Christmas & New Year!!

Christmas was brilliant - being together as a family again was pretty special, and Braemar is just always fantastic, I love it up there. The weather wasn't nearly so cold as I was expecting, but at the same time a white Christmas would have been nice. Jen (Gav's girlfriend from Perth, Australia) managed to survive our family banter, musical evenings, silly games & sing-songs which is quite a good effort...I think she enjoyed it, especially the stocking (which was particularly Scottish) :)











Scottish guided tours: Snow arrived on the 27th, and Patrick came over from Ireland the same day! He had a whizz tour of my favourite spots in Scotland, starting with a picnic at Ballater on the way back from Aberdeen airport :) We went to Linn of Dee, had a walk at the Quoich & saw the punchbowl, then through Mar Lodge and back to the house at Braemar. Next day mum drove us back to Kirkcaldy via St. Andrews & the coast road, and the weather was pretty good the whole time. On the 30th we explored Edinburgh, did an open-top bus tour and headed back to Gav's flat for a couple of drinks before PD had to get the flight back to Dublin. I think he liked the introduction to Scotland...still can't believe it was his first time here :)













Derek from Arizona (well, Wisconsin really, and he might say San Fransisco now, but he's a bit of a nomad like me...) arrived in Edinburgh on Hogmanay, so we also did an open-top bus tour and explored a bit of the city (I should apply for a tour guide position). A crowd of Gav's friends from Ireland were over for Hogmanay, and we all went to the ceilidh in Murrayfield. It was brilliant fun - haggis, neeps & tatties, a ceilidh band, and plenty of Scottish country dancing...my favourite kind of party!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!! Up earlier than expected, we decided to try hitching a ride up to Braemar on the 1st. It was great fun - four lifts and a lot of interesting conversations later we joined the folks & all their friends at the house! More drinks, more food, more music, and more games...Christmas time is so much fun :)