They’re here! Patti and Mackenzie made it safe and sound to Edinburgh on Tuesday evening, after (what I’m sure was) a delightful trans-Atlantic flight. More astonishing exciting yet, they made it out of the Amsterdam airport on their layover and in to the city centre for a quick stroll down the lanes and canals of the tulip-filled city before boarding their flight to Scotland. They tell me that it took them thirty minutes to find the exit out of the airport, so I’m not quite sure just how they managed to actually see Amsterdam and find their way back to the airport to make their next flight, but they did!
After a bit to eat at an Edinburgh Pub, where Patti had the traditional Cullen Skink Soup and Mackenzie a plate of fish and chips (nothing like diving in to Scottish cuisine!), we boarded the train back north to St Andrews. We would have gotten home a bit earlier than we did (had I not dazed for just a minute and thereby missed out train stop. oops.), but we eventually made it to Gowrie Cottage, my Scottish home.
They had a few nice views on the train before all of our eyelids started sinking!
On the train!
Today they slept in and then enjoyed a cup of brew outside in Judith’s beautiful spring garden. Well, Patti did anyway. At 10:30. We almost had to wrestle Kenzie out of bed at 12:15 but she finally decided to reenter the Scottish world!
Eventually we made our way in to the city centre of St Andrews where we went to The Central, a good pub in town known for its burgers. There, Kenzie had a chicken burger (boring!) and a hot chocolate (what?), while Patti had the classic Scottish ‘Bangers and Mash’. Yum!
Unfortunately, it was a typical dreich day today, so we deferred our visits to St Andrews’ most popular sights until another time and stuck to enjoying the fun shops, card stores, and tea rooms of the town. They did see St Mary’s College and the King James Library, which are two of the University owned buildings/areas that I spend much of my time in.
St Mary’s College dates back to the 1400’s. Just a wee bit older than Mazeppa.
We also made our way down to the Old Course and The Royal and Ancient, but will have to return another time to enjoy its full splendour—not in the rain. They got a glimpse of the North Sea anyway and a taste for the beauty of St Andrews—gray as it may have seemed today.
We finished the day back at the Cottage eating Fudge Donuts and Frog Cakes from Fisher and Donaldson for supper (having only had ‘breakfast’ a few hours previous!) and enjoying the warmth of the kitchen AGA. A sweet finish to a truly dreich day. All in all, I think it was a great first day in Scotland, even despite the rain.
My apologies—I failed to take many photos since they’ve arrived, but I have plenty to pull from in my growing collection. Any of those above that seem to be taken on sunny days (minus the sunset!) were probably not taken today! : )
Check back in with you tomorrow!
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