Monthly Archives: July 2011

It was a long but fairly uneventful travel day: up at the crack of dawn (midnight EDT) for the short drive to Edinburgh Airport – the closest we got to the royal city this trip I’m afraid.  Dropped off the car and walked to the terminal in plenty of time to check in for our flight.  Then of course we are informed by the fine upstanding Continental employees that Frank’s passport is invalid.  (!!!!!) We noticed that the little plastic page wasn’t stuck to the picture page but didn’t realize that such a condition meant that it wasn’t a valid passport.  Apparently folks at the other four airports that we had passed through didn’t realize it either as this was the first we had heard of it.  Thank goodness for his green card which we were told was official enough for them to accept but we’ll have some phone calls to make to the Embassy and see if their laminating machine is on the blink!

After that, it was all a boring blur of seat backs (with no movies for our section of the plane much to Gillian’s and Frank’s dismay!) and airport gates.  We had to change planes in Newark which meant clearing customs there.  Did they bat an eye about the sword?  No.  Did they send us to “Agricultural inspection” for our “possession of food” in the form of chocolate digestive biscuits and packets of crisps from the plane? Yes.  Grrr…..

Our planned 2.5 hour layover in Newark became a 5.5 hour layover in Newark as our 3:10 flight to Dulles didn’t actually leave until 5:50.  This left us plenty of time for airport mexican food and expensive margaritas before the dance of the departure gates:  we changed gates no fewer than 4 times while waiting for the plane.  However our turbo prop plane (the kids first!) left close to on time and we finally arrived at Dulles where we immediately had problems finding all the bags except the sword!  We knew it would come out at the oversize bag gate but there was no indication where the rest of the luggage would appear!  It took some time before the bags arrived and then into the largest Washington Flyer taxi we could find and now, home.

Three things we noticed today:

1. If you want to get up at 5 am in Bannockburn, Scotland, you don’t have to set an alarm; you just need to open the curtains and on a lovely sunny morning like today, you will be wide awake by 4:50.
2. Edinburgh Airport is an unusual place:  the security screening has a great conveyer belt system for returning the trays for the X-ray machines and the second language on most of the signs is Polish!
3. Dorothy was right:  even with a severe heat advisory and no edible food in the house, there’s no place like home.

Thanks for keeping an eye on us – it was nice to know you were following along.  Look for our next oversees adventures in the summer of 2013 when Gillian gets to choose her graduation destination; current plan is a Mediterranean cruise….

It’s our last day in Scotland and we battle the urge to sleep in after last night’s revelries.  Well…. some of us sleep in a bit.  I managed a slightly longer run before getting the bacon and eggs going.  Gotta use up all that food in the fridge so we had a full bacon, eggs and beans buffet – except that the three gluten eaters had fresh morning rolls and my GF rolls didn’t make it so I had to do without… 😦

We then collected Gran for a day out – the east coast this time.  We returned to the kingdom of Fife but to St. Andrews this time – the home of golf and the place where Kate and Wills first met.  We actually found a space in a free car park (!) and wandered into the town to get the lay of the land.  We saw a wedding getting started as we walked by the university chapel.  While waiting to catch a glimpse of the bride, I saw a plaque outside the church that said that on that spot in 1534 (?), Patrick Hamilton was burned for heresy for preaching the words of Martin Luther and thereby became the first martyr of the Scottish reformation.  Very interesting!  (But we didn’t hang out long enough to see the bride…)

Of course we needed to have a brilliant lunch and Gran was determined to pick up the bill.  We found a lovely cafe with  a slightly unusual menu:  Gillian got her steak pie which is pretty standard but Frank had a pork and apple pie as part of a ploughman’s lunch and I had a chickpea salad with roasted peppers stuffed with spicy goat cheese – yum!  Gillian declared this one the best steak pie yet and then proceeded to go ga-ga over part of a display:  a blue tin lunch box that bore the simple inscription:”Superhero travel kit.”  We now have the important quest to try to find it somewhere in our travels as we were not successful today.

