Back in Glasgow

Hiya! Greetings from good ol Glesga, Scotland! I'm back..Wow! It's a bit hard to believe that I'm actually walking those streets that had become such a way of life for me...it's such a surreal experience to be back in the city I lived in for 9 months...after 3 years being gone so much has changed! It's all familiar...and yet it's different.   But...let me back up...I have a bit more time to email today (sitting at the EasyInternet Cafe on St. Vincent St. in city center...it's a bit more expensive than I it used to be, right now at 3:30pm on Monday it's running at £2.50 for an hour)...anyways, so let me fill in some details of our trip since London (it's been quite a whirlwind and although I emailed from Edinburgh and from St. Andrew's I didn't have much chance to tell stories)....   So...we headed out early on Thursday morning from London's Victoria Station Underground...had to ride the tube to King's Cross and then catch our Flying Scotsman train to Edinburgh. Riding the tube at peak commuter traffic time was quite the intense experience! The place was packed with people and when the trains arrived they flowed in and out of the cars like blood cells thru an artery. I have a funny story to tell about that...my parents and I were trying to keep track of each other, but when our train came I was pushed far away from them by so many people cramming in, I was almost left behind. I figured (in the split second I had to think) that if I couldn't make it on the train I would just wait for the next one and ride it to Kings Cross (hoping mom and dad would know to wait for me there)...but in that second mom (not being used to the system and the city and the fact we were in a foreign country) reached out suddenly thru the crowd and grabbed my arm pulling me up into the train car, squishing me into people and just then the doors were closing (which my back pack on my back would be crushed in the door) so I used all my force and pushed forward into the crowd once more, just making it by centimeters....(and by the way, I did all that with a Starbucks coffee in my hand and didn't spill a drop!!!! oh yeah, I'm good!!!!)...the adventure wasn't over because at the next stop I WAS THE DOOR for all the people in that car...so as the doors moved open I was shoved out onto the platform by a hord of London commuters....and had to make my way back onto the train thru the force of people in time for the doors to shut again!!!! And we had 3 more stops to go!!! OH MY GOODNESS!! Well...I survived. Quite an intense experience.   We had a real lovely train ride up from London thru the north of England and into Scotland. We had originally thought we'd stop off in York but that same day was the Royal Ascot Horse Races (the Queen was there for the race) and the city was packed with people all dressed up in tophats and tails, fancy dresses and large hats. We decided not to stop cuz it would be just too busy there (especially with the Royals being there). So we kept on up to Edinburgh. When we arrived at the station in Edinburgh there was a bagpiper in full kilt playing Scotland the Brave (as if to say "Welcome to Scotland") it was brilliant! We took a black taxi cab to our B&B (mom and dad's first one!) and settled in that night. We really had a great time in Edinburgh...the B&B we stayed at was wonderful & friendly. The couple who owned the Ardenar Guest House cooked my dad a Scottish breakfast (eggs, toast, beans, sausage, bacon, tomato) and made us homemade scones and tablet (tablet is a type of fudge)...YUMMY! We enjoyed lovely quiet mornings drinking tea and looking out our window to the garden and listening to the birds sing...lovely!   On Friday we took the bus into the city center and walked the Royal Mile and shopped and shopped and shopped. We went to Edinburgh Castle (and heard the 1pm canon go off right next to us). Oh....and on the way up to the castle I got my picture taken with a guy who was dressed like William Wallace...he flirted with me and showed me his arse (he had the Scottish flag tattooed on his bum!) we laughed and laughed and laughed!   Oh...and Friday morning we took a taxi to the rental car place to pick up our car. MY DAD ROCKS! He has done wonderfully driving over here! I can't even imagine how it would be to drive on the left side in a stick shift and try to figure out all the different road signs, street signs, markings on the streets, and laws, plus watch  out for other drivers and pedestrians and read the street signs on the buildings and go around the round a bouts....and my dad has done such a great job. We've had a few near misses but it's all been an adventure. We have angels watching over us!   Saturday we drove to St. Andrew's on the coast (across the Firth of Forth). OHhhhhhhhhh...it is one of my favorite spots in Scotland. We meandered thru the cathedral ruins and old graveyard, we walked down to the pier and walked out to the very end (it's at the North Sea), we went to St. Andrew's Castle ruins...it was all so picturesque and so refreshing! AND we got to have coffee with Melanie and Marco at Costas. That was a treat to see old friends again. They live in Carnoustie which is up the coast a bit north. Afterwards we traveled to Anstruther ( a wee seaside town ) for famous fish n chips...and mom and dad danced together on the pier ( remember it is their 40th wedding anniversary) there was a wee place that was playing old Dean Martin songs and I guess "their song" was playing at the time...how romantic.   Sunday we left from Edinburgh and traveled to Stirling by car (inland going west). We went to Stirling Castle and the William Wallace Monument (it's a very very tall tower, we climbed all the way up to the top to look out over the valley) and saw Wallace's claymore sword...it's HUGE!, and then we went to the Bannockburn Battle Field where Robert the Bruce fought the English. These are all historic sites for Scotland's freedom from English rule (back in the late 1200's early 1300's). We then traveled to Glasgow!   Last night I got to see old friends...Carrie McGavin (we had coffee at her flat) Maggie (whom we're staying with in her flat) and Mark & Brenda Campbell (Mark was one of the students with me in the Harvest Ministry College when I lived here before). It was a night of surprises seeing old friends...having tea, talking for hours, catching up, and reminiscing. Wow! Today I took my parents around by train, by underground and by foot to see the old neighborhoods I lived in here in the city...my flat in Battlefield, my flat in Cessnock, the KOG on Parnie St., downtown Buchanan Street and Argyl st. We went to the Modern Art Museum too. It's all easy to get to with public transportation and good shoes!   I am experiencing a lot of dejavu...a lot of surreal feelings...and a lot of emotions being back here. It's familiar but different...there are new shops and things that have been built, just when I think I remember something, it turns out a bit different...but it's all good. I'm enjoying being here and we will continue to sight see in the coming days. We'll be here thru Wed. morning and then we'll drive up to the Highlands past Loch Lomond thru Glencoe and up to Inverness for wed & thurs nights (we'll tour to Skye and Loch Ness) and then back down to Oban Friday night and then back to Glasgow on Saturday. We'll be in Glasgow till next week Tuesday. So there'll be lots of time to see friends and see the city and enjoy everything and go to the church and the KOG (that I used to work with).   I wanted to email you and catch you up. I hope this has helped. I think my time is running out so I better close this. I'll email another day. I love you and thank you for your prayers...we're having a blast!!! Cheers, Lisa