Life at Willis Creek Ranch: Sunday in Portobello

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Sunday in Portobello

Sunday, June 19, 2016

This was Father's Day. We certainly were thinking of our family back home. We were happy to learn that many were gathering together to celebrate at our house.

Thanks to Brianna for sending me this photo of my fellas. :)

And this one of Melina, Jackson, and Megan

Sunday morning there was a cancer research 'race for life' that took place in Holyrood Park. There were literally thousands of runners that came across the park that morning.

our view was stunning as the rain
came and went and the clouds rolled in.

A quiet morning for journal writing and relaxing.

close up of Arthurs Seat

It was a slower day so I remembered to take a couple photos of the apartment. This is standing out on the courtyard looking back at our side deck. We were the lower of these two levels shown. Then you can see the access to the back garden.

This was our building. Our apartment was off the back of the building but you can see the steps we walked up from street level there on the right. We actually had access to an underground parking area (you can see the entry at the bottom underneath the building) but the parking spot was for a very small car and was too small for our rental. Thankfully, we were able to find free parking on the street the whole time.

We were excited to head out to Portobello beach, another place on Jennifer's 'favorites' list. We can certainly see why she feels that way. :) Even though it was raining, the beach area was lovely. I could imagine what it would be like on a sunny day.

walking down toward the beach

These lupine were huge!

Portobello beach - view of the Firth of Forth

Dalriada, Edinburgh's pub on the beach, was a fun destination. Every Sunday afternoon they have a family friendly jam session. I think I enjoyed people watching as much as I enjoyed listening to the music. Sadly, I was feeling pretty sick this day so wasn't able to relax and enjoy quite as much as I would have liked. But, the people were friendly, the music was entertaining, and the atmosphere was definitely light-hearted.

Dalriada - pub on the beach

Portobello Beach from Laura M. on Vimeo.

front garden of Dalriada -
would be lovely to sit out here in the sunshine!

After spending time at the pub we walked up the street a bit to eat at a Spanish restaurant we had passed by, Malvarosa. The tapas were quite tasty, especially the haddock, and I could have been finished at that point. However, Julie had also ordered paella, which was good, but could have stood a bit more seasoning. (Julie joked that perhaps the country of Scotland shared one whole clove of garlic...) ;) ha!