Scribbles for the weekend #6
Today our coffee is by bike, the sun is shining, one of the nicer days of the week. It’s a T-shirt kind of day. The last of the years sun, the warm September days that should be bottled in order to carry them through into winter. There are people swimming in the sea, the usual noises of children playing on the periphery. The tide is in and the sound of the waves crashing over the sand is a tonic for the soul.
Portobello beach front meets a number of demands, a clash of cultural differences. Kim Wilde the ‘Kids in a America‘ blasts out the small arcade which feels like a small part of the 80’s wrapped in a bubble, outside an upmarket coffee van tapping into the coffee culture. Further down the promenade next to the boat huts is the beach house café serving great food, great cakes and where we pick up our scone to go with our flasks.
From here we cycle along the promenade towards the old port area of Leith and the north Edinburgh cycle route which is just a brilliant network of disused repurposed railway routes. Our ultimate destination is iconic Forth Railway bridge taking in the village of Cramond along the coast and through the country grounds of Dalmeny House. A 30 mile or so round trip which my wife called out as one of her best ever days cycling.
We make it back in time to catch the last of the days sun in the garden, a small beer and a gin and tonic. So if you prefer that to your coffee, your welcome to an aperitif.
Dinner this evening…. Sea Bass, picked up from the high street in Portobello (a wonderful little fish shop) served with samphire, warm mixed grains and z’atarr roasted squash.
The apples are starting to fall from the tree in the garden, a clear sign they are ready for the taking and with my son having a pal staying over a perfect opportunity for a crumble without feeling too guilty or eating too much as there is an extra teenager needing the fuel! Apple and Rhubarb. An excuse to use the spoils in the garden.
The #WeekendCoffeeShare is an informal weekly link-up hosted by Natalie the Explorer that serves as weekly heart beat and sort of of a mind-dump. Helps me reflect on my week, with a list of achievements, thoughts and rambles normally whilst drinking a beverage probably listening to music.
Looks like a very nice bike outing. Your sea bass dinner sounds delicious. No apple crumble photos? Thank you for linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare.
It’s usually gone, before I get to take any 🙂 Will try next time!
Pretty scenery and the crumble sounds good. I like strawberry rhubarb pie. But I buy it at a bakery. I have made an apple crumble.
Strawberry and Rhubard make a wonderful crumble mixture. Would love a bakery close by that sold that as a pie.
It might be easy to make. I have always thought the crust is the hardest thing to get right. My mother could make a great pie crust. A crumble is easier though.
Taking me down Nostaliga Avenue with these pictures as I grew up in Edinburgh. Your dinner sounds wonderful.
Must be funny seeing this pictures pop up that you recognise that are so far away. Thanks for saying hello.
Hi EC. Your ride reminds me of one we used to take when I was dating a cute Chinese gal I’d long had a crush on from high school who now lived in San Francisco where I was attending trade school. So, young and blissfully dumb but loving every day and hour we had together.
It started in our home town of Petaluma and sent south over a short range of minor mountains, past many wild berry patches to a great place simply named The Cheese Factory, which was way out in the country, housed between multiple dairies, was open to the public with a nice picnic area where folks could come, take a tour, buy several types of cheese but most came for their Camembert ripened Brie and a basic treat named Petite Breakfast cheese.
That place is no longer with us, but the company has moved back towards town and thus that cheese is still loved and with us in many stores.
That bike ride was about 30 miles round trip and those were wonderful rides through the country with a girl who was about the only thing that could improve a near perfect day.
A nice memory to reflect on Gary, sounds wonderful. I feel like I’m coming out the other side of rearing the kids and getting back to creating new memories (not that we don’t have good memories with the kids) of spending time with my wife on near perfect days.
Hi EC, yea, us too. Our middle child, our only girl is trying to get into medical school (what a nasty chore that is!) so is living at home while working and filling out endless applications, but both her younger and older brothers are out of the house now and I’m close to retiring with my wife not far behind. So a big chapter close is approaching and I catch myself thinking and trying to visualize what that will look like. I’ve worked pretty steady even through schooling since the late 1960s, so almost 50 of my 66 years. I can’t yet get my brain around the concept.
Unfortunately and fortunately retirement is a good few years away for me, can’t help thinking about it though when days are filled with teams meeting after meeting, and I can definitely relate to the working from 16. I had a paper round from 14, then weekend working washing up, then at a butchers, through to working at a customer services call centre. Working during holidays etc. I think someone like yourself who is rich in years will find something to do with the time when it comes.
Looks like a nice outing. I’d love to go. Love your hydroflasks…we have so many of those…lol. We started buying them the year the company was founded. One of our favorite vacation spots is in the city they originated in.
Wow! Yeah the flasks are good for an hour or two and stops us fighting over who drunk the most 🙂