We did manage to do a little damage in the shops before wandering around the grounds of the cathedral – another 12 century building that was really important until the Reformation.  It’s mostly ruins but St Rule’s tower, built in 1130 for use by the Augustinian monks, is still intact. We opted to skip the 5 pound fee to climb the tower and wander the grounds instead.  We then wandered along the sea wall from the cathedral to the castle – also from about the same time as the cathedral.

It was starting to get late so we moved along through the grounds of the University of St Andrews which was the first university in Scotland and will celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2013.  The campus is beautiful, right on the headlands overlooking the sea.  We passed another wedding on the way back to the car and the sun peeked out of the clouds. (For the golf fans out there, we drove by the Old Course but that’s all.)

We were hoping to stop in Cupar on the way back home so that the old folks could have a cup of tea while the young folks raided the half a dozen charity shops we noted on the way up.  Unfortunately, we didn’t know that most of Cupar closes at 4:30 on a Friday so we were pretty much out of luck.  On the way home a few sprinkles gave way to a true clearing.

After Gran insisted on treating us to dinner at the Pirnhall (a part of the Brewer’s Fayre chain – comfortable but mediocre), we headed back to pack.  Luckily we had picked up an extra bag to help ease the packing crunch we knew would be coming – not including the sword of coarse! – and we finished in pretty short order.  We’ll be heading shortly for one last farewell with Gran:  the ice cream van comes around at about half past 10 for ice creams and sweets and just about the time that the sun will really be setting (yup, you read that right) and since it has remained remarkably clear and is blissfully cool, it will be the perfect ending to this visit.

Three things we noticed today:

1. Pay-and-display parking is so ubiquitous in Britain that car makers actually put a little clip to hold the receipts so that you don’t need to stick it to the windshield.
2. All of Scotland is under construction.  We have seen more traffic cones this week in a very small area of the country than I think VDOT uses in the entire state in a year.
3. Clean public toilets are worth 30p entry fee.  Even the automated toilet booths that wash themselves.

For some reason, last night’s festivities meant that getting moving this morning was a tad more difficult than usual 😉 but we managed to get a fairly decent start.  Breakfast was the first of the “we need to eat this food before we go” meals but I don’t think sausage rolls and toast is as odd as things will get tomorrow!

We headed into Glasgow with Tom, Una, Ross and Amy for a wander around the newly transplanted Transportation Museum which was quite nice.  There’s lots of Glasgow history built into the museum (like the shipyard  work-in in the 1970’s) with which I was unfamiliar.  There’s a neat display where they have a replica of a street from the late 1900 century including the shops and transport that would have been there at the time.  Lots of interactive displays for the children with us (read: Ross and Gillian!) who played a game about delivering telegrams throughout Glasgow.  They really included something for everyone from Colin McRae’s winning rally car to a display about motoring fashion at the turn of the century. Outside the museum, docked on the Clyde was the tall ship Glenlee, the longest surviving Clyde-built ship still afloat.  Impressive to look at but we opted to skip the 5 pound entry fee this time.

Then we headed to the center of town to do some shopping….. at a mall…. sigh….  The St Enoch center is fine as far as malls go (except for the odd placement of escalators – why put the up and down escalators in different places?) and we were able to grab a bite to eat before heading out into the growing sunshine and a wander around town.  Since we visiting Cannon’s don’t have the ability to shop on “the high street” as the resident Cannon’s do, it’s a treat to be able to wander around the shops of Argyle and Buchanan Streets with their street entertainers and interesting people watching.  We saw everything from bagpipes to hip hop dancers to an 8 year old playing the electric guitar and singing “Wild Thing” and “You shook me all night long”  – something not quite right about that!

We took a wee break in George square with the sunshine and the seagulls before heading out of town past Celtic park (we have loads of Celtic fans in the family).  I have to say the new stadium is lovely and makes Ibrox look a bit pokey as we drove past that on the way in.

Then off to tea.  The four visiting Cannon’s chose to dine at the Sherrifmuir Inn and we were not disappointed!  The scenery would have been stunning if the heavens hadn’t opened right as we got in.  The food was delicious and their ability to accommodate my diet was outstanding.  I even got toasted GF bread with my soup starter.  (Then lamb shank and pavlova to round things out!)  It was a lovely way to end a lovely day.

