It never rained terribly hard, but it was a long drawn-out trickle from dawn til dusk. Nevertheless, the rain actually made our visibility a bit better compared to yesterday, so we could actually see the surrounding hills. We made some phone calls this morning in an attempt to sort out our covid tests. We ended up booking an appointment for Monday morning (as everything is closed on Sunday here). Fortunately, the location is in Glasgow, so we don’t have to drive to Edinburgh as we once feared. With that sorted, we huddled for warmth the rest of the morning.
For lunch, we made avocado and cheese sandwiches with a bit of tomato soup and some shortbread cookies. We’ve really made ourselves at home here, but haven’t quite sorted out the best methods for keeping a fire going in the wood oven. While Fiona and Norman can start a solid lasting fire in about ten seconds, team Bricole require a few more matches and kindling. It’s a life skill we haven’t really required in Los Angeles where our fireplace turns on with a simple light switch. Furthermore, this old cottage actually requires a fire if we want to have any heat during the day, so it was a matter of necessity.
In the afternoon, we decided to go for a bit of a drive around the countryside just to get out. Fiona relayed to us some complicated directions involving a false car park and a red mailbox. We couldn’t really follow any of that, so we plugged a few points into google maps.
We ended up at a place called Loch Ard. Fortunately, there wasn’t a lot of traffic, so we could take a nice leisurely pace around the very curvy road. Despite the persistent drizzle, we saw a fair number of cyclists and hikers which we thought was an interesting choice given the weather. I suppose if the weather is so variable and grey on a pretty regular basis, one needs to get out regardless the circumstances.
We did a lap around the loch, making a few pull offs on the way to snap some photos. This was absolutely necessary in order to entertain my three readers. All in all, our little road trip took us about an hour and a half.
We got to see a little bit of the Scottish countryside and a bit of fall foliage as well. It was good to just get out for a bit. While rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, it doesn’t look like it will be as widespread and constant, so perhaps we can take a wee stroll during the day tomorrow.
After doing our daily ritual of tea and scones, we lit another fire for warmth and spent our evening watching slow-paced British game shows before making tortellini for dinner. Tomorrow we have to go into Glasgow for our tests. The turnover time will be absolutely decisive in where we are able to go next. Had we been able to get one over the weekend, it would have made things much easier, but of course weekends are very serious business here. It’s when everyone must go cycling regardless of the weather.
passports & pepto bismol 