Scotland Trip Report--Day 15--Edinburgh/St. Andrews

Having gone to bed at about 9:15, I woke up bright and early, at 6:30. After breakfast, we were on our way out to St. Andrews, home of golf. We stopped along the way at the Forth Bridge, in the tiny medieval town of South Queens Ferry. The road is basically one lane through town, and we had to pass a septic truck! But we got past with inches to spare, and continued on our way.
In St. Andrews, we stopped by the Old Course for photos, and to use the bathrooms (and pay 30p for the privilege, which should have meant clean bathrooms, but didn’t). We saw the clubhouse, the putting greens, and the first hole, and then headed into town for some sightseeing. St. Andrew’s Cathedral (which is in ruins from the time of the Reformation) was huge and really beautiful. The cemetery has graves from hundreds of years ago, sadly many were children under 2 years old. St. Rules’ Tower, next to the cathedral, was also very interesting. We then walked over to St. Andrews’ Castle, along the shoreline. What a view!! We walked through St. Salvator’s college, part of the University of St. Andrews. I just love the old buildings. Sort of like Yale and Princeton, although a bit older.
I walked around with Bob & Lorel and Steve & Marcia, since I didn’t want to be alone. They were headed for lunch at The Doll House, which sounded good to me, so I went along (I hope they didn’t mind my intrusion!) I had a nice mini-salad of tomatoes and mozzarella with some chips, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert (I just love that stuff!) After lunch we walked through town. They are having a street fair, so there were kids’ rides and other attractions, a lot of people, and a lot of noise!
We found the St. Andrews Golf Shop, which was exactly what I needed. I got an Old Course golf shirt for Daddy, and one for Laura, along with a ball, ball marker, and some tees. She will love it! Then I made my way back to the meeting point, where everyone was sitting along a wall with their bags. Karen said she has never seen so many bags coming out of St. Andrews--guess we must have a lot of golfers!
Back to the hotel, and I decided to run out and get some water bottles for tonite, since getting anything up at the castle will be close to impossible. I wanted to see what I could find for Danny, since I have gotten a bunch of things for Laura and almost nothing for him. I found a great Scottish Football (rugby) jersey, which I am sure he will like. All through the mall area and courtyard, they have the ‘Signspotting Project’, with crazy signs from all over the world, where the English translation doesn’t quite make it. Things like “Warning: Free Range Children”, and “Evacuation Route…Not A Through Street”. They were really funny!
I went back up to my room to pack. It really didn’t take long, since all my dirty clothes are already in the laundry bag, and all my souveneirs are packed into the small suitcase. While I was packing, the fire alarm rang! This is getting to be a habit when I stay at the Balmoral! (it happened last year too, just after we arrived). I know that they have frequent alarms here, and I also knew there was no way in hell I was climbing down six flights of stairs, so I stayed put and hoped I would not need to be rescued from a 6th floor window!
The reception and dinner were very nice. It was sort of sad though, knowing that this would be the last time I would see most of the people. We toasted Karen for being a great tour guide, and then Elizabeth, for being a great sport about losing her luggage. Karen told us that we were “The” group this year. The meal was good--caprese salad, yummy salmon, and strawberries. I was glad we would have the chance to walk it off!
We walked up to the castle, and it was a mob scene all the way up the High Street! Bertween the Festival and Tatoo, there were just people everywhere. Tatoo was AWESOME! There were all different kinds of groups, from pipe bands to regular bands to singers to dancers, even one band that was all drums (and they were great!) They even played Amazing Grace, which all ways gives me chills played on the bagpipes. The best was when the entire group of pipe bands played all together.
The VIP boxes were just above us, and one box must have been a bunch of diplomats, because they were seriously dressed up, and there was a woman in some sort of oriental dress. The one guy there stood at the end of each group’s performance, and the spotlight would go on him, and he would salute the band. I think he must have been the Lord Provost of Edinburgh or something, but in any event it was pretty cool. At the end there were fireworks, and then the lone piper playing from up on the castle wall--kind of surreal. The bands marched out playing ‘Scotland The Brave’.
The huge mob leaving the stadium was so civilized, and we noticed there was no litter at all. As we walked down the Royal Mile, the crowd thinned out a bit, and once we turned onto North Bridge, it wasn’t bad at all. At the hotel, we all said goodbye. I will miss all these people, as I really enjoyed being with them.Some poor folks have to leave at 6 am!! I was glad to have a late flight, and a 9:45 pickup.