the point?".
I AM GUILTY we spend 1h30 with heavy luggage goind around and around this street. :'(
But hey, ain't that a really tricky numbering?

Tim Fish said...

well, I clean things up so we don't seem like assholes. I am sure both our fuses began running short, but it's all part of the travel adventure!