Thanksgiving in Scotland

Friday, November 19th, I anxiously awaited my parents arrival at the Edinburgh airport. I could not wait to see them! I had to coordinate two different buses to get to the airport, and I was afraid I would be late! Can you imagine landing in another country and your daughter not being there to pick you up? Yikes! What would you do?

My parents arrived a few minutes late from their flight from London which worked out to the good since my ride to the airport was during commute ... and we went arduously slow through a massive office park. When I finally saw my parents, I hugged them and did not want to let go! I think I kept my mom on my arm for a good half of the day. Once my parents arrived, they were mega-troopers! They did not come back to my flat to sleep ... they kept going! After lunch at Monster Mash, a british diner serving Shepherds Pie and the like, Mom was ready to hit up Ikea and help make our flat a bit more homey! Later that evening we decorated the Christmas tree and hung the stockings with care.



Saturday was a full day -- we took my parents to the Farmers Market, a walk on the Royal Mile, lunch and coffee at the Elephant House (where J.K. Rowling penned the first Harry Potter book), shopping, and tea with Mom at the National Gallery Art Museum.

On Sunday Hilary arrived and the gang was complete. We had Sunday Roast at the local carvery, which was a fantastic Scottish thing for the family to experience. As I've stated previously, Sundays are treated like true holidays here in Scotland. Families open their homes, have feasts, and lounge in living rooms with tea and biscuits for hours after the completion of the meal. The local carvery served turkey, gammon, roast, eight different vegetables and a bar full of sauces and gravies. Matt prefers the mint sauce while I am enjoying a tartar sauce --- and the Scots put it on everything: the meat, potatos, and vegetables. I have to say, I'm enjoying the sauces and gravies! After lunch we took Hil in to town before the sun set - which is at the late hour of 4 pm (today, I think the sun is setting at 3:49 pm). After a quick tour, we retired to to the flat for take out chinese.

The rest of the week included visiting museums, dining on fabulous food, spending time with my loved ones, visiting French and German markets, having Thanksgiving dinner (we had chicken from my local butcher and not turkey -- we didn't even need naps after our dinner), attending an Advent service with a chamber choir and Norwegian musicians at St. Giles Cathedral (where John Knox the reformer pastored), enjoying coffee and tea at every turn, and hanging out at the flat. We had a blast! Unfortunately dad was a bit under the weather for most of the week, but he too was a trooper and got out there and enjoyed Scotland.