this trip's overview

San Francisco to Glasgow

Babbity Bowster, Glasgow

Babbity theme

Glasgow

George Square, Glasgow

Glasgow shopping

Glasgow for kids

Culzean Castle

Aberfoyle, Trossachs

Doune Castle

Sterling Castle

Ballachulish

Corpach, Ft. Williams

Loch Ness

Glenfinnan

Pink Guest House, Isle of Skye

Brae Ness, Inverness

Urquhart Castle

The Summer Isles

Ibis, Edinburgh

Omi in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

The Witchery

Craigmuller Castle

back to Glasgow

Edinburgh to Düsseldorf

restaurant recommendations

21 July 2003

Today, after a quick breakfast at the buffet downstairs, we brought Omi Marga to Edinburgh Airport. It was a drive-by leave-taking; the airport staff fetched a wheelchair for Omi to push to the check-in and the traffic warden allowed me a moment to carry Omi's baggage alongside.

On the way back from the airport we stopped by Hugh MacPherson, a botique kilt-maker in Haymarket. They're closing their ex-hire business, and so I picked up a Wallace tartan medium-weight kilt at a bargain price. Then the rain began. It came down in buckets, but only for about a half-hour. It's the first real rain we've seen while in Scotland.

We walked from the car park to Hunter Square and settled back into the hotel, giving the kids a snack. Then we strolled over to John Knox's house - the oldest house in Edinburgh - just a few hundred meters away on the Royal Mile.

We finished up the day with a dinner at the well-appointed gothic dining room of The Witchery by the Castle, Castlehill, next to the Edinburgh Castle.

Called the Babbity Bowster in Glasgow to see whether they've had a cancellation and can take us in for our last night in Scotland. (The car must be returned from whence it was taken, so we'll drive the 50 miles back to Glasgow, enjoy the city for a bit, celebrate at the Babbity, sleep, wake up EARLY and drop off the car, check in the luggage, and get going. We'll probably not enjoy a Babbity breakfast...)

2003 Scotland: Craigmuller Castle, Edinburgh