We left our house at 11:00 a.m. headed to SFO. Upon arrival we find the new and merged KLM, now operating as KLM/AirFrance/Delta, completely jammed. Not since Rome have we seen so many people in one line waiting to check in. Ugh. But we finally did check in, made it through security and arrived at the gate 30 minutes before boarding. Gordon and I usually book Economy Plus seats which on, say, a United flight is a wider more comfortable seat with 6 inches extra legroom toward the front of the aircraft in a section designated totally for Economy Plus. On KLM it's an exit row seat. Period. This row of 3 seats was like a small loveseat, which really only comfortably seats 2 people, with 2 arm rests splitting the maybe 17 inch seats. Crammed into the window seat sat a little bit hefty Norwegian guy, I'm in the middle seat and Gordon's on the aisle. Now the really charming characteristic of these seats is their location. Right next to the 4 toilets in the mid-section of the aircraft. Oh lovely. This is a 9 1/2 hour flight.
Anyway, 3 1/2 movies later; Gosford Park, Moonrise Kingdom, Young Adult and half of Thelma and Louise we arrive in Amsterdam for an almost 3 hour lay over before a short flight to Edinburgh to be picked up by our faithful friend Dougie. Waiting just outside the customs door, Dougie never changes....apparently not even his outfit! And we headed off toward Moffat, another 1 1/2 hours south from Edinburgh. Because Scotland has received an inordinate amount of rain this past year, we had to slow down or crawl through many pond-like puddles on the 701 (the Old Edinburgh Road) so it took slightly longer to get into our home making our journey from door to door almost 20 hours. Do we sleep on airplanes? NO!
We stopped at the little deli on the way up Well Street to purchase yummy cheddar cheese scones and apple turnovers (savory and sweet!) to have with our tea before Dougie headed back up the road to Edinburgh.
So we settled in. We unpacked and hung our clothes, sorted out the bathroom and kitchen, added a new mattress topper, pillows and down comforter to our bed opened the mail, took our baths and headed down the hill to the High Street for a mini pub crawl and dinner of meat pie, steamed veggies and chips.
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| There's that Scottish blue sky on the way down to the High Street! |
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| Mini pub crawl 1..... |
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| Mini pub crawl 2! |
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| The sun is setting but the moon is already up and we're off back up the hill. This view is from the Buccleuch porch across the High Street and the distant hill side. |
This morning we dusted, vacuumed, clean the bathroom, waited on our food order which arrived at 10:00 a.m then headed down the hill for fresh salmon from the fishmonger, Andy; cheese from the deli and a converter for our American electronic appliances. Somehow we cannot find ANY of our converters we have always left in the house.
Back at the house we did an hour and 1/2 of yoga, napped and welcomed our dear friend and home caretaker, Maureen , for a glass or two of wine and a long visit. It's always nice to see and catch up with Maureen and we are looking forward to seeing her this weekend for dinner.
Gordon and I made a wonderful meal of salmon, potatoes and asparagus with a little buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes. And then out for a nice if dark, evening walk.
It's good to be back "home" in Moffat. It kinda feels like we never left. The house looks good. It's warm and cozy and inviting. Our bed is uber-comfortable now and I made it till 10:00 p.m. tonight but I'm ready for bed and what tomorrow might bring. Off to get the car "MOT'd". It's annual check up! which means a visit to Lockerbie and Cobwebs antique store! YAY!
P.S. must remember real camera tomorrow. IPhones take great close up and people pictures but lack for landscape shots.
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