A Walk Before Paris - Day 26

Is it weird that I like cemeteries?  As a kid my Aunt Sis used to walk with us on a Saturday through the old cemeteries at Ft. Myer or Arlington National Cemetery.  There's just something peaceful about cemeteries to me.  I like the quiet and I like to read the stones.  I like the statuary on some stones and the writing on others.  Typically the grounds are well kept and the setting is usually lovely. 

 

Today's walk started in the old cemetery along the Edinburgh Road going up the Beef Tub.  See if you think it's peaceful or just plain weird!

We have a debate going....who looks more Scottish?  Gordon with his bonnet and boots or me with my Wellies, rain hat and Gordon's mother's miniature pincher vest?  I think I win.....Gordon actually laughed when he saw my outfit today!

After our cemetery stroll we headed up the Beef Tub to the top where there is a small parking area and a sign post labelled "Annandale Walk".   This "walk" was supposedly dedicated by Prince Charles himself last year and it is a rugged walk that goes along the very top of the "heads" that lay at the top of the Beef Tub.  Thank God I wore my Wellies because the ground was completely soggy from the rains yesterday and littered with little lambie pop-poo's as we made our way up a steep climb to view the Annandale Valley from the top of the Tub!

Cars on the Edinburgh Road....a very, very steep road down into the little town of Moffat.

Looking down into the "Tub" from on top.

 

The Annandale Valley and the Beef Tub road.  It's a beautiful, if chilly, day.

View from the top.

The view into the Beef Tub, a lush, verdant valley.

A craggy far "head".

Lamb poo's....this is for you girls.  You know who you are!

The bonnet or the hat?  Who wins?

We finished our walk and went for a loaf of bread and some smoked ham at the deli so we could make a "sandwich creation" or, if you are talking about a sandwich back in the states, a ham sandwich?!?!  And then we really needed to get into the garden in the front of the house.  So since it was a beautiful day we dug in.  Pulling weeds, cutting back plants, cutting dead bits and basically cleaning up.  Gordon got into the roans...known in the states as gutters, to clean them out.  BUT, really, the moss growing on the roof really needs to be knocked off first otherwise the point of cleaning the "roans" is lost on me.  So he began knocking off the moss from the tiles and "re-cleaned" the roans.  It's an on-going process because here in Scotland, the roof's are always wet and the moss always grows where it's wet!  In California...moss doesn't stand a chance!

Here's a question?  Why are all the gardening tools made for little people?  See the bucket in the picture above?  It's the size of a normal bucket in the states, about 2 gallons.  All the tools are so short you have to stoop over to use them!  Different?  Ya think?

Back inside we better pack for Paris.  I'm prepared except for the fact that Paris is in the mid-70's to 80's right now and I wasn't banking on that.  Thankfully, I went to Virginia first and I'm packing my walking shorts and capris and sandals from that trip and I think I can work them into my Paris wardrobe.  Gordon and I have traveled enough to know that you don't dress like an American in a foreign country - in particular Paris - So we are thoughtfully packing are bags to look inconspicuous and, oops, Gordon realizes that he has forgotten to pack an everyday shoe other than white tennie's.  Since we don't want to be pegged as Americans and/or a target of pick-pocketers we decide to nip off down the hill to our friend Suzanne's shoe shop to purchase some discreet walking shoes.  Hmmmmmm, next time I think I'll use that excuse!  Suzanne has lovely shoes and purses and scarves and wallets and jewelery and.......men's shoes that look European and totally wearable in Paris.  So Gordon owns another pair of new shoes from Suzanne's shop.  Seems like he gets a new pair every year!  We are packed and ready for dinner.

That mince sauce I made yesterday is being resurrected tonight for dinner.  Yesterday, while Gordon was running my errands, I sent him to the butcher for a pound of ground beef.  Here though you have to say you want mince otherwise they don't know what you are talking about.  So he went in and asked for his pound of mince or really, sirloin, which is whacked off a slab of beast laying on the counter and taken in the back and ground up while you wait.  The beef is delicious and almost completely fat free - mild and tender and flavorful and local.  The sauce was yummy and with a crisp fresh salad and bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape a delightful dinner was had by all!  The late afternoon was beautiful and we started our evening with a rose' on the patio in the sun.  A suitable beginning to our weekend in Paris perhaps?

An early night tonight I think.  Lay in the tub and prepare for an exciting weekend in Paris.  We did a drive by of Paris in 2007 and kinda had the lay-of-the-land so we are very thrilled to actually be going to Paris and spending five nights!  More to come!