Since I flew over with the second half of the group, a day after the first half departed, part of the early birds met us at the airport in Glasgow. We rented a car for Lori to drive and a van for Beth to drive. Riding in a car on the left side of the road was interesting, but I've had that experience before in Singapore. The roundabouts that replaced our American intersections were what really made travel interesting. I had to bite my tongue to avoid being too much of a backseat driver especially since I didn't get to be the designated navigator either. Jim & Lance did a fine job of navigation.
After a short stop at our "home base" cottages in Bonnybridge, it was off to Edinburgh. The old buildings mixed with the modern atmosphere had me practically drooling with excitement. We found Saint Margaret's Well behind Edinburgh Castle and shopped a bit of the Royal Mile and Princes Street with a light supper at Deacon Brodie's Cafe across the street from the better known tavern of the same name.
Oops, almost forgot... On the way back to Bonnybridge, we got lost and took the opportunity to visit the grounds of Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Although it was late, and I was exhausted, there was one more stop for the evening. We women had to go to ASDA for food to stock the cottages. ASDA is owned by Wal-Mart so it's the same basic principle, but the one we went to in Cumbernauld was like Super Wal-Mart on steroids. It was two stories and had an inclined moving sidewalk/escalator to take carts/buggies upstairs and an elevator to go back down. More to come on Scottish food in a later blog...
Points of note:
- Saint Margaret was the beloved queen of Malcolm III in the 11th century. I have enjoyed stories of her in historical fiction novels, so her sites had special meaning to me.
- Deacon Brodie was the inspiration for the story of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.
- It was odd seeing photos of the G8 protests on Princes Street so shortly after I had been there.
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