We're Back! And a recap of Day 1& 2

For anyone who says
vacationing is nice but its good to be home hasn't vacationed like we have this year... I am still very excited by our trip to Alaska and now coming home from Scotland I have another spot to add to my favorite places list. To say that Scotland is a beautiful place is an understatement. The scenery everyday was amazing to say the least. So glad we decided to go!

Our trip started out as most do...Heading to the airport-- Corey and Amanda dropped us off at Dulles Airport-- with a few hours to kill before our 11:10pm flight we ate dinner and met another couple who would be on our plane going both to and from London. They were as excited as we were and on the way home last night it was fun to compare notes.

Seven hours to Heathrow-- no problems navigating the London Airport and then another hour and half flight to Edinburgh-- which turned out to be a very small airport. We arrived tired-- the plan of sleeping on the plane didn't work so well-- we picked up our rental car-- a VW Jetta-- Mike made a last minute decision to go for an automatic-- turned out this was a good choice. We never thought driving would be so hard. Sitting on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of road was TOUGH--
and navigating around "the roundabouts" was like being in a maze. To make matters worse our directions to the Kilconquhar (pronounced Kilcar) seemed great in the US but once on the road we didn't understand the signs, the route markings or even the road signage (hello what does a zig zag mean painted on the road????) We found the (yes the one and only) main highway (motorway for those of you who speak scottish!)Which would take us over the Fourth Bridge (a very LARGE bridge)to the Kingdom of Fife. We sat in lots of traffic... excuse me... we were queing... (thats what they call sitting in traffic waiting your turn) which I can tell you I actually liked. Never thought I would say that but hey it meant we weren't moving which meant I wasn't holding on for dear life! Once over the bridge we followed our directions which we learned later were the longest way possible-- and promptly went through two roundabouts and then blew 2 tires!!! YES TWO!! on the left side of the car... which initially we thought could have been the result of the few curbs we hit on the way... but upon further inspection the damage was from the inside of the tire... now we are sitting precariously on a two lane road (right after a bend in the road) with no where to pull off... and did I mention we had no idea where we were???? Mike pulled the car up alittle bit and got as close to the curb as he could so people could go past... Luckily we had a cell phone-- and learned through trial and error how to dial the emergency number they provided. This was where it got funny. They asked us where we were.... hello we just got off the plane an hour ago we don't know... somewhere on the A921 right after the bridge... after alot of questions registration number please (which turns out is actually your licence plate) and postal code????? how would we know??? they said someone would be there in 90 minutes! we decided for safety that we would get out of the car and stand on the small grass strip and wait... and wait... no one stopped... and no one hit us... finally after 2 hours a man in a van marked RAC (think AAA) drove the opposite direction and turned around to ask if we needed help. He wasn't from the car rental place but he was nice enough to talk to them on the phone, arrange for a tow truck and sit with us for about 30 minutes. (him talking on the phone was a good thing because if you think they speak english like we do you are mistaken... the accent and choice of words makes communicating alittle tough!) when he left it was now dark and we were still waiting... finally a flatbed truck arrived with a nice fellow who loaded up our car and took us to the castle. The plan was to deposit us there and they would send someone out in the morning with two new tires-- and amazingly that is what happened.
Now during this ordeal David and Ruth had made their way to Kilconquhar Castle and were waiting for us. At 9pm we arrived and met them in the pub (which stopped serving dinner at 9PM)David ordered us food at the last minute so when we arrived it was actually being brought to the table! talk about good timing! It was great to see familiar faces-- David promised us that driving would get easier... and in the end he was right... we just had a slow learning curve.
After dinner we went on to our cottage.. seemed we wouldn't be actually staying in the castle. The cottage was like a little house. They had them spread out throughout the grounds of the castle. It was a 3 bedroom, 3 bath with a kitchen, living and dining room... WOW very big space for just us.

Day 2- We didn't wake up very early which would be a pattern we repeated all week. But once up we hit the road to go to St. Andrews (Home of golf)--Mike drove with David navigating. Ruth and I in the back seat... it was a wonderful drive along the Firth of Forth (which is like a bay going out to the North Sea) Lots of small little towns dotted the countryside which we would later figure out is the way the whole country is. Once we arrived we parked the car and walked the town. Tiny cobblestone streets with the most amazing architecture. This was what we came to see. The weather was wonderful bright and sunny. We made our way down to the ocean-- there sat St Andrews Castle (or what was left of it)

Walking further down the street was (along the coast) was the cathedral (again what was left of it) we went inside the metal gate and strolled through the cemetery. We all took off in different directions looking for the oldest headstones. It was beautiful. The carvings that remained were unbelievable.

We wandered the streets, found a cafe for lunch and wandered our way over to the golf course... St. Andrews the home of golf.. a mecca for anyone who has an interest in the game. (unfortunately none of us actually plays) And once there we found out that the Dunhill Tournament was taking place. It was Saturday so there was no admission to go stand and watch... we took advantage and found ourselves at the 18th hole. Cue polite golf applause! I was fascinated to see the people sitting in the stands and lining the golf course. I had seen these tournaments on TV--but never actually had been to one.
Now I can say I was there! We took time for a few photo op's-- Mike was alittle disappointed he could not stand on the bridge.. but at least there was good reason... they were playing!!

What you see in the distance is the ocean.. yes right there... it was a wonderfully large sandy beach--We made our way across the golf course and went over to see the beach-- I had to stick my toe in the north sea!

Just to say I had.


We climbed around on the rocks at the point, saw swans swimming in the ocean! and finally made our way back to the car. Next stop-- Dundee and then on to Perth. We couldn't figure out Dundee... ended up crossing the River twice ( a toll bridge no less) and decided not to get out of the car. But with David navigating we found ourselves in Perth. Another City--small by our standards but large for Scotland. We parked the car and did some more walking. Just looking at the shops, the government building and the bridges. We eventually found a grocery store. Tessco-- a place that has food, and Alcohol. We purchased dinner and Rum from Cuba.. seems they don't partake in the embargo like we do here. Shopping in the grocery store was great fun... nothing looks the same. But as we found out it was tasty!! Cheese, butter, pasta, premade chicken Kiev all good stuff!! I saw a man in Kilt walking the grocery store which start out with my need to let everyone know the moment I saw one... yes I stalked the kilt wearing souls of Scotland. Of course this can be contagious and everyone got into the act... that and Bagpipes....
The ride home was long... and yes we got lost... many times-- but our spirits were high as we navigated the small little roads barely wide enough for one car nevertheless two-- as tired as we were we had no trouble staying up talking until 2am... we would pay for that in the morning.

To see all of Day 1-2 photos: click here