But of course it wasn’t the end!  Off to collect Gran and then back to Tom and Una’s for a few hours of blether.  The kids (and I mean all of them, even Nikki the university student!) played Wii to raucous laughter – apparently Gillian is quite the champion although Ross the 7 year old insists he did win a medal for Scotland.  The grown ups sat and chatted and got the oldyins hooked on new technologies – it won’t be long before Jean is out buying an iPad!  Gillian played guitar and sang before a round of photos were snapped and we managed to crawl into bed in the wee hours.

Three things we noticed today:

1. There is still a frightening number of men of varying ages, especially in Glasgow, who think that track suits are the height of fashion.  Big chains are optional.
2. Red hair on women is all the rage but apparently it is not required to look remotely natural.  I can’t remember ever seeing so many women with fuchsia hair!
3. Glasgow takes some time to appreciate.  We’re trying but haven’t spent enough time there to see past the rough edges.  My niece Lisa used to work there and loves the place; I would hope we would be able to do the same in time.

I actually managed to sleep past 6 am despite our bad blinds and made it out in the gray (but dry) morning for a quick three miles.  Then the rest of the household was dragged out of bed to try to get a start on the day.  As we waited for the teens to come to life, Frank and I watched a remarkably interesting television show “Country House Rescue” where a couple inherited a castle and a 2000 acre estate in Cornwall along with a 6 million pound inheritance tax bill and they were trying to figure out how to make the estate be a paying concern.  Such a reality show is one of the few I would find interesting if for no other reason than it would never make it in the States:  we don’t have hereditary castles from the 1700’s that we need to preserve for posterity as a general rule. (For the record, their website indicates that Pentillie Castle is up and running as a deluxe country house for hire. )

Then we headed out to visit relatives for a cup of tea, collecting Gran along the way.  (Yes, there were biscuits involved.) It was a lovely visit with Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Jean even if we don’t agree with all their politics….

We then proceeded to  lunch at the The Bridge Inn in Tillicoultry before heading to Alloa to climb the 15th century tower that was once the stronghold of the Earl of Mar and supposedly still has a dungeon to visit.  Alas, it was closed on Wednesdays so instead we were off to Dunfermline in the Kingdom of Fife for a visit to Dunfermline Abbey – one of the oldest monastic buildings in Scotland, founded in 1072 by Margaret, wife of Malcom Canmore (and later St Margaret).  It is truly a wonderful place to visit both the ruins of the original abbey church and the “new” church built in 1818 and where the grave site of Robert the Bruce is to be found.  I got my stained glass fix as well as adding to the early Scottish history knowledge as I was reminded about the Scottish monarchy and the fate of medival religious houses after the reformation.  Although the abbey was once the monastic house for the Benedictine order, it became a Church of Scotland house of worship after the Reformation.  The abbey and the accompanying palace and grounds were a gift of James VI of Scotland (later James I of England) to his wife and Charles I was born there.  Really great stuff!

Then back south for dinner and a wonderful evening with friends Gilbert and Jenny.  A full day was had by all.

Three things we noticed today:

1. People who feel like they probably should exercise are not very friendly to people who do.  The two women my age who were smoking cigarettes or waiting for a bus were not nearly as friendly when I passed on my run as the dear old wifies with their rain bonnets and sensible shoes who were very encouraging of me and my “keep fit” routine.
2. Parallel parking in Scotland is an art form.  It could be on either side of a narrow street and usually involves being up on a curb – I’m not sure we could pull it off that way in the US.
3. The pervasiveness of jacket potatoes (baked potatoes stuffed with various fillings) is the celiac’s savior here.  I’ve had ones with prawn marie rose, cheese and beans and Coronation chicken and couldn’t be happier.

We tried really hard to get out early today as we had a long drive to Oban for our day’s outing.  I was up earlier than I wanted to be (stupid morning sunshine!  😉 so it was off for a quick 4 miles while the sun was out.  Then scrambled eggs and beans on toast for brekkie before picking up Gran and heading out to the Highlands.

