Pedro is interning in Project Management at Project Services. He’s passionate about computer science, management, and lunch breaks. His intern job includes anything from software upgrades to preparation for the academic start of year.
I lied. I don’t actually live in the office, but 30 seconds away from it.
I’d say that’s close enough to justify this clickbaity title. I also needed a way of pretending this blog is about my internship. With three other project management intern blogs, I thought I’d do something a bit different. I’m going to write about what it’s like to live in one of the busiest streets in Edinburgh, or actually, what it’s like to take your lunch break in this area.
Around a year ago I was lucky enough to find a lovely and reasonably priced student flat in Grassmarket.
My flatmate and I were two of the few brave students that made it to the 9 am viewing. 11 months later, it proved to be worth it, as I can now wake up exactly 13:27 minutes before my shift starts and still make it to the office in time. Once I get to work, the usual day involves a few hours of emails and meetings until the long awaited lunch break. Usually I go back home and quickly cook something or if I’m feeling lazy I’ll get some takeaway from a student friendly place.
Hence, I decided to write down a list of top 5 food places in the area (number 9 will shock you!!). Yeah I’m not done with the clickbait.
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Paella stand in Saturday’s market
Every Saturday from 10:00-17:00 there’s a food stall market right in the centre of Grassmarket. You can get anything ranging from noodles, vintage clothing or strange antiques. But as a Spanish national I feel the need to promote this divine paella stall.
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El Toro Loco
I promise this isn’t just a list of top Spanish food places. This Mexican restaurant is reasonably cheap and serves some absolutely massive burritos. Also, they offer beer-braised beans which is clearly deserving of a place in the top five.
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Graze
I’ve only discovered this place recently, but the few times I’ve been, it’s been great. You get to make a wrap/salad by picking 10 different ingredients from a huge line-up, and somehow the result is always really good. It’s surprising how hard it is to mess it up.
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Zaza’s Coffee House
It’s one of the few places nearby that serves pancakes. The takeaway menu is pretty good too, personally I’m quite a fan of “Zaza’s special wrap”.
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West Port Coffee
One of the cheaper cafes in the area. Their paninis are pretty good and the staff are really nice. Most of the time you also get a free salad which is pretty sweet.
Another really cool thing about Grassmarket is how much it can change at times.
Last week there was a jazz festival and it was absolutely packed, while at other times you can walk around without seeing a single soul around. Here’s the exact same place 24h apart:
Grassmarket is definitely not for everyone. The biggest downside is obviously the noise. Whether it’s the pub’s music or the builders that always seem to be working on something new, your sleep schedule has to be carefully planned between the hours of 1:00-8:00.
I’ve been told that I can’t just write a blog about food so I guess this is the time to somehow relate everything to the internship.
Living in such an active area and the idea of a 9-5 project management job really introduced me to the concept of balance. Juggling different projects with varying priorities requires some sense of structure and organisation. It’s something I personally find quite difficult to do at university. Whether it comes to developing project plans, writing a blog, or even taking your lunch break, there’s a lot of time to be saved by simply planning your day a bit better.
