meandering down memory lane {scotland archives}

It's Thursday by now. All of the historic sites are closed on Thursdays, so we have a "free" day of sorts. We drove down and admired the HolyRood part of town, and then headed up the street, which led us back to the Royal Mile.

Our Starbucks that morning brought us in contact with an American fellow, one of the baristas there. For some reason after finding out we were from Minnesota (Dad lives there) he was surprised we didn't have "Fargo" accents. Which I can do pretty well, which therefore meant I had to do so for him. Apparently it was delightfully funny (dontcha know) to all the 'bucks patrons that morning.

We found a pretty legit kilt shop, although the salesman must've seen my brother coming a "royal" mile away; the kid bought a COMPLETE highland ensemble in our family plaid, which of course is stunning, but a bit costly in my eyes. (Though who am I kidding? If Scots women wore such traditional garb I would've bought every piece and then some!)

Next we went to an art gallery, which was smaller than some that I've been to, but rich in what it contained: including, but not limited to, works by Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Raphael, Rembrandt...breathtaking!!

We lunched at this joint called The Wee Windaes. Not bad. Since things were mostly closed down, we decided to go to our hotel for the night; we'd booked the room the night before. Tonight's abode? The Hotel Castle Melville. That's right; Castle. It's situated in the country, down a long lane. Surrounded by some open ground, edged by deep woods. Melodious birdsong completes the magic. We got a suite for the night; and truly felt the royal treatment. The door opens and we see a hall, complete with chandelier. The bathroom featured a jacuzzi tub and bidet and also an assortment of herbal soaps and shampoos. Two spacious bedrooms. A giant living/dining area, with a large flat-screen TV. Ah, the good life! Not to mention the amazing views of nature and the large fountain on the back lawn.

We drove into town for dinner, and afterwards decided to step into a store called LiDL, as we'd seen them everywhere. It's just like our ALDI's stores (though they have those, too) except all the packaging is in German. Upon arriving back at our castle, I decided to have a cigarette while the guys went up to the room. There was a wedding party at the hotel, and one of the attendants was out smoking as well; a charming Scotswoman whom I chatted with. She told me all about her niece who is a med student at the University of Edinburgh, I guess her way of relating to me as I said I was a university student. The creepy part was that I had had a dream of the exact same scenario a few weeks before this actually occurred...not the first time I've dreamed realities, but incredibly eery nonetheless. After I affirmed that I loved Scotland, she told me that her favorite vacation had been to Florida, despite an annoying lay-over in Boston. The best part was how she matter-of-factly assumed I had been to both places, though of course I haven't.

The rest of the night was spent reading books, exploring the grounds, and watching Britain's version of Thursday night comedy night TV. Did you know they can drop the F-bomb on the telly? Because they can; and they DO.
(only a few days left to read about...coming soon! meanwhile: a hilariously lame video from the trip.)