No self respecting golf enthusiaist would go to Scotland and not visit St Andrews Home of Golf. No self respecting Asian (Malcolm considers himself one) would pay £195 for a round. We had to conquer Himalayas instead. It technically belongs to the St Andrews Ladies club, but it is right next to the famous "Old Course" overlooking "the bridge". It is a real links style minigolf course with all sorts of hills and undulations so tyou could succeed or fail in a dozen different ways each hole. I had discovered my superpower...I was an excellent putter. I had just have to remember for next time that my powers only last for 12 holes. Elliot was the only one to score a hole-in-one, but we all had a good time.
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| St Andrew's Links. Golfers walking to the first tee of the Old Course |
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| Lucky we came early. There was a line to play the Himalayas! |
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| Challenging but very fun course! |
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| Hole in one at the 13th! |
We drove straight on to Edinburgh. The Hilton at Edinburgh is a pretty hotel and well located right at the bottom of the Royal Mile, but the parking lot is 7 minutes walk away and there is no unloading bay - at least nothing was marked anyway. This made for a bit of a stressful start, but we worked it out and decided to leave the car in the carpark for the duration of our stay.
Our first stop was lunch at the Mosque Kitchen - we picked it because it was close to the afternoon's entertainment and had been described as authentic good value grub. It lived up to its reputation... Limited choices, no smiles, but big servings of tasty curry slopped onto the plates with a massive ladle: one rice option, one meat option, one vegetable option, move along. It was just what we felt like and vanished as fast as it was served.
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| Driving into Edinburgh |
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| John Knox House dates back to 1470, the oldest, original medieval building surviving on the Royal Mile |
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| Lunch at the Mosque Kitchen |
The aforementioned entertainment was a visit to the College of Surgeon's Museum in Edinburgh. There were enough gruesome things to keep the kids interested and all sorts of historical items that were of immense interest to the doctors in the family. It's nice to know that histology slides now create a sense of nostalgia rather than trepidation! Grandpa couldn't bring himself to visit the dental section, but enjoyed the museum nonetheless.
Still full from lunch we were more than happy with the Hilton Executive Lounge offerings for dinner. It has been nice to cash in on the "Year of Diamond status" whilst it lasts. We made some plans for a long day walking tomorrow and hit the hay. Elliot has agreed to take his turn authoring tomorrow's blog. He was a vocal critic of Lara's grammar and style so we'll see what he comes up with!
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| Yes even the anaesthetist entered |
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| Not sure if ophthalmology is his calling... |
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| Histopathology. Med school nightmares return... |
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| Royal Mile |
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| Exploring the streets of Edinburgh |
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| View from our room |
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| Executive Lounge at the Hilton |
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| Not sure what it is an anniversary of...but we'll take it! |
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