Edinburgh Castle

This morning we were surprised to find that southern Scotland was enjoying yet another day of (mostly) sunshine when we went down to breakfast. It had been raining off and on since we arrived and we were hoping to have at least a pleasant morning for our visit to the historic Edinburgh Castle. The castle is perched high above the city on a volcanic outcropping that reportedly dates back millions of years. We're told that the first evidence of early man on the mount dates to about 800 B.C. and by the look of the stone work there, it appears that the Scots have been building things atop that rock ever since. If you're into military history, Edinburgh Castle is the place to go. They have several very fine military museums there complete with vintage weapons, uniforms, and colorful artwork -- enough to keep you busy for several hours. At one exhibit they even allowed us to try on some of the Scottish military regalia from days of yore. That's me in the fusilier's furry hat there. Afterward, we got to see the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI of Scotland, the future James I, King of England.


Our mission to the castle completed, we made our way back to the Straven Guest House where the Mini sat packed and ready for our trip to Northern England. For this vacation to the UK we bought a Garmin Nuvi 370 which comes complete with maps of Europe. Wow! What a cool piece of gear. Even though our Northumberland B&B didn't have an actual address to enter on the GPS, we just set the B&B's postal zip code into the machine and it literally took us door to door, from Edinburgh, Scotland to Hexham, Northumberland, England. The only mistakes we made were when I didn't follow its commands closely enough, at which point it reacted instantly to my mistake and said, in a somewhat disdainful voice, "Recalculating."

I'm continuing to adapt to driving on the left side of the road, though it's hardly relaxing. There's no such thing as putting one hand on the steering wheel, draping the other arm over the adjacent seat, and cruising. No, it's almost like playing one of those road-racing video games. The roads are as narrow as your average person's driveway with the roadside hedge sometimes growing right up the pavement's edge. Road signs are either too small to be seen from a moving vehicle, too low to escape being covered by foliage, or missing altogether. As with most countries, drivers here aren't very patient with folks learning to drive, no matter how old they are. They pass on hills. They pass over double lines. They pass on blind curves. Usually they do all three at once if they can manage it.

Naturally, in this particular video game, those weren't the only hazards I encountered today. Almost as soon as we got into the car in Edinburgh it started to rain. They only time it altered from that condition is when it rained even harder. And, Since road builders of these driveway-sized roads in rural England seem to prefer the roller coaster-style, uphill/downhill style of construction, the little Mini Cooper spent much time hydroplaning through the low spots. By the time we got here just before dark I was more than glad to park the our faithful Mini and pry my fingers off the steering wheel.

But what do you think? Our very congenial hostess, Margaret met us at the door with a smile, a cup of tea, and a cozy living room graced by a crackling fire to relax and drink it in. The forecast for the weekend calls for more rain. But what the heck, we have the fire, we have our books, and if the tea and scones hold out, we'll be just fine. If you don't see us in a month, just forward our mail.

ciao, tutti!