As usual, our long-awaited holiday is just a wonderful memory, or I should say, many wonderful memories.But we arrived home just prior to a hurricane , much to our surprise.So it’s been a few days of sorting all that out, but we never had more than some  tree debris to contend with, unlike many others who had considerable damage. Because we are so far inland and on high ground, the loss of electricity was the worse problem, so we consider ourselves quite fortunate.

We really got lucky with the weather whilst there–our day in Edinburgh was  a bit damp at times, but only for about 15 minutes of the Tattoo, far better than last time. And our last day, driving from Fort William to Glasgow rained, but it didn’t start until we’d finished our ride on the Jacobite. We visited Eilean Donan this time .Elijah absolutely loved the drink IrnBru and loves Scotland as much as we do. The hotels were all lovely. Jury’s couldn’t have been more convenient ( there was a problem I will tell you about in a bit), but all we had to do was go out the back way, up the steps and we were on the Royal Mile. It was also a quick walk from the train station. Airth Castle was beautiful, but Elijah was disappointed that children weren’t allowed to stay in the haunted portion ( I handled that much better). Priory’s and the Holiday Inn were great as well.

I had arranged rental cars from Europcar in Stirling and Inverness and due to different problems on their part, we had to accept a Mercedes instead of the economy ones I’d paid for. Bob handled that change quite well I thought. Now back to Jury’s–when we checked in, they asked for our credit card, as usual, but the girl asked if I wanted to pay in GBP or dollars. I told her that we had already paid, but she said that wasn’t  the case. On either side of me at that point, were several people very interested in our conversation, so I was very uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed. That’s when I usually start questioning my own understanding of a situation and thought, perhaps, I’d misunderstood our arrangement. I know now that I should have trusted myself, but I don’t like making a fuss, so I paid the bill. If it were the matter of a few quid, I wouldn’t trouble you, but my teeth nearly fell out when I saw what the amount was (and I don’t have dentures). So, I’ve enlarged the receipt and I will now attempt to scan it through to you. I hate to worry you with this Lesley, but it’s just too much to let slide. The girl at the desk was very nice, but very insistent, so she won.

Gail Newcombe & Family
USA
September 2011