Oban is on the west coast about 60 miles north of here.   The weather forecast had said clouds in the morning and clearing in the afternoon but it wasn’t clear that was going to be the case since I got to run in sunshine early in the morning but there was rain on and off on the drive north.  That said, weather  forecasts in the UK tend to be far more localized that you would think!  When we got to Oban, it was cloudy and windy – really windy along the harbor – and the teens where wininng about being cold and contemplating buying fleeces….

We wandered about a bit and got the lay of the land, hit 5 or 6 charity shops (again, no luck ) before having bar lunch in a pub off the harbor a bit.  Then more wandering around before heading to the first of the day’s attraction:  the Oban distillery!  Right in the middle of the city, it seemed a bit pricey for a distillery tour – we also had to pay the  adult rate for Duncan if he wanted a dram – but it was well worth it.  Of the half a dozen distilleries we’ve toured, this one was the most informative.  It’s a small distillery (7 full time workers) that only does one whiskey:  Oban 14 year old single malt.  They don’t do blends or contribute to blends and they don’t do other ages except for a few special editions – and you know who would be interested in those!  We even got a taste from a batch that had been barreled in 2000 (in a souvenir glass that we got to keep) so it was only 11 years old and we could compare it to the regular 14 year old that we tasted at the end of the tour. The tour guide did a great job of pointing out where the different flavor characteristics in the whiskey come from during the distilling process and explaining the role of the casks and why they choose the kind of casks that they do.  All around a big thumbs up.  Duncan drank his dram which is more than I could manage….  And Frank got a bottle of the Distiller’s special edition which is double matured – the second time in sherry casks.  They only make 24,000 bottles a year compared to the 1 million they bottle of their regular whiskey.  (Start lining up for next year’s whiskey school!)

When we emerged from the distillery, the promised clearing was occurring and we had some beautiful sunshine. So we took a short drive up a steep hill to McCaig’s tower which is a kind of a folly on the hill overlooking the harbor.  (A plaque on the outside said it was built in 1903 by John Stewart McCaig, an art critic, philosopher, and banker…?)  It looks like the outside of the Colosseum in Rome and has an amazing view of the harbor and the town. The roads on the way up to the top were amazing on their own!  I’d love to meet the folks whose job it was to paint the road markings on these streets!  Unlike the narrow streets in Spain that were clearly one way, these are all meant to support two way traffic even though they are no wider!  I’m glad I wasn’t driving!

A few miles out of town not far off the road home we hit highlight number two: Dunstaffnage Castle.  It’s one of the oldest castles in Scotland – well the ruins of one – build in 1220.  It was the seat of power during the early struggles between Scotland and Norway for control of the islands.  It has a fascinating history as it was the seat of the Clan MacDougall before being captured by the crown (Robert the Bruce) and turned over to the Campbells – Flora MacDonald was held prisoner there after she was arrested for trying to help Bonnie Prince Charlie.  The castle had enough bits left to get a really good feel for what the structure and life there must have been like (you could even see the remains of the latrine!)  It was a great end to the day.

The drive home was more pleasant with the sun out and we stopped for dinner at one of our favorite places:  The Lade Inn in Kilmahog outside Calendar – if you’ve had a beer at my house in a glass with a Highland cow on it, this is where they come from.  They brew their own real ale and have the best haggis around (according to Frank).  They also had gluten free options clearly marked on the menu (yeah!) and I had a lovely steak with peppercorn sauce.  Gillian had steak pie (again!) and Duncan had a gourmet version of bangers and mash with a lovely gravy made from one of their own ales.  Frank and his mom had the haggis (again!) and we all went home much heavier than we entered.

And much wetter – by the time we had finished dinner, the skies had opened up again and the last 20 miles home were quiet and soggy.

Three things we noticed today:

1. You need really good blinds if you want to sleep past 6 a.m. in a place where the sun comes up at 4:45 a.m.  We do not have really good blinds.
2. The rule of thumb that a 60 mile journey takes 60 minutes or so doesn’t apply here.  It took more than 2 hours to go the 62 miles between Stirling and Oban.  Twisty roads and small villages mean that much slower speeds are needed – and this was on the main route!
3. Oban is an international tourist destination – we heard more people speaking a language other than English for the first time since we left Spain.  I’m not sure why the French and Italians want to come to the highlands of Scotland for a holiday but there you go.

