Different cities

My main reservations when I arrived in Edinburgh were
1. it was cold
2. i didn't know my way around
3. i couldn't find one of those stores that sells cheaply made things for cheap prices.

But now that I've been here for over a month I've realized ...
1. ya, it is cold, so I better just get used to it and buy better gloves (and knit some mittens)
2. finding my way around has a nice way of sorting itself out over time, with a fair amount of wondering around
3. it might just be a wonderful thing that those cheap stuff stores are a bit out of the way.

Edinburgh has a lot of neat, independent stores, and I'm wondering if it's partially to do with reason #3.

In Newcastle there was no place in the centre of town to buy fresh bread from an independent baker.

But this morning, I walked three blocks from my house and bought this:
Bread from The Manna House. I've already been there a few times for sweet treats.

In Newcastle, if you wanted non-acrylic yarn you had to go to a department store, or get on the metro and leave the city centre.

But today I bought these needles at a yarn store 5 minutes walk from town.
And this
is from a neat little store called The Treasure Trove. A charity shop that sells hand-made items. Tablet is a traditional Scottish sweet made from butter, milk, and sugar. I haven't yet eaten one, so I was very happy to see it at the store.

And now I should go back to ravelympics and knitting my warm glittens.