Costco and Golf

Our trip to Venice was only the beginning.

We then drove to Edinburgh to see the Military Tattoo and the Festival - both run through the month of August. And we took the longer route by driving along the coast through Aberdeen (which also has a Costco - but we didn't stop there) and then on to St. Andrews, which some of you may know is the Birthplace of Golf. That was on Mike's bucket list.

So, just as he indulges me at quilt shops - to just look at fabric and projects, and sometimes actually make a wee purchase - I gave him this small gift of time and dollars. Or rather, pounds.

He gawked at the course.

He gawked at the players.

He walked on the path through the middle of a fairway and he breathed it in.

He gawked some more.

Then he went into a shop to buy a souvenir (or two).

And then as we were leaving, he saw another man, whose dream it must also have been to play this course, standing on the bridge while HIS wife took a picture of him.

Mike threw everything onto the ground, bounded over the fence, and posed himself.

Happy guy.

Then we drove on to Edinburgh and enjoyed 3 nights at a lovely AirBnB that was just on the edge of downtown - close enough that we could walk to the castle and the Tattoo.

The Military Tattoo was fabulous. But we almost didn't get in - even though we had bought our tickets at the end of June. Just a small thing....apparently, we were supposed to take our printed email receipt to a shop in town to pick up our actual tickets prior to the show.

the millions of people in line behind us for the Tattoo

Nowhere on the receipt did it state where to go. So, we assumed it meant the 'Will Call' office when you get to the castle.

Except that they do things differently here.

So, when we finally got to the front of the line, instead of giving over our paper ticket, we showed them our printed receipt. They promptly sent us to a line of people outside a small trailer, where they would hopefully help us through this.(This was now just 10 minutes before the show started)

We heard a couple ahead of us had a real problem. They also had bought their tickets online, but apparently, it was not a legitimate site. So, even though they had already paid for tickets, they were no good. In order to see the show, they actually had to pay a bundle of more money for new seats.

I'm surprised there were more seats.

That, of course, caused a little bit of panic inside me. Was that going to be us, too?

I compared my printout with the one of the person behind us in line. They looked the same. Oh no! But after that moment of panic, I recalled that I had actually purchased mine from the official site.

And as it turned out, they honored our printed receipt, even though some people later said they were surprised that they had. And we took our seats just as the first group was walking onto the field.

The show was really great. I am not going to take time or space to tell you about it. If you are interested, go to their website and watch the videos they have there. I will just say that it was very impressive. The bands, the dancers, the lighting, the sounds. All of it.

And it all takes place just outside the entrance to the Edinburgh Castle, so the castle is the backdrop.

Parts of the Tattoo reminded me of the drum corps shows. Not nearly the details and intensity of drum corps, but a similar feeling of order and sound.

Walking Tour  - below the castle

We took another Free Walking Tour.

Again, it was great! Craziness in the beginning because they had multiple groups meeting in the middle of the Royal Mile (right in the middle of the millions of people on this street). But once that got sorted out, we had an interesting time learning about some of the history of Edinburgh, the castle, the kings, the Scottish people, how the city was built, etc, with our delightful young tour guide (a mere 18 years old!) She had so much energy and was a great storyteller.




This was our 3rd Walking Tour and  would highly recommend them if you find yourself somewhere in Europe. In fact, I would suggest you schedule one for the first day you are there because it may help you decide what else you do and where else you go. And you do want to schedule them ahead of time. They book up (and even overbook). We found ourselves having to show the email receipt with the time on it that determined whether or not we got in that group!  Oh the stress!

I was really glad to leave the city and the crowds of people. And on our way out of town, as planned, we stopped at COSTCO!!!

But not without some issues.

Of course.

See, we did not have our actual Costco card with us, so we asked if they could just look us up. Nope. Their system is not connected to the US system. Of course not.

But the woman helping us was very kind and went above and beyond to help us get into the store on a one-day pass. Of course, it is set up just like every other Costco, which is weirdly comforting. It is a sight of home. We spent way more time there than we probably should have, but we just felt like we had to go up and down every aisle to make sure we didn't miss something we 'needed.'  And I had even come prepared with a LIST! A list of all the things we 'needed.'  (I started it back in June and have added to it along the way, so that I would be prepared if we should ever get to go.)

I know you all want to know if we bought the Kirkland brand toilet paper - and the answer is YES!!!

But I actually- briefly - considered not buying it because I suspect it is not really the Kirkland brand. Yes, it has 'Kirkland' on the package, but it does not look quite right. I was suspicious. But we decided to take a chance. And now we will know. And we will either love it because it is the 'right' stuff/ the familiar stuff, or we will resign ourselves to finding a local brand we can live with. Either way, we have something like 36+ rolls to decide.

An ATM in the phone booth on the Royal Mile

I also had Italian sausage on my list....just in case. And we were rewarded! Now, it is not the brand I am used to buying, and it looks different, but we decided to risk it. We bought 2 packages. We now have 36 Italian sausages!  That is a lot of sausage for 2 people. I will let you know how they turn out.

Now, I know that some of you just went, "Whaaat?? After all that whining about not having Italian sausage in Scotland, you didn't eat even eat ONE before posting about it??"

 I know.
 I have been busy.
 Get over it.

signs we don't see in the US

So, it was wonderful to go away. Venice was wonderful in its way. Edinburgh was wonderful in its way.

And driving across Scotland was wonderful. The land down south is very different from where we are in the north. Of course, it is beautiful. It is rolling hills of agriculture and trees and even mountains.

 But I am starting to think that the mental picture people have of Scotland is actually the northern part. It is rugged. And wide-open. It felt very good to come home. Even getting off the plane in Inverness and breathing in that cool, fresh air felt good.

Dual Carriageway = two lanes each direction

Remember how, a couple of posts ago, I said I was planning 4 trips? Venice and Edinburgh were 2.

Tomorrow, Katrina, Carol, Leah and I are driving south to Swindon (west of London) to see 3 castles that open to the public in August - Althorpe (Princess Diana's family estate), Highgrove House (where Prince Charles lives) and Highclere  Castle (the real Downton Abbey).

These are on Katrina's bucket list, so we all get to tick that them off with her.

(I'm so glad I binged watched Downton Abbey last winter, long before I ever could have dreamed I would be living here and seeing it in person.)


Then on Friday, they will drop me off in Birmingham, where I will fly to Munich to meet my friend Bonnie from WA. We are going to spend a week together in Munich and Salzburg.

And when I am home again, it will be September.

All the traveling is quite fun, but it will feel good to stay put for awhile.

And the other good news is that our household goods have (FINALLY) been approved for shipment (after a mere two months)!  So, in theory, it means the first, small shipment coming by air freight, could be here in 2-3 weeks. And the bigger shipment could be here in 6-8 weeks.

But I'm not holding my breath.

PS. We ate supper at a cool ranch-style restaurant outside of St. Andrews. We decided to order one steak with fries to share and a meal-salad to share.

FYI - when they say 'pigeon,' they mean pigeon.

Now we know.