Day 14: Heading east

Another morning with no set schedule so I was up and out for a run early while Frank helped run some errands with Una for his mom.  Then it was bacon rolls all around and we were out for the morning visit to Gran.

Once we had popped round to check in, we headed east under cloudy skies with fairly cool temperatures.  This was the Scottish weather we had planned for! We headed to Falkirk to continue the quest for Gillian’s jumpers.  We must have hit 6 or 8 charity shops (thrift stores in the US) looking for donated wooly things but with no luck.  My quest for books that I can’t get at home was much more successful.  Wandered into the Waterstones on the high street and they not only had the Camilla Lackberg book I was looking for – the next one in the series – but they also had the most recently translated one still in hardcover that I thought wasn’t going to be available in English anywhere until the fall.  Score!

I bought both and then we wandered into the charity shop 4 doors down the road and what to do I see on the shelf:  the paperback book I JUST BOUGHT for full price in the book shop!  So I bought the second hand one for 2 pound and returned the new one that I paid 8 quid for to the book shop.  The difference was enough for a bottle of wine!

Then a light lunch at a tea room where I got a jacket potato with Coronation Chicken, Gillian got a chicken and mango chutney wrap – Frank got the panini version – and Duncan got a haggis and cheese toastie with sweet chili sauce.  He insists that it was delicious and I was glad I had an excuse not to have a taste.  Eew.

Then off for some history.  By the time we were finished with lunch, the sun had broken through the clouds and it looked like another lovely, albeit cooler, day was on tap. Today’s destination was Linlithgow palace where Mary Queen of Scots (and many other Stewarts) were born and lived.  The palace dates back to the 12 century and although a ruin now, it is a very well preserved ruin.  We arrived on a day when there were junior tour guides in from the local school and we did a short tour with two young lassies (around 12 or 14) in period dress who pointed out some of the features of the palace.  Like the fact that the fireplace in the great hall is the largest in Scotland.  Very well done and very interesting.  A climb up Margaret’s Bower gave some beautiful views of the the loch and the surrounding countryside.  Frank even made it up the tower for a wee peek and then headed back down to terra firma.

Because no outing is complete without some stained glass, we popped into St. Michael’s church next door to the palace which is now a parish church for the Church of Scotland but was once the royal church for the palace.  Dating back nearly as long as the palace, it is a lovely place, also very well maintained, with some amazing stained glass windows in the east transept.  They certainly don’t date back to 1242 when the building was consecrated (more like 1992) but they are stunning nevertheless.

So our history lesson more or less complete, we continued east to South Queensferry, a lovely wee town just to the south of the Firth of Forth with stunning views of the Firth and both the road and rail bridges.  It was time for a treat so we got some ice cream from a local shop – Duncan’s was Malteser flavored and Frank had Irn Bru sorbet! – and had a little wander around.

Then it was back for the afternoon visit to Gran before our evening out in Cambusbarron at Gilbert and Jenny’s house.  This time we didn’t even pretend that we would be in a fit state to drive home and we walked the 1.5 miles from the flat.  It was lovely as always to see them and hear about their holiday in Turkey and how Gilbert dislocated his shoulder – not something anyone wants to do in Turkey I would think.  Chinese was the take away of the night – it still amazes me how much ethnic cuisine differs across areas.  Frank and Gillian had a dish that was called Kung Pao chicken and yet it was nothing like what we would get at home ordering the same dish.  I got a version of sweet and sour chicken that didn’t have the meat breaded.  It was very tasty but again, nothing like what we get at home:  much more tomato flavor to the sauce and actual tomatoes in the dish with the chicken. But they do have one thing here that we don’t and should:  prawn crackers! I’m sure they are incredibly bad for you but oh so tasty!  They went well with the food and all the wine and beer that was consumed.  As Gilbert had to work on Thursday, we took our leave and walked back to the flat, arriving just before midnight.

Steps:  15, 590 or 6.71 miles (much of which was up and down tower steps in the palace)

Number of days Andy Murray is on the front page: 4ish.  He only made it to the tabloid papers today.  The other papers were screaming about the heatwave.  Apparently, the rail lines around Edinburgh got too hot yesterday for the trains to run so they had to pack folks onto buses.  The headline on the Herald says: “Scotland swelters in 84 degree temperatures”!!!!