Farewell, Caledonia

Today we said goodbye to NeSC and Thistle Cottage. Tomorrow, to Scotland. Had a wonderful week saying goodbye to our friends, Shelagh and Andrew and their kids, Clare, and Logan (who fell into our frog pond after dinner), Phillipa and James, and their kids, Rosie, Richaldis, Francis, and mathilda, at their beautiful new house at the Scottish Borders, and mahesh and Archana, my former student from Texas who is doing so well as a faculty at Edinburgh. We have so appreciated their friendship during our short stay here. my work colleagues at NeSC who have given me a fun and productive year and introduced me to another sweet Edinburgh pub, the Bailie last night.

We all have much to add, stay tuned ...

Highlands and the Isle of Skye

Our last big trip was a tour of the Highlands and the Isle of Skye. We began the tour heading up to Inverness and Loch Ness. The Loch and the glen is very dramatic and beautiful. We stopped at the Urqahart Castle ruins. The drive to the Isle of Skye was through the Great Glen which was filled with Lochs and waterfalls and the castle Eileen Doonan. We stayed for a week on Skye on the Sleat peninsula--one of the few areas of the island with trees. The single track road to our cottage was harowing with blind curves and no barriers! We had a sweet local rocky beach where we harvested our own mussels for several scrumptious dinners. We also enjoyed the many little art galleries dotting the Island.

We spent the week hiking around the beaches (too cold to swim), Armadale Castle, collecting sea glass, and sitting by the fire. Making morning fires in July was something we never expected to do! Our fisherman neighbor caught us some lobsters and crabs, which made for a great dinner. We got to hear some tradition gaelic music during the Skye Festival. We made our way home via the ferry to Mallaig and a windy drive by Ben Nevis and the many glens of the Highlands.

London & Paris

Our tour of the UK began in early July. We travelled by train to London. London is a big, bustling, busy city. We saw the London Tower, did the London Eye, changing of the guard, St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey (fabulous tour). We spent a fun night in Chinatown and enjoyed the Victoria and Albert Museum--a huge collection of pretty things! We also visited the Science and Natural History museums, all walking distance from our little hotel. We really enjoyed the lush green parks of London, particularly St. James, where we got a chance to unwind from city activities. The girls loved riding the tube which was always packed.














We spent a wonderful day in Paris. We traveled via the Eurostar and had a glorious summer day visiting the major sites (Arc de Triomphe, Grand Palais, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame) and toured the Musee d'Orsay. It is a BEAUTIFUL city and we were sorry we did not have more time.

Edinburgh in Bloom

In June our friends the Blooms visited. It was a great visit with time to re-connect, show them Edinburgh, visit York (which felt very English), and hike the Pentlands.
We had a wonderful and memorable last day with a hike and sunshine, skittle bowling, pub grub, and an evening stroll in a secret garden by Duddingston Kirk. Other great highlights included an evening visit to the Scottish Real Ale festival and a visit to the John Leslie, an authentic pub in our neighborhood.