Ahh, Western Pleasures

We arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland last Friday.  It had been a very, very long day. Just like the persistent tuk tuk drivers, Delhi didn't seem to want to let us go.  Although our plane was due to depart at midnight, it took another three hours, and FIVE changes of departure gates, before it happened.  Each time that the gate change announcement was made, our growing contingent of passengers bound for Paris would arise en masse, like sheep, and troop up or down the escalator. Most of us grumbled just a bit under our breath.  But the Indian passengers felt comfortable voicing their frustration loudly. I had a sense that somewhere there was a manager getting a good laugh out of it all.  Not until 3 am did we fall into the welcome arms of Air France.   No matter the unusual hour, Bruce and I clinked our little plastic wine glasses high above the tumult left behind and then fell promptly asleep in our air chariot.

                  Tuk tuk in New Delhi.  These guys can be very persistent in wanting to drive you around              for the whole day!

Bruce was especially eager to be out of India.  In retrospect, I guess that it was a long-shot that a person with sensory issues would enjoy a land that has so often been described as sensory overload.  He was a happy boy when our connecting flight from Paris landed in Edinburgh, where the pleasant, easy-going  immigration agent wished us a great holiday. (US agents could take a lesson in politeness from him!)   Outside, the weather was cool,  the roads were clean, traffic was organized, the air was fresh.  We checked into our beautiful B & B, Culane House, where the manager was a friendly young Pakistani woman - good segue!  It's a spotless, comforting place, with little chocolate Easter eggs, wrapped in gold foil, on the pristine white bedspread.  Coming from a part of the world where life is very basic, this was a luxurious touch that struck me as both delightful and inane!  The room looks out through high antique windows onto several garden spaces.  The daffies are in blossom, as well as the forsythia and the pink crab apple trees. Lilacs won't be far behind. We are in heaven - or "at home" , as the airport sign says!

                        It's so delightful to see spring right outside our B & B window.

As immense frosting on the cake, we have family here (seems only natural if we're really "at home".)  Actually, Dori and Dan, my Canadian cousins, are the reason that we are in Edinburgh, since they were here for Dan's sister's anniversary party and suggested that we join them for a couple of weeks.  They are staying in the same B & B, so we are loving exploring this beautiful city with folks who are dear people and great fun, as well as Scots experts.  The only time that I had been in Edinburgh previously was 43 years ago - with Dori.  We had tried to reach the Isle of Skye, ancestral home of our MacLeod grandmother, by hitch-hiking through the highlands, which didn't work out too well in that sparsely populated area.   This time we'll hire a car and drive there, stopping off en route to do some hiking on the West Highland Way.  As I write, Bruce and Dan are off procuring the car.

                                    Dori and Dan, right here in the "auld sod".  We're happy travelers!