Sunday, May 31, 2009

Learning to Drive (again!)

I decided that I need to learn how to drive manual (aka standard) cars. Last year, I converted my Canadian licence to a UK one. That is something you can do during your first year in the UK and I got it in just under the wire. However, unless you can prove that you took your test using a standard car, the UK gives you a licence with a stipulation: you can drive, but only automatic cars. In my case, I've only ever driven an automatic car, as standards just seemed a bit unnecessary back in Canada. Unfortunately for me, automatics are like a rare and endangered species over here, and knowing how to drive a standard car is tres importante for many of the jobs I'm interested in.

In short, I am taking driving lessons yet again! I was a bit apprehensive about this at first since, the first time I took lessons my instructor clearly had no intention of really teaching me how to drive and just expected me to basically know what I was doing when I showed up for my lessons already. She even went so far as to say that she wouldn't bother teaching me how to parallel park because there aren't that many places where parallel parking is required where I come from. I was too shy/young to stand up to her and say . . . ummmmm, but what if I want to park somewhere else? Say in a different province (which I've done) or Europe (which I've also done)?

Back to the current day. Being still slightly traumatized from my first set of lessons, I wasn't exactly looking forward to round II. Did all instructors secretly expect you to already know what you are doing before you show up for your lesson? The closest I've ever been to driving a stick shift was reversing down a hill for a friend who had trouble staying straight going backwards. I guess that means that technically, I have driven a standard car before . . . if driving it backwards counts!

My first lesson went surprisingly well, I think. I only stalled once and I even got up to third gear which was exciting! I definitely have to think about things a lot more while driving a stick shift compared to an automatic though. And, add in the added complication of converting UK driving terms into Canadian (e.g. "give way" means "yield", stop signs don't really exist, they have things called zebra, puffin, toucan, and pelican crossings, which are really just different kinds of pedestrian crossings, and finally, remembering to make sure I stay on the left hand side of the road!) well, let's just say it made for an interesting first lesson.

Lesson two went better. I got up into third year again, went through my first manoeuvre (a three point turn, which is way more complicated with a manual car), and even drove on a busy road. I also practiced my "clutch control". Again, I stalled once, but overall I really improved from my first lesson. It also made me itch to get out there on the road again with my own car! Lesson three will be next week, I'll keep you posted!

On an unrelated note, this weekend has been gorgeous here in Edinburgh! It's been over 20C every day and I am loving it. Edinburgh doesn't really get this kind of weather. Today, I am walking from Balerno to Leith, along the Water of Leith Walkway (13 miles) with a friend. We made sure to end up in Leith because there are excellent pubs there which I am sure will look very tempting at the end of our journey!

Sunday, May 17, 2009

More Pictures!


Recently, I spent a couple of hours at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh. I'd been there before, but I hadn't really explored the North Side of the Gardens. I wanted to post some pics directly onto this blog post, but blogger is not cooperating, so I am afraid you will have to make due with the slide show to the left!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Stockholm Pics

So, I finally added some of my pictures from Stockholm to my blog. They're my new slideshow photos, so feel free to take a look and (hopefully) enjoy them!

In the mean time, here are a few pics from my recent day at Portobello Beach: