Civilized travel



I am just back from spending a day and night in Edinburgh.  I have to go there every so often to meet up with colleagues and for training or meetings.  Since I will always be a tourist at heart, this is not a problem to me.  And I have a friend who lives there so I can enjoy seeing her and not have to get up at the crack of dawn to get to Edinburgh!

On Tuesday, Alan dropped me off at the train station and I "commuted" to work!  How very nice!  All of the jobs I have held since moving here have required the use of a car. But it is such a pleasure not to drive.  I am going to price this to see if it might be worthwile to "commute" instead of drive on days I know I am staying in the office.

It just got better too.... I use a website called thetrainline http://www.thetrainline.com/ and it gives all different ways and times to get where you want to go.  I noticed a train that left Glasgow Central for Edinburgh that only took one hour and 7 minutes.  I got burned one time getting on a train bound for Edinburgh from Central - it took 2 hours or more to get there and there was a Guide unit waiting for us on the other end.  So I was quite skeptical at this new information. But sure enough, it looked safe enough to follow up on! 

The usual way to get to Edinburgh is a 10 minute walk from Glasgow Central to Glasgow Queen Street, where a train leaves every 15 minutes.  So I figured the 67 minutes predicted for the train leaving Central Station would really not take any extra time at all. 

Arriving at Central, I was so pleasantly surprised to see this beautiful, streamlined, shiny, crosscountry train headed to Birmingham New Street.  Again, I read and re-read the itinerary to make sure I didn't really mess myself up, but it was ok.  This was so much better than traipsing across town with a suitcase!  I will have to watch out for connections like that in the future.  (However, being on such a nice train going to a new place made me really want to just stay on!)

Arriving in Edinburgh, with my friend waiting - fantastic!  And I get a tiny budget for "hospitality" if not staying in a hotel.  So Cathy had the option of deciding how we should spend this windfall. She chose taking a taxi home.  She had had a rough day and the thought of waiting for her train to get us to Portobello was just too much.  I was happy to oblige and got a taxi! 

Once at her house, the wine was ready and dinner was bubbling away.  Fantastic! Not only do I feel spoiled when I visit her, but she also enjoys cooking for people.  Her husband is working away and her kids are the same age as mine, so she only has cats to keep her company just now!  What a wonderful evening and dinner.

To top this off, we walked down to the beach. Can you imagine, a city the size of Edinburgh with a beach!  It really does feel like a beach resort in this area too!  We hoped to catch a glimpse of the planets - Jupiter and Venus.  And so we did!  The sky didn't look as cloudy as these pictures show, but we were very lucky to have a relatively clear sky anyway.  If I had been at home....Alan told me there were only clouds to see!

We travelled back to city center in the morning and I meandered down to the CAS building.  It was a lovely walk and I enjoyed taking my time and also a few pictures!

Nice looking building on the way

Part of a Louis Vuitton window display

LV must be really into arrows this year!

Beautiful church with a bus stop at its side, I gave up waiting for the buses to go away and just took it from a bit higher up!

Reminded me of the "doors of Dublin"

old fashioned looking shop

little street just before I got to the CAS building

Our work get together was good, but nice to end that too.  Walked back to the station, via some shops!  Didn't buy anything though.  I am really saving as much as possible for my trip home.  With being 2 dress sizes down, I am in need of ALL new clothes. What fun! And I want to do that in the US!

Stopping off in Glasgow and making the walk between stations, I decided to shop again.  And again, didn't buy anything. Although I was very tempted when I saw a new shop called "Americandy".  Woo hoo, what would be in there that I am missing?  And I WAS hungry.....Unfortunately the shock of how much things cost in there took away my appetite.  4oz Flips, those chocolate covered pretzels I love - £5.  A small bag of M&M's ( and they had so many varieties) £2.  So not worth it.  And what a disappointment.  Oh well, got home to a lovely home cooked dinner by my husband and no guilt with eating something I didn't need!!

"Avoid any diet that discourages the use of hot fudge."  ~Don Kardong

Burns Beer Festival 2012

Last Friday I stumbled upon a post on Facebook stating that the bar would open in 4 hours for the Burns Beer Festival!  Considering I live in the area, I found it quite surprising that a beer festival snuck in like that!  Looking back, I thought I had taken action quickly enough, but I only contacted my husband.  And we could not go on Friday, luckily they also ran the festival on Saturday.

Having never been to a beer festival before, I was really looking forward to going to this one, especially since we could walk there. The setting was perfect, right in the grounds of Robert Burns  Cottage!  I was surprised to see so few people and then realized we were not the only ones who did not know about this local event. So Alan and I phoned our friends: not only did they not know, they also could not come.

There was a great selection of beer and ale, actually I don't know which was which and considering it was a beer festival - maybe they were all beer....?  Alan prefers lager so he got 4 different selections of the lighter beers and I like dark beer like Guinness, so I got a selection of darker beers.  We both tried to avoid the Ayr Brewing Company because we can get that locally.  We also avoided the Arran Brewery because we are planning on going to Arran soon.  It helped to have some reason not to choose some because there were so many!

