If It I'nt Scottish It's Crap!

We are in Scotland to visit Katie, Kevin's sister, Cathal, her husband and Eoin, number one son and Patrick, number two son. (Number three son is on the way.) It was great. Katie is the sort of homemaker that makes you wonder how it's done: wonderful home, beautiful family, happy marriage- everything and she's in school too. Magic? We cooked, we drank and then we walked and then we came home and cooked and then ate and drank some more. Lovely. I wanted to be stressed about leaving Paris- I really did. How could I leave? I hadn't really done anything yet.

The village was gorgeous, covered in blue fog.
I've learned that this is a technique of Paris- just be beautiful and everyone will forgive you everything- as a victim- I can say, it works.

Not to mention that the

Eiffel Tower seemed to have me in some sort of psychic tractor beam.

I got over it real quick.

Ok, first of all let me say that Scotland, aside from being ruggedly beautiful, is populated by normal size people hence there tend to be normal size bathrooms. No more puppy tubs no sir!

The McCorrys live in Burnt Island, a town, actually a royal burgh that looks out onto the North Sea, actually it is on the Firth of Forth which is actually an estuary that flows into the North Sea but I can't go on about that because the details alone make me feel too much like I am in a Monty Python skit.

One day we took a stroll up the Monks Walk, a thousand year old path,

leading up to the Fife Costal path.

The views were breathtaking.

This is Rossend Castle.

Ok, get this: Rossend, built in 1119 and extended in 1382 and in 1563, was on the verge of demolition! In 1970 a motley crew of architects banded together to save it. They launched protests, initiated petitions and in the end chained themselves to the crumbling ruin in order to save it! Today it has been refurbished, fitted with electricity and it now houses the brave architects' offices.
In the US we have tree huggers - in Scotland there are castle huggers-

Awesome!

the late afternoon was gorgeous

Some incidentals for your review:

This is a shot of an abandoned airbase that reminded me of what Marfa must have looked like before Donald Judd went there.


Here is another view of the base. If only I had a giant pile of English pounds. What a place this could be.

This is a remnant of a wall partly destroyed by Cromwell- sometime in the mid 17th century.


We think this may have been part of an ancient mill. It is unmarked and pedestrians just stumble upon it. This gorgeous ruin just happens to be lying around. I love this!

This a well. Uh huh, a well.

In Scotland they have ENORMOUS earthworms. Eoin and I rescued one from sure death on the sidewalk.

Can I please live here- PULEEEZZZEEEEE!
Dear God, I promise never to talk trash about -well, about anyone but especially not about the Pope (it will be really hard but I'll do it) if you just let me live here- for free and with Wifi and telephone to the US and Mexico...