Tuesday, July 16

I need to make a couple of corrections on the names of food items. One of the items we have been served is called Neeps and Tatties (turnips and potatoes). The other one is Bubble and Squeak (cabbage, potatoes, and onions, mashed together). Its called that because it makes that kind of noise when you're cooking it. I hope I've got these right this time. Thanks  to my sister - Cherry Lynn.

The weather continues to be just right for walking and motoring around the countryside and cities - low to mid 70's, partly sunny. I'm getting somewhat used to the small roads and driving on the left. You never know what you might come upon around the next corner - an 18 wheeler, a touring bus, a tourist crowding the center line, like me. And sometimes there is no center line and many times there are stone walls on either side. Along most of these smaller roads are signs that tell you to be aware of meeting oncoming traffic that is in the middle of the road. That's a little disturbing, but so far its  worked out. They do have places where you can pull over but they're not where you need them.

The hills/mountains look like gentle, smooth green marshmallows from afar. When you get closer, you see that there  is only a thin layer  of topsoil, when there is any, but  its  green. Its been dry ever since we arrived. Everyone tells us that this is very, very abnormal. But, its working for us.

We drove down to Edinburgh today with no real objective. We had already been to the castle. We just wanted to soak up the atmosphere. I read books by Alexander McCall Smith and one of  his series is called 44 Scotland Street. So, the night before, I searched in my Kindle for streets where he put his characters and we drove around the neighborhood. Of course, there is no #44 but there is a Scotland Street and the homes were very different than what I  had envisioned. I think its called New Town and there are these large buildings that take up an entire block with front doors right at the sidewalk. Its kind of  stark. Up the street we found George Street where there was expensive street parking (3 pounds/hour = about $4.50) and ate lunch on the sidewalk of the Olympia Hotel. I had some great Moules and frites and Linda had strips of steak on two non-gluten buns. They were out of skinny fries, so they served me the regular British fat chips. I really wanted true frites, but you have to be flexible.

We walked up to Princes Street where all the shopping is, through part of the  park in front of the castle, and then up the hill and down part of the Royal Mile. This is the "old town", its a pedestrian-only street full of tourists, small shops, cafes, street performers and street people. From its  heights there are good views of the city below. After an espresso back at the Olympia Hotel, we decide to head out for St. Andrews.

As soon as we entered the town and drove down the main street, we were shocked to see the imposing ruins of the cathedral and St. Rule's Parish Church rising so high into the sky. We had done absolutely no research in preparation for this visit and only expected to see golfers. The site is at the shoreline and mostly a graveyard with the St. Rule's tower of 33 meters standing in the middle. There is a wall and one end of the cathedral still standing. St. Rule's was built first in the 12th century on a site that had been used for worship since the 800's. The cathedral was completed after 150 years and some interruptions including the first war of independence from the English. It became the church for the Archbishop of Scotland. In 1560, John Knox preached a fiery sermon and after that the insides were stripped of icons and other non-protestant stuff and abandoned. The congregation moved into town to worship. It was neglected after that and just started falling down. It is a wonderful place to wander around. Linda loved the energy.

We needed a snack and a toilet, so we walked along one of the two main streets and found a pub. Actually, the Scots don't seem to call them pubs, just restaurants. Their kitchen was closed, it was after 5:00, but they still had some meat pies. We shared a lamb and rosemary pie with potatoes and peas. A bitter for me and  a shandy for Linda, of course.