It wasn’t my idea… honest!  I generally don’t like to shop but apparently the teens would have us traipse through the town and after what we put them through at the pub yesterday, we owed them.

So we tried to get up and out early (hah!) and managed to actually get downtown before lunchtime.  Of course the first thing we had to to do was stop for a coffee and thanks to my trusty Cafe Nero card (which has been slowly collecting stamps over the years), we got one of the mochas free.  Yippee!

Then it was off to the charity shops – I think we managed to hit 6 of them – as well as used book and record stores.  We weren’t as successful as we’ve been in the past there, however.  We even window shopped at a few estate agents offices to pick out a house or flat to buy to use when we visit and then to retire to.  It’s one of our favorite past times and we’ll chat with our friend Jenny the mortgage advisor (again) about how we might manage (again) and then we’ll likely forget all about it (again).

Then it was off to the Thistle Centre shopping mall… sigh… We did accomplish two important things:  we got a Celtic strip from my nephew in Seattle and we finally replaced the moo phone.  About 8 years ago we bought a cheap mobile and have occasionally had to top up or replace the sim card but the phone always works and we can always find it.  Once upon a time, the ring tone was set to moo like a cow so it has become known as the “moo phone.” It is quite annoying now as technology keeps moving along and the moo phone is now really antiquated and difficult to use. So we lashed out a whole 12 pounds for a new style phone that is easier to use – even though the phone is new and the ring tone more mainstream, it still seems to have retained the moniker “moo phone.” If you ever want to get a hold of us on a British mobile, let me know and I’ll send you the number.

After a quick lunch of jacket potatoes, the teens went to town: Top Shop, New Look, and loads of other “high street” retailers that cater to their tastes.  They  procured a few tops and jeans that were on sale while Frank and I sat and people watched – one of our favorite past times! Eventually we were all shopped out and then it was off to Gran’s for tea (and biscuits!) and to hear all about the revelry that we missed last night – or should I say this morning!  It was a good thing we headed home when we did…..

We had a final farewell dinner with Therese and the kids before they head to Portugal tomorrow and Jim joined us when he got off work.  Therese  offered to buy  a round of drinks and queried Duncan for his choice.  He skipped the usual British-18-year-old choice of lager or cider and said “whiskey and lemonade please! ” What I would give to have a photo of her face when “the bairn” asked for quite the grown up drink – same as his gran was drinking actually!  (He enjoyed it he said.)

Then off to annoy the other Cannon brother and his family.  Tom had finished work and most of the family was home so we had more tea (and biscuits) and had a great chat with Una, Nikki and Amy while Duncan and Gillian played Wii with Ross.  We even played “Ask the Economist” and discussed the possible fall out of a sovereign default in Europe!  It was a lovely visit and we’re looking forward to spending more time with them – hopefully we can find some time when Tom is off work and the weather is dry. (We’ve stopped looking for a sunny day – dry will do, thank you very much!)

Now it’s off to bed as we’ve got a big outing to Oban planned tomorrow:  castles, distilleries and probably more shopping as it’s one of Gran’s favorite activities as well.

Three things we noticed today:

1. Designer fixtures are not always functional.  This flat is very nicely kitted out but the designer sink in the master bath is about two feet wide by 6 inches deep – which isn’t really deep enough if you want to wash your face.  I couldn’t figure out why my feet were getting wet…
2. Current fashion for young women in Scotland seems to be shorts, tights and brogues.  No red skinnies and Hammer pants like in Spain but the shorts and tights don’t always look right as worn by local teens.
3. The price we pay for British chocolates (like Flakes and Crunchies) at home is not as exorbitant as we thought.   Today I paid 75p for a Flake in WH Smith which is around $1.20 so the $1.50 or so we pay at World Market at home doesn’t seem so bad.

We were told that plans had been made for us today that started at 1 pm so we enjoyed a leisurely morning in our hired home.  I was determined to go for a run (finally)  and awoke to gray skies that were dripping lightly.  Not to be deterred, I put on my gear and headed out.  According to my Garmin, I got 101 feet before the heavens opened and I bounded back inside to take refuge.  It took about another hour before the deluge let up enough for me to try again and off I went down the Glasgow road toward Stirling, skirting the Sunday morning roadworks, and generally enjoying my time out.  I had just turned around to head back when the little drizzle became more and more persistant so that by the time I had completed all 3 miles, it was a steady downpour and I was thoroughly soaked.