I did try one of the Ayr Brewery beers though because it was specially brewed for this festival - the Peck O Maut, couldn't pass that one by!

If you look closely, you can see the design that is on the flyer.  These are half pint glasses and it will be nice if we will be able to make a collection of these in the coming years!

Alan and I had a relaxing afternoon, from about 2 - 5, we could have stayed longer, but decided just to go on home.  However, with a bit of planning and more friends, this would be a fantastic day out.  Plus there was a celidh starting at 8pm, in the same place.

me with a half pint of The Grace

 I have given feedback to the facebook group advertising this that I hope there will be one next year.  The response was they do too!  So maybe the lack of crowds this year will not cause the festival to fade away!

"There's some are fou o' love divine, There's some are fou' o' brandy."

 Robert Burns

Conference

View from my hotel room

Here I am in Glasgow, with the chance to sleep a bit later yet up at 6am.  Every year Citizens Advice Service has a conference and I have been privileged to attend every one since starting with CAB!  In addition to spending quality time with the people I work with every week, I also get to catch up with the small number of people who actually do my job all over Scotland.  Our job is a lonely role since there is usually only one person in each health board doing this.  So the few times a year we get together is great!

All the Ayrshire delegates, both North and East Ayrshire!

We had a great time at the dinner/dance last night.  It is usually just ok, with good food and a disco. But last night, it was a ceilidh! And for the first time in years, I was able to dance virtually every dance!  (One of the many benefits of going to Weightwatchers!)  The only thing that held me back was lack of partners! 

After the dance, we ended up in our hotel bar until the very wee hours of the morning, so there is no excuse for me to be so awake at 6am!



I will have to look up this band's name, they were really good!

Reflections on the River Clyde while walking back to the Campanile Hotel

Our dinner/dance was at the Crown Royal right on the River Clyde.  It was a lovely night and Christine and I walked back to our hotel along the river.  I am certain Alan would have gotten better photos, but I enjoyed trying!

Drink, and dance and laugh and lie,
Love the reeling midnight through,
For tomorrow we shall die!
(But, alas, we never do.)~Dorothy Parker

Fashion advice from a 3 year old and other rambling thoughts

It is odd to think that Ayr was once a wonderful beach resort in its day!  We do have a beach, but after living 10 years on the Miracle Strip in Florida, this is not a beach I can get excited about!  However, it is nice to go for a walk on the beach or just to park and watch Mother Nature when she is in a bad mood!  For some reason, this year we have had loads of high winds and damaging storms.  It is amazing to sit and watch the huge waves, until it is either too scary or the road is closed!

Ayr does offer some interesting events to attract people to visit.  One I was looking forward to was the ploughing contest!  I have been to two horse ploughing contests and they were beautiful and fun to watch.  The horses are what I have always considered Budweiser Clydesdales!  Where I grew up, these were not common sights, only when Budweiser was doing something special. Or you could go visit them at their stables in the brewery in St. Louis.

There is a clue though in why I did not get the experience I expected.  This was a "ploughing contest"  nowhere did it say horse ploughing!

This is what I expected to see, but I must have missed the demonstration of this one team.  There are usually fields and fields of these on a horse ploughing contest day.

This is what actually was going on - antique tractors ploughing.  And it looked like a deadly serious challenge between farmers. Certainly not set up for tourists.  Alan and I didn't stay long.

My first Spring flower, wish I could remember what I planted last year!

A nice treat before I left for work!

 

Corbyn was really excited about his new shoes and really wanted this track suit to go with it.  Who could resist? He was also desparate for a football to go with the outfit.....I didn't get the connection until the next morning. Corbyn says this is his football training outfit and he needs that football!

While I was getting ready for work this same morning, I told Corbyn we needed to go downstairs to get my jeans. He offered to help me and located a pair of trousers for me to wear instead. I told him they would not match.  He responded by saying "Look in the mirror"  so I did and it looked fine.  Is he a budding new fashion advisor or does he just have a very stylish mother who has influenced his good taste

Good times with Grandma Simmons before bed, in his toasty pyjamas.

Corbyn and his grandfather playing with the Thomas train set.  They built those little sheds in the background. 

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.Coco Chanel

Dollars and sense

Written previously when I had given up hope of any decision!  - No decision yet as to what we are going to do in May!  Alan did cancel the Michael's Inn reservations because we are definitely not going anywhere near Canada.  Oh well, that is always on the cards, Toronto is easy to get to from here.

The need for me to go home is very strong and that is now the direction where we are headed!  And I had to take back a lovely offer from my Mom.  As soon as we booked the New England trip, Mom said why not let my niece, Candi, have the timeshare in Florida?  I was delighted and contacted her immediately.  She was so excited......about a week later - I had to contact her and ask for it back!  I am so lucky to have a family that loves and understands me. She was fine about it and has reassured me that next year would actually be better for them to use it.  Whew!  So it does look like a sure thing that we will spend some time in one of my "home towns"!!  The remainder of our planning has had to center on this.

Since I never posted this, what follows is the next "chapter"!

