Making the best of jet lag

The disadvantage of jet lag this week has been that I could barely stay awake beyond 8pm. To tell the truth,  I was struggling beyond 3pm at the beginning of the week. The advantage of said jet lag has been that I have been wide awake and perky at about 6am. I am not a morning person generally. Yet, I do love being out and about early, with the day stretching ahead of me, full of potential. The fact that this potential is usually frittered away during the day by doing things like sitting around reading, or checking my e-mail account 50 times, or watching re-runs of Friends that I could probably recite I've seen them so many times, doesn't dull my naive, unrealistic sense of expectation in the dawn hours.

So, what a thrill to be wide awake with all that time stretching promisingly ahead of me. Even time enough before going to work to do something other than throw clothes on and bolt some breakfast.

On Thursday morning, having lain in bed wide awake for about an hour, we decided, somewhat bizarrely to go for a walk - this was 6.30am! It was wonderful. The snow still clean and firm, making that polystyrene squeak under our feet, glittering in the streetlights. The freezing air giving my cheeks that prickling sensation, somewhere between invigorating and painful. Very few people around (unsurprisingly!) except a lot of joggers!

Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags across the Meadows

Of course, this being us, we couldn't just go for some healthy exercise - it had to end with some indulgence. Believe me, there are no cafes open in Marchmont at 7am. However, after slithering our way across the Meadows, we discovered the windows of the Swedish bakery/cafe Peter's Yard glowing a warm, candlelit welcome. After all the travelling we've been doing lately, sitting in a Swedish style cafe in the pitch dark eating exotic cardamom buns and lingonberry jam only added to our sense of displacement. Erm, what country are we in?

I was also so excited about my breakfast that I didn't think to take a photo until we'd nearly finished. So, instead of the crumbs pictured here, imagine hunks of rye bread fresh from the oven, hand-made crispbreads and little pots of home-made jam. One of the amazing cardamom buns is pictured - it didn't last much longer.

Two things strike me posting this. Firstly, this blog is pure hedonism, and frankly, my life is quite hedonistic. Good thing or bad thing? I don't know. Secondly, the minute my mind turns to dieting (in the post Xmas despair, heightened by the viewing of the Australia photos, in which I look like I have been drawn to a larger scale than my sister and friend - big cow, close up, in the words of Father Ted) I start having hearty cafe breakfasts and baking. Mmm - doesn't bode well for dieting does it? Might as well strike that New Year's Resolution from the list - again. Brand new year - same old me.