And a very Merry Thanksgiving to us three...mum, Matt and me...

It's been nearly 3 months here and Matt and I took our first official "tour" through some of Scotland's sites last week. Thanks to my mom for sponsoring such an effortless and picturesque adventure up through the Kingdom of Fife. Our Rabbie "Trail Burners" tour (gold star to anyone who can catch the play on words there) departed the Royal Mile early Thanksgiving morning. On our way out, the guide was sure to retell the story Matt and I have heard countless times about the stink Edinburgh put out 700 years ago when they threw their waste out the windows at 10:00 each night. "Garde de l'eau!" they would shout or "Look out for the water". It is funny, for obvious reasons, that this is the one detail that makes it into any historical discussion about Edinburgh. How is it that so much pride comes in having the most fouly odored city of the middle ages?

There were several stops and scenes to behold on the way north. First, we stopped and snapped some photos of the Forth Bridge, a site I have been keen on seeing for a while now. The bridge spans from East Lothian lowlands of Scotland to the Kingdom of Fife over the Firth* of Forth. It was a thrill to see it and I think I just may need some more exploring time than we got. It is indeed's Scotland's Brooklyn Bridge and has quite a history of the lives that were sacrificed during its construction.

Then on we went across the Firth of Forth and up along the Eastern coast while our guide chatted away like a one man show driving all 16 of us. According to her experience, different cultures have different needs on a trip that she tries to accomodate. Japanese need the longest time for picture breaks on a tour while Americans are content taking pictures of anything old and Italians content with pictures of anything that includes them in it. Stereotyping? Probably. True statements? Definately.

It was a brilliantly lovely Thanksgiving day across the Forth! And oh how I need the bit of sun that came through. A highlight of the trip was stopping in an old fishing village along the way. We got to see all kinds of cool things there. Like:

some neat vistas

and a real Stevenson lighthouse (kin to the one and only Robert Louis Stevenson - of which I am widdling away at his Kidnapped at the moment).

Of course the big event of the day was our time in St. Andrews, home of all the wealthy (most often over-privileged) UK uni students and the birthplace of golf. That town has a lot going for it, I have to say. It was a timely visit with Prince William's engagement as he met his lady while going to school there. According to our guide Sarah, women applications went up 200% after he started his studies there. That may seem like an absurd statistic but is it any crazier than the notion that golf's name came from the acronym "gentlemen only ladies forbidden"? Any verification on either of these points would be welcome at any time. Enough trivia for now. Onward to the pictures!

Here are some pics of our time exploring the ever mesmerizing cathedral ruins.

Here are some views from atop that massive tower. Matt and I got tokens to go up there from a claustrophobic tourist who took one look at the narrow stairs up and decided to cut her losses from the 4 pounds she spent to take a look from above. It was pretty tight in there and the walk up was like stairmaster+. Very much worth it once we got to the top though.

Finally, here is one of me taking in the Chariots of Fire beach to pay homage to Mr. Eric Liddell. I wanted to go barefoot, as they did in the movie, but my sensible Matt made sure I didn't. "Please don't Cate! I won't take a picture if you do. You're going to cut up your feet on all those shells." He is the voice of reason but it still seemed like it would take some of the romantic whimsy out of the moment. Afterall, those inspiring sand running scenes didn't include any issues with shards of shells in their feet. In the end, I listened. Afterall, feet are a valuable thing indeed when there is no car nor bus pass to get you where you need to go for the next year.

True to American form, the three of us made sure to have a fine, cultural feast for our Thanksgiving meal. What seemed most fitting for the day, however, turned out to be fish and chips with mushy peas and a bit of malt vinegar. It was grand! I missed the pecan pie but there is always sweet mince pie when you need it in these parts and that has done just fine for the time being. A very happy St. Andrews merry Thanksgiving day to us in Edinburgh. There was much to be grateful for this year indeed.

*Gaelic word for River