Edinburgh, the Highlands and thence to Glasgow

Greeting from Glasgow.

We got here about an hour ago. Have already had a pint at the oldest pub in Glasgow. Let no one say that I am not an intrepid and purposeful tourist.

First to recap:

The evening of that last post we went on a ghost tour with Mercat tours. our guide was named STeve. Steve was a damned smart guy, but he was far more interesting talking as a person rather than as a tour guide. His canned shpiel sounded very canned, but if you asked him a question and got him on a riff, he was fascinating. Andyhow, we went into some spooky vaults and heard some scary stories, it was fun and a bit creepy, but no unbelievably so. Mostly cheesy, though Rich swears he felt a 'cold draught'. He has seen a ghost before, when we were in New Orleans, so I guess he has the psychic sensitivity. Me? Not so much, I'm too obnoxious for ghosts to let their presence be known to me. I think I step all over them, and right into them, and they go spook someone else because I am just too hardheaded and self centered to pay attention to them! I did trip over some rocks, though, in the vaults, and am really trying to find a way to attribute that to ghostly interference. Maybe they put the rocks there?

The next day we went to Edinburgh Castle and to Grassmarket and hit a pub or two. One was really great, the White Hart, the bartender was really nice and we chatted with him for a bit. Oh, I also went to St. Giles Cathedral, and spent about an hour talking to the volunteer there, this nice older gentleman who took me on the 'cute girl tourist tour' and showed me all the hidden secrets of the cathedral. He was a hoot, he had a wicked sense of humor and really knew his history. I enjoyed spending time with him. He pretty much ignored Rich, he had too much fun flirting with me, it was cute. We were pretty tired that evening, we walked alot, so it was an early night.

Yesterday we went on an all day bus tour into the Highlands. We pretty much saw all of Scotland in one day, including but not limited to: Glencoe, Pitlochry, Inverness, Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle, Ft. William, Callander, past Stirling and Linlithgow, and back. Loch Ness was incredible, and I will (after my pics are printed) post definitive proof of the Loch Ness Monster, here! On This Blog! Yes, it's a scoop and a world debut: The Loch Ness Monster Does Exist. And I have the photos to prove it. Wait with baited breathe, y'all. It should be cool.

Today the 'haar' came to Edinburgh. Apparently, the British Weather Authorities have decreed that you can only have about three days of good weather, and they send the crappy weather back in promptly so as not to spoil anyone. The haar is this light rain that does not heed the laws of gravity or physics and falls in every direction. You don't feel it falling, then suddenly you are soaked and cold. It's pretty freaking crappy. I was in it all day today. My hair? It's doing some stunning frizz. But nevertheless, I was tough and went on a walking tour of the Royal Mile and did a bit of shopping today, then at 4 pm we caught the train to Glasgow.

And here we are. Tomorrow another bus tour, to Stirling Castle (going in to see it) and to Linlithgow, hopefully going into there too. Also to Loch Lomond.

That's all for now. More beer, and Rich wants some Cajun food. I know, I know, Cajun food in Scotland? Well, we had pretty good luck with Mexican food, so why the hell not?