The Belles of Scotland! (Pun intended!)

Ian and I arrived in Glasgow on Thursday where we were picked up by his Aunt Irene and Jackie.  What wonderful hostesses they have been!  I have really enjoyed our time with them.  I am quite sad that we will have to leave tomorrow as we head North to the Isle of Skye.

Friday, Ian and I went into Edinburgh on the train and had a great time.  We got kind of a late start because we slept in due to our previous night of travel.  When we arrived, the weather was what I had imagined.  A heavy mist enveloped Edinburgh Castle and though not great for photography, it was wonderful to experience.

Edinburgh Castle

To the right of the Castle is a walkway down a very steep hillside.  The hillside was covered in flowers and I only got a few pictures but Ian took several.  On the other side of the valley is a wonderful shopping district called Prince's Street.  There were many American shops with the local shops.  I was able to find a cupcake shop of course.  Ian has that photo that I will post as soon as he gives them up.

 

Since this is a 'business trip', we have been checking out the different flower shops in each city.  None, so far, are up to par with Jackson|Durham.  We did see these rather scary looking hedge heads in a department store window.  They remind me of the Jack in the Box mascot.

 
Late in the day we took the train to North Queensferry to catch a glimpse of the Firth of Forth bridge, which is a world famous bridge, even older than the Golden Gate.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Bridge  It was the first such structure made entirely of steel in Britain, built around 1890.  Due to the shroud of mist, we were unable to see much of it.  However, I did capture this misty picture of the tunnel entrance at North Queensferry train station.

 

Finally, we picked up our rental car today and I managed to make it back to East Kilbride from Glasgow without incident.  It's hard to explain how utterly nerve racking it is to drive the opposite of everything I was taught.  At least I requested an automatic, which resulted in a free upgrade to an Audi wagon...not as good as Ling Ling though.

We leave at first light in the morning, heading to the Isle of Skye in North West Scotland.  I can't wait.
More pics to come!

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!