Salt Lake, Paris, Scotland and Beyond!

We picked up our travel mates Dale and Marilyn Christensen and Patrick dropped us off at the airport. After a very nice 9 hour flight, we arrived in sunny Paris. With a five hour layover and Mark's aversion to airports, I thought lunch in the little village of Roissey might be fun. Taking the hotel shuttle after a few missteps, we arrived and started walking the near deserted streets looking for a fun place to eat. As we started down the narrow typical old French village street, Marilyn asked me if all of this was new and built for the tourists? After I laughed, I loved it.
It is so much fun to travel with someone who hasn't been here before.








We could not find a single restaurant open for lunch since it was a small village on Sunday afternoon. We found a Marriot and enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the lobby. I had a chef's salad that was anything but typical but very good. Crab, a half avocado, smoked salmon, soft boiled eggs, iceberg lettuce and thousand island with balsamic dressing was just what I needed after the long flight. We caught the shuttle back to CDG airport and boarded a smaller plane for Edinburgh.

Arriving in Edinburgh, the sun greeted us and I felt that feeling I have felt before, a connection to a place I have never been. I don't know of any ancestors from here but there surely is a a connection for me that I will have to explore.

We picked up our rental car and Dale was the brave one to drive first. We jammed into our car with 5 suit cases and two sets of golf clubs. I was squished in the middle back seat with Dale driving on the opposite side. We all laughed and laughed as we all tried to navigate and keep Dale on the right side of the road which is the left. Roundabouts are a little rough at first--entering to the left and turning to the left into the left lane. If that does not make sense neither do they. I think my brain is too old for this much change! I did get gps on my phone without connecting the phone or to the internet. I had added the map of Edinburgh before leaving home which turned out to be a very good idea. There was construction all over town which added to the road confusion. We had a few close calls and Dale was sweating as he did his best to follow my road directions. Again, lots of laughter nervous or not.


We found our hotel and breathed a big sigh of relief. (I dare you to parallel park on the left with the stirring wheel on the right!)

We put our luggage in the room and started out on foot, up the long stone stairs to The Royal Mile to find a dinner spot. It felt like walking in Harry Potter land. Everything is so quaint and clean and very old. We ate at Garfunkles and had fish and chips. The fish was very fresh and the batter perfect. We enjoyed being together and eating.























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