My original idea was too ambitious.  I suggested flying to Washington DC to visit Alan's cousin, Alex, then drive to Raliegh to see my cousin, Mary.  Next, drive to Atlanta to spend time with Candi and Roxanne, two of my very special nieces.  Then drive to Fort Walton for the timeshare.  And a big treat of New Orleans before going home. As they say on the commercial - Simples.

Of course, this could not possibly work out, it was too simple and uncomplicated.  The main killer of this idea was a visit to Largs Travel, where David, the owner, explained that although it looks as if there is no drop off fee for a one way car rental, it is actually in the small print. And he found it - $700!

Then came a week or so of emails, phone calls, conferences and tears (well no tears, but it was a tough time), trying to find an alternative.  As we are doing this, the flights are becoming a bit more and more expensive.....

One way car hire was still on the cards - David then advised us that each manager where you get the car will determine what to charge for one way hires. So I got my niece in Atlanta to contact Thrifty.  And the real bad news - no one way AT ALL to anywhere but Pensacola, FL.  Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Pensacola, but it never was on our itinerary. 

So last night, at 8:30 pm Jim and Jennifer arrived to make final decisions about driving one way from Atlanta to New Orleans and once again, this could not happen.  None of us were going to leave the room until something was decided.  Eventually, it was decided to fly into and out of New Orleans and drive up to Atlanta first, ending in New Orleans. Finally, a decision.

We did not book this though because we want all 4 flights on the same ticket and Jennifer had to wire Alan money to do it today.  I left for work thinking everything was rosy!

Of course not!  Since making the decision to land and leave from NOLA, the prices skyrocketed and this was no longer an option.  So another round of emails and phone calls and voila -
after a very painful and enlightening few weeks, who would have thought things could be so complicated, we have booked our flights!

This has been an epic struggle getting the timings, cars, costs, flights, etc to work out.  Now we can begin to relax and look forward to quality time with family and fun in the sun! 

What good friends Jim and Jennifer are. The struggle was not with them  but with the world economy, details, strange costs that appeared when we were trying to do something we thought was simple, you name it, it hit us!  The four of us were a very good team working around our needs and ideas and reality!

Diligence is the mother of good fortune.
Benjamin Disraeli

unexpected and very welcome obstacles!

After searching and trying and discussing and losing hope of ever finding an affordable and agreeable New York hotel, we got a lifeline in the form of an email from British Airways!  It was sent to inform us the return flight for our trip was cancelled!  Why was this a lifeline?  Because we all were having second thoughts as to the expense of this trip.  Thanks to the terms and conditions, we were able to cancel the whole thing!  I know that seems rather drastic, but we were all delighted with this sudden turn of events and will do more research when we do find another trip to plan!!

So far, we have not cancelled Michaels Inn at Niagara Falls, but we can if need be. Who knows what will be around the corner? I am torn between trying to go home and visit family, or going on a cruise to either Venice or on the Hurtigruten cruise along the Norway coast. http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/norway/
In fact, the Hurtigruten cruise would be my first choice, but probably not Jim and Jennifer's.  I think after all the ups and downs and cancelled plans (most of them by me) we need to take into consideration what they might want to do!

Alan and I are researching various options, but I am being pulled home, really....

Watch this space, who knows where we will end up!


“We are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known.”~ Carson McCullers

On the way to Edinburgh

Although I have lived in Scotland for 26 years, I will always be a tourist at heart, so I jump at the chance to go anywhere, whenever I have the chance! 

This weekend was incredibly busy due to it being my birthday and my son, Martin, coming up from London.  Oh no, not for my birthday though!  But for a big Ayr United vs Kilmarnock football game.  It was just lucky that I got to see him and spend some time with him on my birthday!   (Ayr United lost, but apparently, they held their own pretty well.)

Poor Martin arrived on Friday night, actually Saturday morning, went to Glasgow for the game on Saturday, then had to squeeze in one hour playing with Corbyn.  No visit home is complete without quality uncle/nephew time!  I was lucky enough to also be at Whitney's because of her burned fingers.  Strange connection?  Well, I had to do the dishes for her and get Corbyn ready for bed.  I felt very privileged to see those two guys enjoying each other's company so much. I might miss Martin terribly, but I feel most sorry for Corbyn because he really, really loves his Uncle Martin and Martin really, really loves him.

Then Martin was whisked away to have dinner with Alan and me, then he met his friends.  He looked exhausted when I left him at the train station in Glasgow on Sunday.

Yes, I travelled with him to Glasgow.  Not as silly as it sounds though, I was on my way to Edinburgh to spend the night with my friend, Cathy.  I was to be at a training course in Edinburgh for 10am and this was a real bonus! 

I have to admit that I always cry when I say goodbye to Martin, sorry but I just can't help it.  However, on my way to Queen Street Station, I could hear bagpipes and drums. They sounded amazing and really cheered me up.  It looked like they were only selling a CD, I couldn't see anyplace to give a donation, but I did take a picture or two.  I am very grateful to them for being exactly where I needed them to be to put a smile on my face!

I had a fantastic dinner with Cathy, celebrating my birthday, again!  What fun to have a weekend birthday and great friends and family to share it with!

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them.  Ralph Waldo Emerson