An hour later, the sun was out…. {Sigh} and we were up and about ready to celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday (and what would have been my father-in-law’s birthday, rest his soul).  We started with a lovely bar lunch at McQ’s (the restaurant part of the Tartan Arms – a local pub in Bannockburn) where Jim works  And even during his birthday lunch he was taking orders (Gammon steak for me, steak pie for Frank and Gillian, and the Sunday roast for Duncan if you are curious). There we were joined by various factions of family:  Jim’s wife Therese is one of 11 children so there’s usually a Kilgannon or two lurking about.

After lunch, we piled in taxis (yes, the drinking had begun) and headed to the 1314 pub in Bannockburn which overlooks the battlefield for that famous battle that all Scotsmen sing about after a few drinks.  Therese’s family owns the pub so there are always family of some sort about.  We were there to see a local singer, Holly Brooks, who has a lovely voice but the sound system was way too loud for the size of the pub.  The kids were bored so we sent them up the road to our flat to watch movies and the afternoon commenced.

Anyone who bemoans the death of the pub culture in Britain has not been to a local pub on Sunday afternoon in a small Scottish town recently.  It still seems to be the place where people gather to chat and connect (ok, and drink) We were there for several hours listening to the music and just chatting away about loads of things and having a laugh.  The pub shuts at 8 on a Sunday though so then it’s in another load of taxis to head back up the road to Jim and Therese’s house for more serious celebrating.

There was a small buffet of snacks produced – love those sausage rolls and wish I could have them – but we opted for something out of the local take away:  the Four in One does Italian (pizza), American (burgers), Indian (curries) and Turkish (kebabs) all for carry out. It doesn’t necessarily do any of them well but it sufficed.  And then there was the singing.  Gillian did a reprieve of her unplugged song to much applause and Matthew and Leah each played something.  Then the clock struck midnight, the taxi came and the story ends.

Three things we noticed today:

1. The weather at the moment does not dictate the weather in 10 minutes or two hours. Awaking to sunshine does not mean it will necessarily be a nice day all day – take advantage of the good weather when you have it.
2. Scotsmen (and women) like to sing – even in the taxi home from the pub, there were interesting renditions of various crooner tunes.  “Give us a wee song” is all the prompting folks seem to need.
3. A working class pub is not like a bar in the US:  ordering a glass of red wine is not quite the done thing and will get you a small bottle of something Chilean and hopefully drinkable. You really stick out among the pints of Guiness and cider and the whiskey & lemonade or vodka and coke drinks.

Quiet day today and I’m sure the 4 bottles of wine last night had nothing to do with it! We picked up the rental car and the airport, packed up and said goodbye to my family.  Then we headed down the road (with endless roadworks between Glasgow and Stirling… grrr….) to get to Frank’s family.  Stopped by Grandma’s for a cup of tea and to say hello before heading to the flat we’ll be calling home for the next week.  Holy model homes Batman!  This place is amazing!  Newly built with everything you could possibly think of to make things easy – except a hair dryer.  It’s right down the street from the garage where Frank used to work before he emigrated.

We then proceeded to clean out Sainsbury’s – it’s amazing how quickly the “must haves” add up to more than 100 pounds!  It will be interesting to how much we actually eat.  We unpacked and got some laundry started and decided that we really weren’t up for a big night out.  So we picked up gran and hit the chippy and had quite the order: one fish supper, one haggis supper, one chicken nuggets supper, one steak pie supper and one chicken supper.  Yup all deep fried and yummy and incredibly bad for us!  We then showed off all the photos from Spain and we’ll call it an early night.

Three things we noticed today:

1. Chips from a chip shop are the best way to eat potatoes.  Period.  Even without vinegar (all they have here is malt vinegar so none for me), they are the yummiest thing around.
2. Scottish people, especially grannies, are incapable of serving tea without biscuits.
3. The only TV service available (besides the basic 5 channels) is satellite – no cable – which is interesting considering most of the country is covered in clouds and rain most of the time.

