Before I head out I get Clara and Penny to do a quick photoshoot with me. The light is dicey but oh well.
Penny has a work lunch in London today so we take the train in together. We part ways at Marylebone and I book it to London Victoria to catch the Easybus to Luten Airport. The rain is hurtling out of the sky and the correct bus stop is not obvious. Easy this bus is not. But I make it nevertheless.
Despite the pouring rain, the bus ride is remarkably pleasant and the view out my window is not dreary, merely gorgeous and tinted grey. We arrive at Luten and I discover that the bus ride took more than half an hour longer than it was meant to. Oh Crap.
I barely make it to the flight: I am the second to last person to board. I find a seat eventually in the very back row between a charming young man who seems roughly my age and an impossible older man of about fifty or sixty. The flight is beyond turbulent. It attains (and maintains) roller-coaster status with a speed and consistency heretofore unimagined by me. Due to the extreme turbulence the flight is running an understandable fifteen minutes or so behind schedule.
We finally descend which brings momentary relief, Callum has probably been waiting for an hour by now dammit. But then the turbulence drastically worsens and the descent seems unending. Moments before we land I completely lose my cookies, attempting to do so as quietly as possible. I have a package of kleenex and wipe my mouth just as the wheels touch the ground. The Glaswegian turns to me, eyes twinkling, and says "Welcome to Glasgow! What do you think of it so far?"
We wish each other luck and head off in our separate direction, I am too embarassed to introduce myself so I don't actually know his name ::sheepish laugh:: ah well, so it goes.
I find Callum walking through the airport door, it seems the traffic was so bad he only just arrived, he was worried I was waiting. Oh the Irony. In the Morrisette sense.
We head back to Lucy and Callum's flat in Glasgow which is AMAZING! I take a blissful shower and change and then we head to The Rock (a pub about a block away) for Thursday night pub quiz and real pub grub. Lucy has warned me that the food is only so-so at The Rock and assures me that we'll get better dinner tomorrow. WHATEVER! I order Bangers and Mash, which is served with gravy, Yorkshire pudding and mushy peas. (No really...the mushy is apparently a feature, they're listed on the menu that way...news to me.) I get my food and Lucy is so wrong, it's Great! She also warned me that Scotland does not serve American sized portions. Wrong Again! I get THREE Sausages, TWO Yorkshire puddings and a MOUNT EVEREST of Mashed Potatoes and Peas. So Unbelievably Tasty!
I chip away at my delectable trough of food throughout the pub quiz. I contribute only two answers: The first Queen of Henry the 8th to be beheaded and the President during the Civil War. Actually that's better than I typically do at pub quizzes in the U.S., so yee haw. I also meet a large slice of Lucy and Callum's circle of friends, all of whom are awesome and really nice about how often I have to ask them to repeat what they say.
After the pub it's back to the amazing flat. And the amazing guest bedroom. And the amazing bed.
Good night!
Coming soon: Every Good Girl Deserves a Castle and a Tapas Bar when in Scotland.
Notes: Go Left