Scotland and photos

As stated previously, yesterday I got back from a trip to St. Andrews, Scotland. It's rather ironic that I'd go, because it's Mecca for golfers, and I've never picked up a club in my life. The countryside was lovely, with rolling hills and hayfields everywhere, and badly kept small roads that aren't kidding around when the signs tell you to slow down. We did see one horrible accident where someone didn't.

The Good

Small, pretty, rambly seaside towns

High availability of alcohol (like, everywhere. You could get it on the train.)

Rugby

Pubs

Dependable, clean trains

Much nicer than NJ Transit, though I think everything is. Because I am a complete dork, I had to get something off the trolley, and I gushed to husband later that "it was just like Harry Potter!"

Tartans, and accompanying men in kilts playing bagpipes

The royal castle in Edinburgh

Ginger Beer from Schweppes! Also Scrumpy Jack, which our hosts thought was very funny, and I was afraid that drinking it was on a level with drinking PBR or Milwaulkee's Best.

The Bad

Breakfast at The Scores Hotel

I have NO idea how they made toast, sausage, and eggs so execrable, but it was nasty.

THE EXCHANGE RATE, HOLY SHIT.

Because everything that costs a dollar here costs a pound there, and it's easy to look at a price and say "huh, that's not bad," until you consider that you have to double every price you see. This is why I brought back very little.

Driving on the left

I didn't do any driving, but this freaked me out all the same.

The WTF

Separate hot and cold taps

This boggled me. Having hot and cold water come out of the same tap is hardly a new concept, and yet almost every single sink in Scotland had separate taps, even new sinks. So, either you burn your hands/face or freeze, and I've never been a big fan of filling the basin and washing my face in water that gets progressively soapier.

( On to the photos! )