And That's All, Folks

This will be the last installment from our Scotland vacation.  It has been delightful to relive it in these posts, but I worry that perhaps you feel like a guest, trapped in the dark while I flip through my slide show.  Then again, I've had positive feedback, so let's see what we did during our last 24 hours.

In yesterday's post, I showed you the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel, where we spent the night.  It's a popular place for fishermen, as it's located right on the River Tweed.  It is also a dog-friendly hotel, and we saw quite a few.  We had a delicious dinner, a good night's sleep, then a true Scottish breakfast, which was included in our room fee.  Oh?  You're wondering what a true Scottish breakfast consists of?  Eggs, toast, marmalade, beans, and blood pudding.  I skipped the pudding, we both skipped the haggis.

After breakfast, we walked out of the hotel, across a path, and onto the grounds of Dryburgh Abbey.

 A walkway skirted around the graveyard, bringing you to this arched entryway.

 Unfortunately, my pics of the abbey once through the archway all tilt when uploaded to Blogger.  This is the backside of the abbey.  It's still quite attractive.

I love this particular view from the side, with the crumbling walls underscoring how dramatically beautiful the stonework was, as it reached to the heavens.

The arches captivated me.  Perhaps I should do an arch quilt one of these days?

 The abbey had been filled with carvings, but there was very little left intact.  There was a special room to view some of the best pieces, which I suppose have been put on shelves to prevent further damage.

 Look!  It's a "K"!  For Kistler?

We eventually had seen enough, and needed to get back to Edinburgh, return the car, and check into our last hotel.  We saw a sign that said "William Wallace Statue," so we parked and went to look for it.  The path took us through a forested area.  I kept looking for Robin's Merry Men, but they weren't out and about that day.

 oh. my. goodness.  This looks just like my youngest son.  Seriously.  I posted this on Facebook, and tagged it with his name, and EVERYONE agreed with me.  It's supposed to be William Wallace...

 Back in the car, we passed this flock of sheep.  We pulled over, and I took some stationary pictures, instead of snaps from a moving vehicle.

 Isn't she cute?  A local pulled over and asked if we were lost.  Ummm, no, I just wanted to take pictures of sheep.  I was her entertainment for the day.

Across from the turnoff to Dryburgh is an impressive Roman aqueduct.  This is my favorite picture.  Be sure to read the shirt.  It's a UCDavis Vet School alumni shirt.

 Back in Edinburgh, we made a last dash to the castle gift shop.  On the way, I took pictures of street people.  There are always pipers piping.  They are very aware of each other, and never compete soundwise.  I found the Scots to be exceptionally polite and friendly.

 I've tried multiple times to upload the Brown Wizard, but that image tips over, too.  oh well.  He could have walked off the set of Lord of the Rings.

And how about chicken man?  He was walking through the crowd on Princes Street, without a care in the world.

 oops.  Back up by the castle, was William Wallace, live.  The modern chap next to him did a bit of sword play while his girlfriend took pictures.

Just down the hill from the castle was this ice cream shop.  Of course, we stopped!  Support your local dairy industry, that's our motto!  (It's the cows that got us to Scotland in the first place.)

 On one last lap down Princes St., I saw this display of blocks.  I think they were t-shirts or sheets or something.  I thought it was quite clever.

 And suddenly, *poof!* it was over.  We were at the airport, and the taxi was leaving.

This was truly a dream vacation, a trip of a lifetime.  I hope you have enjoyed it, I know I did!!