Not surprisingly, we didn’t actually make it to Arran today – something about not being able to actually see the island itself let alone the particular hill that we wanted to climb. So we slept on…..

And eventually got everyone up and about and we were ready to go…. but where?  To Culzean castle, a castle and stately home I hadn’t visited since I was about 10.  The kids (minus Duncan) did a gorge walk on the property  while the rest of us toured the castle and learned all about the family that held the title to the castle for hundreds of years before death duties made it necessary to turn the property into a national monument.

After the tour, we made a stop in Monkton at cousin Susan’s house and chatted about her recent holiday in Italy and compared that to our experience in Spain (no comparison really!)  But then it was back to Barassie for our last night with my family before heading to see the Cannon clan. A bottle of Prosecco started the evening and it was all down hill from there…

Three things we noticed today:

1. It rains in Scotland. A lot.  Not that we didn’t know this but once you’ve had a while day with blazing sunshine and no rain, you forget that the default is for grey skies and drizzle.
2. Even when it rains, the Scots don’t hide inside.  They would spend all their lives indoors if they did.
3. Supermarkets are they as similar as they are different.  For everything you find in an obvious place in this market, you’ll find an equal number of oddly placed items in the next shop.

Stephen was the only one required to be up early today – something about having to go to work and earn a living.  Like that’s important!  😉  I was the only one up to see him off and enjoyed a peaceful cup of tea while everyone caught up on some sleep.  Frank joined me later and after quick showers, we wandered down the beach road to the  local convenience store to buy sugar – an essential supply for the Cannon family to have tea; surprisingly the Bargh family doesn’t take sugar (actually they don’t really drink tea which makes me wonder if we’re really related.)  It was a gorgeous morning with brilliant sunshine and a cool breeze coming in off the Atlantic, a lovely break from the heat of Spain.

Eventually, the rest of the house stirred and the day began.  Coffee in the sunshine of the back garden while the teens got ready for the bi-annual rock diving expedition.  Apparently what started as a lark four years ago  has become a tradition and the kids felt the need to jump off the rocks at Barassie Beach.  Luckily it was screaming sunshine and nearly 70 F (quite balmy if you ignored the breeze off the ocean!)  After jumping and swimming in incredibly cold water, the teens felt the need to get ice cream at the Marina Cafe – owned by the family of  my dear friend Lorena, whom I have known since I was 10.  I stopped by to say hello as well and it was as if we had just seen each other a few weeks ago.  How I love the connections of youth that carry on into one’s older years!

We then spent a good deal of the afternoon having tea and biscuits (not me, but everyone else) in the back garden of my Auntie Alice’s house. She was my mom’s best friend when they were growing up and the real root of the Cannon-Bargh relationship.  Although it started with my mom and Alice and then continued with their oldest daughters (me and Fran), it has now been truly cemented with the first round of grandchildren, regardless of whether they are 3rd or 4th cousins.

A quick stop at the grocery store to bolster the alcohol and GF supplies, and we were in the Bargh’s garden again barbequing lamb and kebabs.  Eventually the sun faded a bit  and that’s when we noticed the sunburns:  what we had successfully evaded in the scorching sun of Spain by the relentless application of sunscreen, we succumed to in Scotland by the naive assumption that sunscreen was unnecessary. (Who gets sunburned in Scotland for heaven sake?)

Loads of aloe vera cream was applied before the teens headed out to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the grownups worked to support the European wine industry.  Rumor has it that we are getting up early to hike the highest hill on the Isle of Arran.  We’ll see how that goes.

Three things we noticed today:

1. Family sticks regardless of the circumstances. We may be separated by time, distance, and cirmstances but watching our kids act like they see each other every day makes lots of things worth it.
2. Right hand drive takes time to get used to even if you grew up with it.  Frank was the first one to admit that he’s glad he won’t have to drive here until we’ve had a few days to adjust.  If he had to navigate the roundabout outside Prestwick Airport last night, we’d be toast.
3. Sunny and cool in Scotland is the perfect antidote to hot and sticky in DC.  And we’ve been told the reverse is also true.